Bobby Layne
The quarterback who led the Lions from 1950 to 1958 after being traded from the New York Bulldogs.
Bobby Layne was a quarterback for the Detroit Lions from 1950 to 1958, after being traded from the New York Bulldogs. He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the third overall pick of the 1948 NFL draft and traded to the New York Bulldogs, where he played one season in 1949. Layne played college football for the Texas Longhorns, where he was a consensus All-American in his senior year. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. His number 22 is retired by the Texas Longhorns and honored by the Lions in their Ring of Honor.
- Role
- Quarterback
- Team Affiliation
- Detroit Lions (Primary)
- Hall of Fame Induction
- 1967
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Layne was traded to the Detroit Lions in 1950 for defensive back/end Bob Mann. Before joining the Lions, Layne played one season with the New York Bulldogs in 1949, where the team won only one game and lost 11, though Layne played well and developed quickly. He compared that single season with the Bulldogs as worth five seasons with any other NFL team. Layne had previously been drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers but did not want to play for them because they were the last team in the NFL to use the single-wing formation, so his rights were quickly traded to the New York Bulldogs.
In Their Own Story
After a single season with the New York Bulldogs in 1949, where he played well despite the team's 1-11 record, Layne was traded to the Detroit Lions in 1950. The Lions sent wide receiver Bob Mann to the Bulldogs and agreed to make the final three payments of a previous arrangement. This trade brought Layne to Detroit, where he would play from 1950 to 1958, becoming a key figure for the franchise. His path to Detroit was circuitous: drafted by the Steelers, traded to the Bears, then to the Bulldogs, and finally to the Lions.
Reader's Guide
Layne's arrival in Detroit in 1950 came after a trade from the New York Bulldogs, who had acquired him from the Chicago Bears. The Bears had traded Layne to the Bulldogs for two draft picks and $50,000 cash, with a clause barring Layne from ever playing for the Chicago Cardinals. Before that, Layne had refused to return to the Bears after one season and tried to engineer his own trade to the Green Bay Packers. The Bears, preoccupied with fending off a challenge from the AAFC, traded him to the Bulldogs instead. Layne played for the Lions from 1950 to 1958, and later for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1958 to 1962, completing his 15-season NFL career.
Did You Know?
- Bobby Layne was drafted third overall in the 1948 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers but was quickly traded to the New York Bulldogs because he did not want to play in their single-wing formation.
- Layne played one season with the New York Bulldogs in 1949, where the team won only one game, but he later said that season was worth five seasons with any other NFL team.
- Layne was traded to the Detroit Lions in 1950 for defensive back/end Bob Mann.
- Layne was a consensus All-American in his senior year at the University of Texas and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
- Layne's number 22 is retired by the Texas Longhorns and honored by the Detroit Lions in their Ring of Honor.