By Don Smith
The Coffin Corner Volume XVIII, 1996
In the 1950s, the blue-and-silver-clad Detroit Lions were one of the
dominant teams of the National Football League. They won NFL titles in 1952,
1953 and 1957 and just missed a fourth championship in 1954. The most famous
Lions of the day were quarterback Bobby Layne and running back Doak Walker
whose penchant for last-second heroics in the big games made them the toast of
the gridiron world. Both Layne and Walker are long-time members of the Pro
Football Hall of Fame.
However, even offensive heroes of the Layne and Walker caliber cannot be
effective without protection from pro football's Secret Service, the offensive
linemen who clear the way. The Lions were blessed with an excellent offensive
line but their biggest star was a colorful 6-4, 255-pound lineman named Lou
Creekmur. Creekmur played both guard and tackle during his 10 seasons in
Creekmur waited much longer -- 32 years to be exact -- for his Hall of Fame
recognition. He often wondered if his sport's ultimate honor had passed him by
but his concerns were shelved forever in January 1996 when he was elected to
the Hall. While
every new member is ecstatic about his election, it
would be difficult, if not impossible, to find someone more truly elated than
the big Lion tackle.
The fact that Creekmur played in the era before pro football became
universally popular and before television coverage made virtually every player
a household name undoubtedly was a factor in his long wait for election. In the
1950s, offensive linemen were relatively-unknown performers who got attention
only if they fouled up.
Creekmur, however, did come from a slightly different mold. He was an
all-NFL pick six times, as a guard in 1951 and 1952 and as a tackle in 1953,
1954, 1956 and 1957. He missed all-league acclaim in 1955 only because he moved
to the defensive line when team needs dictated. He was also named to the Pro
Bowl as a starter eight straight years. He even was invited to the post- season
classic the year he played on the defensive unit.
Aside from those honors, Creekmur had a way of making things happen on the
field and then talking about it that gave him more "ink" than many of
his peers. It accurately could be said Creekmur never met a sports reporter or
radio or television announcer he didn't like, particularly if he sensed his
interview might create some attention not only for himself, but also for his
offensive line teammates.
The Life Blood
As unnoticed as the offensive line is by the public, it is the life blood of
the quarterback and no one knew this better than Layne. He made certain of two
things: (1) that he appreciated everything the tackles and guards were doing
for him and (2) that he didn't appreciate it when they slipped up and allowed
Layne to be tackled. If such a thing ever did happen, Layne would confront the offender
right on the field, pull him out of a crowd and start ranting and raving and
shaking his finger at his teammate. Not only did the Lions teammates know of
the blown assignment, so too did the entire crowd of 50,000 that regularly
watched the Lions play.
Creekmur, however, felt that these antics by Layne played a major role in
solidifying the offensive line. "It was so embarrassing that we all made a
pact we would never miss a block that would ever disturb Bobby Layne,"
Creekmur said. "We had guys like Charley Ane, Harley Sewell, Dick Stanfel. it was a good, sound,
basic line.
Off the field, Layne's relationship with his line was an entirely different
thing. "I'll tell you, the treatment he gave us off the field couldn't
have been better," Creekmur insisted. "He would take us out for a
steak and really let us know that without the guys blocking for him, he didn't
have much. It sounds funny to say this, but the whole team showed such a love
and respect for each other we would break our backs for each other. We were a
lot of rabble-rousers. We lived high on the hog but on Sunday we were
dedicated."
As far as the lack of public attention is concerned, Creekmur said his line
mates didn't dwell on it: "We got attention from our offensive line coach,
Aldo Forte, and from Buddy Parker and Bobby and our backfield. We were all
proud when someone scored and we knew we were all a part of it."
The Road to
Creekmur was born
After returning to William and Mary in 1947, Creekmur became a starter on a
Southern Conference championship team. William and Mary finished 9-1 before
losing 21-19 to
When Creekmur's original class graduated in 1948, the Philadelphia Eagles of
the NFL and the Los Angeles Dons of the All- America Football Conference both
drafted him. Creekmur, however, stayed in school so that he could earn his
master's degree.
By the time Creekmur completed his eligibility, the AAFC had disbanded. He
was placed in a frozen player pool. It was from this pool that Creekmur was
eventually chosen by the Lions in the 1950 NFL draft.
"I was thrown into the pool with such guys as Bob Hoernschemeyer, Y. A.
Tittle and all those other guys who played in the AAFC in 1949," Creekmur
explained. "The reason that I probably ended up in
At the end of the game, McMillin asked Creekmur if he would like playing for
the Lions if they could draft him. Lou didn't say no. He was their second pick
in the 1950 NFL draft.
Immediate Starter
Creekmur became a starter as the Lions offensive guard in his 1950 rookie
season and stayed at that spot for three seasons. He was selected as a starting
guard for the NFL West team in the Pro Bowl after his first season. He always
insisted that his biggest thrill was playing in that Pro Bowl. "For years,
I had been reading in the papers about the great Bulldog Turner, the Bears
center. And there I was, playing on the same team with him," Lou
explained.
The next year, he was named all-NFL for the first of six times. He played in
150 straight games and did not miss a regular-season, NFL championship or Pro
Bowl game until his final season in 1959, when he sat out the first four games
before ending a premature retirement.
Creekmur's consecutive-game string was threatened only once and that was in
1952 when he suffered a severely bruised thigh in a Sunday game with the Bears,
four days before a Thanksgiving Day clash with
Later that year, Creekmur played a major role in
It didn't take Coach Buddy Parker long to realize just how truly valuable
Creekmur was to the Lions. He used his prized lineman every way possible, at
tackle, at guard and even on the defensive line in short-yardage situations.
The affable Creekmur had only one complaint about Parker's switching him
back and forth between offensive tackle and guard. "If I am going to play
offensive tackle, I'd like to weigh about 255 pounds," Creekmur insisted.
"But if I~m to play guard, I should get down to 240 pounds to increase my
speed. I sure wish Coach Parker would let me know in advance so I'll know how
much to eat the week before a game."
Creekmur played offensive tackle more than any other position. Thus, he
always was bumping heads with some of the NFL's top defensive ends, behemoths
like Lou Michaels of the Los Angeles Rams, Len Ford and Don Colo of the
Cleveland Browns and the Chicago Bears' Ed Sprinkle.
Creekmur remembered one curious incident in an NFL championship game against
Ford: "The Browns were playing in a 6-1 defense and Lenny was playing way
outside. I had no nobody in front of me to block. I kept yelling at him to come
in closer but he wouldn't come near me. I never did find out what was wrong
until Lenny and I played together in the Pro Bowl and he told me that I broke
his thumb during the regular season and that is why he played the way he did
that day."
While he was a hard-hitting, aggressive competitor on the field, Creekmur
was a likeable, easy-going, fast-talking person off the gridiron. But one year
against
Slick Artist
Lions observers of the 1950s remember that Creekmur
was known as an absolute artist in the slick trick of holding an opponent. He
could lock a rival's arm under his own, twist and twirl him around and dump him
so guickly the poor guy never knew how it happened. Creekmur never bothered to
deny the charge.
Known as the "Smiling Assassin," Creekmur also knew how to use his
elbows, a necessary technique in the no-holds-barred interior line play of the
1950s. He remembers both Sprinkle of the Bears and Leo Nomellini of the
Creekmur's one departure away from the offensive line came in 1955 when he
moved to defensive guard. "The Lions were 0-6 and we didn't have any one
to replace Les Bingaman, who had retired. That was the year that Coach Parker
started experimenting with the man over the middle dropping back and covering a
zone against the pass. But I just couldn't do it. I wasn't fast enough moving
backwards or laterally." Creekmur admitted.
The entire Lions organization was stunned just before the 1957 season when
Parker announced at the "Meet the Lions" banguet: "I can't
handle you guys and I quit." "We were in total shock," Creekmur
recalled. "Buddy liked to feel that this was his team. He didn't like the
interference we used to get from owners. I think it was a spontaneous reaction
on his part."
But under George Wilson, who hurriedly took over the coaching reins, the
Lions won the 1957 NFL West title and then demolished the hated Browns1 59-14,
to win their third NFL championship in six years. The Lions have not won an NFL
title since that year.
Winding Down
Creekmur excelled again in 1958 but missed his ninth straight Pro Bowl
because of a business conflict. He was working for a
For Creekmur, the decision was an easy one. "The most l ever made in
football was $1,000 a game," he said. "In 1959, I made $15,000 as the
terminal manager at the Saginaw Transfer Company. When the boss said l couldn't,
there was no decision to be made. It was a no-brainer."
Then in 1959, that same boss played a role in Creekmur's return to the
Lions. The two had been invited to a downtown luncheon where a photo session
with some Lions was scheduled. During the luncheon, Coach Wilson sidled over to
Creekmur's table and said: "Hey, Lou, we sure could us you out
there."
Creekmur paid little attention but, after Lou and his boss returned to work,
The veteran Lion signed a contract on Wednesday, practiced and scrimmaged on
Thursday, had a light workout on Friday and then flew
to
"I was so sore. I just crawled off the field," Creekmur recalled.
"But it probably was the most important season of my ten years because, if
I had not played in 1959, I wouldn't be covered by the NFL Players
pension."
Creekmur is the sixth member from the Lions' glory years to enter the Pro
Football Hall of Fame, joining Layne and Walker from the offensive unit and
Jack Christiansen, Yale Lary and Joe Schmidt from the equally-excellent defensive
team.