On November 1, 1953, a crowd of 93,751 packed the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as the Los Angeles Rams faced the defending NFL champion Detroit Lions. The afternoon belonged to Rams halfback Volney “Skeets” Quinlan, who rushed for 130 yards on just 12 carries and scored two touchdowns, including a spectacular 74-yard run. Los Angeles overcame an early 10-point deficit to defeat Detroit 37–24 in a game filled with long scoring plays.
The Rams had helped make professional football an offensive spectacle. Their innovative passing attack in the preceding seasons featured quarterbacks Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin throwing to receivers Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch and Tom Fears. Waterfield had retired after the 1952 season, but the Rams’ reputation for explosive football endured—and against Detroit that afternoon, Quinlan supplied the fireworks on the ground.
This was not Detroit’s first defeat of the season. Two weeks earlier, the Rams had beaten the Lions 31–19 in Detroit. The Coliseum victory completed a season sweep, improving Los Angeles to 5–1 and dropping Detroit to 4–2. Remarkably, no other team would defeat the Lions during the regular season. Detroit recovered to finish 10–2 and beat Cleveland 17–16 for its second consecutive NFL championship. The Lions ultimately kept their crown, but on both occasions they faced the Rams in 1953, Los Angeles had their number.
