Bobby Layne
Hall of Fame quarterback who was drafted by the Steelers but traded before playing, later returning to finish his career in Pittsburgh.
Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns before being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the third overall pick of the 1948 NFL draft and traded to the Chicago Bears. Layne played one season with the Bears, and then with the New York Bulldogs in 1949, the Detroit Lions from 1950 to 1958, and the Steelers from 1958 to 1962. 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 the Lions.
- Role
- Quarterback
- Status
- Hall of Fame Inductee (1967)
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Bobby Layne was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the third overall pick of the 1948 NFL draft, but his rights were quickly traded to the Chicago Bears because Layne did not want to play for the Steelers, the last team in the NFL to use the single-wing formation.
In Their Own Story
In 1958, after a decade with the Detroit Lions that included three NFL championships, Bobby Layne was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The trade sent him to the team that had originally drafted him a decade earlier, but with whom he had never played a game. Layne joined a Steelers team that had not won a championship since its founding. Over the next five seasons, he started at quarterback, bringing experience and leadership to a franchise still searching for its first title. He played his last NFL game in 1962, ending a 15-season career that began with the Steelers' draft pick in 1948.
Reader's Guide
Layne played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1958 to 1962, after being traded from the Detroit Lions. He was originally drafted by the Steelers in 1948 but was traded to the Bears before ever playing for Pittsburgh.
Did You Know?
- Layne was the third overall pick in the 1948 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- He was traded to the Chicago Bears immediately after being drafted because he did not want to play in the single-wing formation.
- Layne later played for the Steelers from 1958 to 1962, returning to the team that originally drafted him.
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