He is dead. The head coach of the Detroit Lions team has just announced the death of his best player.

He is dead. The head coach of the Detroit Lions team has just announced the death of his best player.

Fifty years ago on a gloomy, rainy Sunday afternoon, 54,418 enthusiastic football fans descended upon Tiger Stadium to witness if the Detroit Lions, riding high on a four-game winning streak and tied for first place in the NFC Central Division with Minnesota, could overcome the “Monsters of the Midway,” led by Chicago’s Dick Butkus.

Local radio listeners were riveted to Van Patrick and Bob Reynolds’ play-by-play on WJR-AM (760), as the regional transmission was shut out in Detroit.

In a two-minute drill, the Lions trail 28-23, little-used Chuck Hughes, who replaced the injured Larry Walton in the fourth quarter of play, caught a 32-yard pass from quarterback Greg Landry to set up a first down on the Bears’ 37-yard line.