A Brief History of the Detroit Lions
1934. Detroit radio executive George A. Richards purchases the four-year-old NFL franchise known as the Portsmouth Spartans, takes them out of Ohio, changes the team name, and installs them in Detroit. The Detroit Lions become the fourth professional football franchise in the Motor City, following the Heralds/Tigers (1920-1921), Panthers (1925-1926) and Wolverines (1928). The purchase price of just under $8,000 is thought to be a huge acquisition at the time; today, this amount would just about cover Shaun Rogers’ lunch.
1935. The Clarks – coach “Potsy” and Hall of Fame QB “Dutch” lead the Detroit Lions to the title, defeating the New York Giants 26-7 after a running up a bizarre 7-3-2 record in the regular season. Potsy leaves the Detroit Lions for the Brooklyn football Dodgers in 1937, and Dutch takes over as player-coach.
1940. The NFL’s leading rusher of two years previous, Bryon “Whizzer” White joins the Detroit Lions and leads the league in rushing attempts and yardage. In 1941, White leads the league in punting yards and retires from football after the season, going on to become a Supreme Court justice.
1942. Beginning a medium-term run of futility, the Detroit Lions go 0-11, score a total of 38 points and are shut out five times. The two-year record of 3-17-1 in 1942 and 1943 is the Detroit Lions’ worst ever for two seasons and is not threatened until the Marty Mornhiweg era.
1948. A group of Detroit businessmen led by majority owner Edwin J. Anderson buy the Detroit Lions. This group owns the franchise until 1964.
1948. A harbinger of a coach, Alvin McMillin, is hired and leads the Detroit Lions to three seasons of a combined 12-24 record.
1951. Coach Buddy Parker takes over leadership of the team and introduces Detroit to winning football. In six seasons, Parker equals or tops a .750 winning percentage four times, puts his team in three consecutive championship games and wins twice. In the title years of 1952 and 1953, the team becomes known as a dominant force and features Hall of Famers Jack Christiansen, Lou Creekmur, Bobby Layne and Doak Walker. The 1950s Detroit Lions establish a rivalry with the mighty Cleveland Browns, a rivalry that continues for decades, albeit later for the title of worst NFL team. Dick “Night Train” Lane is the quarterback through most of these years, setting several franchise records including sweetest nickname ever.
1957. A banner year for the city of Detroit in general. Along with production of the immortal ’57 Chevy is a swell football time and the Motor City’s last NFL title to date. The Detroit Lions, with perhaps the greatest names the silver-and-blue has yet to produce, destroy Cleveland 59-14 to claim the championship, despite a troubled 8-4 season. Five Hall of Famers played that year: Lem Barney, John Henry Johnson, Yale Lary, Joe Schmidt and “Night Train” Lane.
1958. On March 12, one Matthew Millen in born in Hokendauqua, Pennsylvania. The precocious youngster immediately announces that, with their no. 1 pick, the Detroit Lions will draft an overrated wide receiver.
1962. In his sixth year as head coach, George Wilson leads the Detroit Lions to an 11-3 record, still the best in franchise history. Aging veterans like Lane, Lary and Schmidt are still around (and are even named Pro Bowlers), but this team and subsequent years’ teams are known for an awesome defense led by the immortal Alex Karras, who later goes on to star in George Plimpton’s book “Paper Lion” and TV’s “Webster.” The only problem with the season is that 11-3 lands the team two games behind the 13-1 Packers, who win the Western Conference and the right to appear in the NFL title game.
1968. With their first-round pick in the NFL draft, the Detroit Lions take Greg Landry from the University of Massachusetts. Landry wins the starting job late in the 1969 season and stays with the team until 1978. About a half-dozen excellent seasons are mixed with several injuries.
1970. Led by former player Schmidt, the Detroit Lions enter the playoffs for the first time since 1957, but lose to the Dallas Cowboys 5-0 behind a combined two-hit pitching performance by Craig Morton and Roger Staubach.
1975. The Silverdome opens, a mammoth dome built at the peak of sportsland’s dome-mania of the 1970s. It becomes possible for 80,000 to suffer through the next 16 seasons, a span in which the Detroit Lions post a winning record twice, on both occasions going 9-7.
1983. Led by immortal QB Eric Hipple, the Detroit Lions’ 9-7 is good enough to take the weak NFC Central. Detroit plays a spirited game against Joe Montana’s San Francisco 49ers, but lose 24-23.
1989. The Detroit Lions draft Barry Sanders, who immediately establishes himself as a dominant back, running for 1,470 yards on an amazing average of 5.2 yards per carry and 14 TDs. Detroit Lions management immediately decides that, Sanders being enough of a draw in himself, that no other players ever need be added to the team. Sanders, meanwhile, begins pondering early retirement.
1991. The first-ever playoff game in the ‘Dome is played, with the Detroit Lions smoking the Dallas Cowboys 38-6. Unfortunately, the tides turn when the Detroit Lions visit Washington for the NFC championship game and lose convincingly 41-10 to the eventual Super Bowl champs.
1994. The internet becomes a true national phenomenon, as does the world’s first public website, www.firemillen.com.
1995. 1995 is a banner season for the Detroit Lions, led by the NFL’s top-rated offense. QB Scott Mitchell completes 346 passes for 4,338 yards and 32 TDs to set franchise records. WRs Herman Moore and Brett Perriman bag 123 and 108 receptions to become the first teammates to catch 100 passes in a season. Sanders wins the rushing title with 1500 yards exactly and chips in 48 receptions. The Detroit Lions then put the “wild” in “Wild Card Game,” losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 58-37. Sanders continues to consider early retirement.
1998. Just two years after leading the NFL in rushing for the third straight season, Barry Sanders retires. It is arguably one of the saddest moments in Detroit Lions history.
2002. Matt Millen is named franchise president and CEO. It is arguably one of the saddest moments in Detroit Lions history.
2002. The Detroit Lions draft Joey Harrington, a move that will soon have fans clamoring for the return of Mike McMahon. It is one of … ah, you know.
2002. The half-billion dollar Ford Field opens. In the first preseason game played there, the Detroit Lions lose 34-22 in a preseason game. Ignoring this result, the team throws an opening day celebration in September when the team plays its first regular season game at Ford. The Detroit Lions lose 37-31 to the Green Bay Packers.
2003. After running up a 5-27 record, the worst for consecutive seasons for the Detroit Lions in the era of the 16-game season, coach Marty Mornhinweg is fired in favor of Steve Mariucci.
2005. Mariucci is fired. Bummer.
2006. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive line coach Rod “Almighty” Marinelli is hired as head coach. Detroit Lions fans slowly become guardedly optimistic about the team’s chances in the upcoming season, showing their resilience and standing as some of the truly great fans in the NFL. This writer wishes the silver-and-blue best of luck this season. This team deserves it.
