Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a National Football League team based in Detroit, Michigan. The team began play in 1930 as the Portsmouth Spartans, one of the league's small town teams, but moved to Detroit in 1934 due to the Great Depression.

Franchise history

As the Portsmouth Spartans, the franchise played in an unscheduled NFL championship game against the Chicago Bears in 1932. The Spartans-Bears game was played because both teams ended the regular season with the same won-lost percentage (the Spartans finished at 6-1-4 while the Bears were 6-1-6; ties were not reckoned as part of the percentage in the NFL until 1972). Due to blizzard conditions in Chicago, the game was moved from Wrigley Field indoors to Chicago Stadium, which allowed for only an 80-yard field; some have called the contest the first arena football game. The Bears won, 9-0, and the resulting interest led to the establishment of Eastern and Western conferences and a regular championship game beginning in 1933.

Related Topics:
Unscheduled NFL championship game - Chicago Bears - 1932 - 1972 - Chicago - Wrigley Field - Chicago Stadium - Arena football - 1933

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Poor revenues and the Great Depression led to the team's move from Portsmouth to Detroit in 1934. That season, Detroit hosted its first ever Thanksgiving Day game, a tradition continued to this day.

Related Topics:
Great Depression - 1934 - Thanksgiving Day

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Under quarterback Dutch Clark, Detroit won its first NFL championship in 1935. In 1943, the Lions and the New York Giants played to a 0-0 tie at Detroit - the last time an NFL game has ended with that score.

Related Topics:
Quarterback - Dutch Clark - 1935 - 1943 - New York Giants

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Detroit enjoyed its greatest success in the 1950s, led by QB Bobby Layne. They won the league championship in 1952, 1953, and 1957.

Related Topics:
1950s - Bobby Layne - 1952 - 1953 - 1957

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On January 7, 1961, the Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns 17-16 in the first-ever Playoff Bowl matching the runners-up from the two conferences into which the NFL was divided at the time (the Lions also appeared in the game in both of the next two years pursuant to their having finished second to the Green Bay Packers in the Western Conference in all three seasons; the Playoff Bowl was abolished in 1970 when the merger of the NFL and AFL went into full effect).

Related Topics:
January 7 - 1961 - Cleveland Browns - Playoff Bowl - Green Bay Packers - 1970 - AFL

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In the mid-1960s, the Lions served as the backdrop for the humorous sports literature of George Plimpton, who spent time in the Lions training camp masquerading as a player. This was the basic material for his book Paper Lion, later made into a movie.

Related Topics:
1960s - George Plimpton - Book - Paper Lion - Movie

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Motown soul singer Marvin Gaye made plans, after the death of duet partner Tammi Terrell, to join the Lions and go into football. He gained weight and trained for his tryout in 1970, but was cut early on. He remained friends with a number of the players, particularly Mel Farr and Lem Barney, who appear on his 1971 classic single "What's Going On."

Related Topics:
Motown - Soul - Singer - Marvin Gaye - Tammi Terrell - 1970 - Mel Farr - Lem Barney - 1971

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In 1980, the Lions drafted running back Billy Sims with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. Led by Sims, the team got off to a promising start that year and attracted considerable media attention when they adopted "Another One Bites The Dust," popularized by glam rock band Queen, as an unofficial team song. Lions player Jimmy "Spiderman" Allen recorded his own version of the tune with rewritten lyrics: Come and watch them Detroit Lions who no one seems to beat...and another one bites the dust which became popular on local Detroit radio. When the dust cleared, though, Detroit finished 9-7 and out of the playoffs, despite a 4-0 start.

Related Topics:
1980 - Running back - Billy Sims - NFL Draft - Another One Bites The Dust - Glam rock - Queen - Jimmy "Spiderman" Allen

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In 1991, the Lions reached the NFC championship game after having been shut out 45-0 by the Washington Redskins on opening night, eventually going 12-4. They won their first Division Title in eight years, and got their first (and to date, only) postseason victory since 1957, when they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 38-6 at the Silverdome. They lost to the Redskins in the NFC championship game, 41-10. (The Lions have never beaten the Redskins in Washington in twenty tries, going back to 1936.) This was the first time a team that had been shut out in its opener had reached the conference title round, and would remain the only such occasion until both the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots did likewise in 2003 (with New England going on to win the Super Bowl).

Related Topics:
1991 - Washington Redskins - Dallas Cowboys - Silverdome - Washington - Philadelphia Eagles - New England Patriots - 2003 - Super Bowl

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The team has had considerable difficulty remaining competitive in recent years, going the entire 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons without a road victory, thus becoming the only team in NFL history not to win on the road for three consecutive entire seasons. The streak, encompassing 24 games (also an NFL record) came to an end on September 12, 2004, when the Lions defeated the Bears 20-16 at Soldier Field in Chicago. After starting the 2004 season 4-2, the Lions finished with a 6-10 record after numerous injuries hobbled many of their key players.

Related Topics:
2001 - 2002 - 2003 - September 12 - 2004 - Soldier Field

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In the 2005 the Lions won their season opener against division rival Green Bay, but were humiliated by the Bears the following week. Many of their featured players are out with injuries including their field goal kicker (the team's leading scorer) and one of their star wide receivers. The concensus among local sports writers is that the Lions' outlook in 2005 looks very bleak.

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