Detroit Lions (1934-Present)

Historical Moments:
1934: Dick Richards leads a group that purchases the Portsmouth Spartans for the staggering price of $7,952.08, and moves them to Detroit, where in keeping with the jungle tradition with other Detroit nicknames the team utilizes the name Lions. The Lions play their first game ever on September 23rd at the old University of Detroit Stadium, and beat the New York Giants by a score of 9-0 in front of 12,000 fans. The Lions would go on to win their first 10 games that included 7 straight shutouts. Four days after their first loss the Lions host the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving establishing a new tradition. The Lions would lose the key game 16-13, and would go on to finish their inaugural campaign with a 10-3 record.

1935: The Lions are among 4 teams in the NFL's competitive Western Division that finishes with a winning record. The Lions would finish the season with a 7-3-2 record, finishing percentage points ahead of the Green Bay Packers for the Division Championship earning them a birth in their first ever Championship Game. On December 9th in front of a rockus home crowd the Lions host the New York Giants for the NFL Championship. Led by QB Earl Clark the Lions would roar their way to a deceive 26-7 victory earning their first NFL Championship.

1936: The Lions follow up their championship season by finishing with a respectable 8-4 record. However, the Lions finish 3rd behind the Packers, and Bears.

1937: The Lions finish in 3rd place for the second straight season with a record of 7-4 despite losing their 3 of their final 5 games.

1938: After 4 season at the University of Detroit's Stadium, the Lions move into their new den Briggs Stadium, which was already famous for being the home for 26 years to Detroit's famed baseball team the Tigers. In the Lions first game at the corners of Michigan and Trumbull the Lions defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 16-7. The Lions would go on to finish the season with a 7-4 record 1 game behind the Green Bay Packers for the Division Title.

1939: The Lions get off to a strong start but fade down the stretch losing their final 4 games to finish in 3rd place with a record of 6-5.

1940: Byron "Whizzer" White, a future justice on the US Supreme Court becomes the first Detroit Lion to win the NFL's rushing title with 514 yards rushing. However, the Lions would complete the season with a disappointing 5-5-1 record.

1941: The Lions suffer their first losing season since moving to Detroit posting a disappointing record of 4-6-1 while finishing in 3rd place.

1942: The Lions roar sounds more like a purr as the team fails to win a single game finishing in last with an embarrassing 0-11 record.

1943: After going trough an entire season without a win the Lions get off to a solid start by winning their first 2 games. However, the Lions would only win one more game the rest of the season finishing with a 3--6-1 record.

1944: Half Back Frank Sinkwich leads the Lions to a respectable 6-3-1 record, and earns the League's MVP, becoming the first Detroit Lion to win the award.

1945: The Lions post their second solid season in a row, finishing in 2nd place with a solid record of 7-3.

1946: After 2 consecutive solid seasons the bottom falls out for the Lions who lose their first 6 games on the way to finishing in last place with a miserable 1-10 record.

1947: The Lions finish in last place for the second year in a row posting a horrible record of 3-9.

1948: The Lions continue to roam in the basement of thee Western Division posting an awful 2-10 record while allowing an embarrassing 407 points on defense.

1949: Despite posting a losing record for the 4th year in a row the Lions end the season on a strong note winning their final 2 games to escape last place with a 4-8 record.

1950: The Lions show signs of becoming a strong contender by ending a strong of 4 straight losing seasons with a 6-6 record that was good enough for 4th place.

1951: After a decade in which the Lions were consistently among the worst teams in the NFL the Lions rises back up to the NFL elites with a solid nucleus led by star QB Bobby Layne. In the Lions first competitive season in years the team finishes with a solid 7-4-1 record, finishing just a half a game behind the eventual NFL Champion Los Angeles Rams.

1952: The Lions continue to improve finishing 9-3 and in a flat-footed tie with Los Angeles Rams for the National Conference Title. The tie set up a tiebreaker for a trip to the NFL Championship game. On December 21st in front of a loud home crowd the Lions beat the over matched Rams by a score of 31-21 to earn a trip to the following week's NFL Championship game in Cleveland against the Browns. The Lions would on to stun the Browns in front of their home fans 17-7 to claim their 2nd NFL Championship.

1953: The Lions finish 10-2 to earn a return trip to the NFL Championship game where they a matched up in a rematch with the Cleveland Browns. On December 27th in front of a load crowd of 54,577 the Lions win a 17-16 nail bitter to claim their second consecutive NFL Championship.

1954: The Detroit Lions bid for a 3rd Straight Championship gets off to a fast start as the Lions once again are the class of the Westen Conference finishing in 1st Place with a 9-2-1 record to earn a 3rd straight trip to the NFL Championship game. Once again the Lions are matched up against the Cleveland Browns in the title game. However, this time the Browns extract revenge by ripping the Lions apart by a score of 56-10.

1955: Coming of their 3 consecutive trips to the NFL Championship Game the Lions experience a year of injury and frustration and fall into the cellar of the Western Conference with a woeful 3-9 record.

1956: The Lions recover from their year of frustration nicely and once again become one of the top teams in the NFL. However their 9-3 record is only good enough for second place in the Western Conference as they finish just a half game behind the Chicago Bears.

1957: Prior to the start of the season Head Coach Raymond Parker who guided the Lions through their best era of success abruptly resigns. Assistant George Wilson would replace him the following day. Rogers helps lead the Lions to an 8-4 season which is good enough to earn a tie for the Western Conference title with San Francisco 49ers. The Lions would fall behind early in the Western Conference Championship at San Francisco's Cesar Stadium. However, the Lions would roar to life in the second half and would claim a 31-27 victory to earn a trip to the NFL Championship game. In the NFL Championship played in front of a 55,263 fans at Briggs Stadium the Lions take apart the Browns 59-14 to claim their 4th NFL Championship, and 3rd of the decade. However, the Lions would not win another Championship in the 20th Century.

1958: The Lions could not repeat their championship magic of 1957 and struggled all season to a disappointing 4-7-1 season which left them in 5th place in the Western Conference.

1959: The Lions end their most successful decade, in which they won 3 NFL Championships on a disappointing note, finishing in 5th place with a terrible record of 3-8-1.

1960: With LB Joe Schmidt earning the NFL MVP, the Lions once again challenge for the top spot in the Western Conference. However, the Lions 7-5 record is only good for 2nd Place, 1 game behind the upstart Green Bay Packers.

1961: William Clay Ford, a member of the prestigious Ford Family is named President of the Detroit Lions. The Lions would go on to complete a solid 8-5-1 season but once again were out done by the Packers for the Conference Title.

1962: The Lions finish the season with a solid 11-3 record. In most season such a record would easily earn a team a birth in the playoffs. However the Packers are now clearly established as the class of the league and finish 2 games ahead of the Lions for the Western Conference Championship.

1963: In a scandal that rocks the NFL to its core Lions All-Pro DT Alex Karras is suspended for the entire season along with Packers RB Paul Hourning for betting on NFL Games. In Karras' absence the Lions struggle to finish 5-8-1, and in 4th Place.

1964: William Clay Ford takes over sole ownership of the Lions, by buying out his partners for $4.5 Million. During the season the Lions would finish with a 7-5-2 record in a competitive Western Conference.

1965: The Lions continue to play mediocre foot ball finishing 6th in the Western Conference with a record of 6-7-1.

1966: The Lions struggles continue as they finished tied with the worst record in the NFL's Western Conference with a record of 4-9-1. The Lions struggles were felt mostly at the Quarterback position where the Lions as a team had just 8 TD passes against 28 interceptions.

1967: Despite a 5-7-2 record, which was only good for 3rd place in the 4-team Central Division, a young Lions team shows promise as RB Mel Farr, and CB Lem Barney take home the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Years.

1968: The Lions struggles continue as they finish in last place in the Central Division with a terrible record of 4-8-2.

1969: The Lions enjoy their best season in 7 years by finishing in second place with a solid 9-4-1 record led by a stingy defense that only allowed 188 total points on the season.

1970: With a record of 10-4 the Lions, finished 2nd in the NFC Central, and qualified for the playoffs as the NFC's Wild Card. In their first trip to the postseason since 1957 the Lions are matched up against the Dallas Cowboys. The Lions defense was able to stop and frustrate the Cowboys all game long. However, the Cowboys defense was also able to frustrate the Lions. In the end the Lions would fall 5-0 in the lowest scoring game in NFL Playoff history.

1971: On October 24th the Lions season takes a sudden and tragic turn as WR Chuck Hughes suffers a heart attack during a game and dies on the field. The Lions would go on to finish the season with a respectable but disjointing 7-6-1 record.

1972: In a season in which the Lions finish 8-5-1, and miss out on the postseason again LB Wayne Walker establishes a new team record for games played at 200.

1973: The Lions continue to play mediocre football finishing in second place with a less then stellar record of 6-7-1.

1974: Prior to the start of training camp tragedy strike the Lions again as Head Coach Don McCafferty suffers a fatal heart attack. He would later be replaced by Rick Forzano, who guides the Lions to a 7-7 record in their final season at Tiger Stadium.

1975: The Lions begin a new era by playing their home games in the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan. The new stadium would offer fans a cozy, but sterile environment to watch football. In the first season indoors the Lions would once again finish with a 7-7 record.

1976: The Lions continue to thread around .500, finishing in 3rd place with a mediocre record of 6-8, despite a steady season from QB Greg Landry.

1977: The Lions struggle offensively scoring a paltry 183 points while finishing in 3rd place with a 6-8 record for the second straight season.

1978: The Lions continue to struggle with mediocrity finishing in 3rd place again with a less then stellar record of 7-9.

1979: The Lions go from bad to worse as they win just 2 games while finishing dead last in the NFL with a horrendous record of 2-14.

1980: After their miserable season, the Lions select Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims with first pick in the NFL draft. In his first season Sims sets the NFL on its ear as rushes his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year while carrying the Lions back to respectability. The Lions would improve to 9-7, and finish and miss out on a playoff birth and the NFC Central title by a tiebreaker against the Minnesota Vikings.

1981: Billy Sims continues to play solid football 1,888 total yards in offense while scoring a team high 14 touchdowns. However, the Lions could do no better then finishing in 2nd place with a mediocre 8-8 record.

1982: In a season tainted by a strike that wipes out 7 games, and reduces the NFL season to 9 games the Lions are among 8 teams that qualify for the playoffs in the NFC despite a 4-5 record. As the 8th seed the Lions are matched against the Washington Redskins in the first round. The game ends up not being much of a contest as the eventual Super Bowl Champions slaughter the Lions 31-7.

1983: With a 9-7 record the Lions are able to rise to the top of a weak NFC Central, to claim their first division championship since 1957. In the playoffs the Lions lead the San Francisco 49ers for most of the game, until 49ers K Ray Wershing deals the Lions a heart-breaking loss in the final seconds 24-23.

1984: The Lions suffer through injury and frustration during a woeful 4-11-1 season. However, the most painful news comes when RB Billy Sims suffers a career ending knee injury. In just 5 seasons Sims would set the Lions career rushing mark at 5,106.

1985: The Lions continue to roam in the desert of mediocrity as they finish in 4th place with a less than stellar record of 7-9.

1986: The struggles continue for the Lions as they finish in 3rd place with a terrible record of 5-11.

1987: The miserable play of the Lions continues as they finish in last place with an awful record of 4-11, as QB Chuck Long has an awful season with just 11 TDs compared to 20 interceptions.

1988: The Lions fail to reach 5 wins for the second straight season as they finish in 3rd place with a horrendous record of 4-12, with 2 of their wins coming against the last place Green Bay Packers as the Lions finished in 4th place.

1989: After 3 straight season in which the Lions failed to win more then 5 games the Lions try to repeat history by reviving their fortunes by picking another RB who won the Heisman in the first round. This time the RB was named Barry Sanders, and much like Billy Sims 9 years earlier Sanders takes home the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and helps the Lions to a more respectable 7-9 record.

1990: Despite another stellar season from Barry Sanders who scores 16 touchdowns the Lions take a step backward and finish in 3rd place with a disappointing record of 6-10, as they struggled to find a consistent Quarterback.

1991: With Barry Sanders clearly establishing himself as the best Rusher in the NFL, the Lions find themselves in the hunt for the postseason. On November 17th the Lions enter a game with Los Angeles Rams with a 6-4 record. The Lions would go on to win the game 21-10, but any joy from the victory was taken away when Guard Mike Utley goes down with a serve neck injury. The Lions, Rams, and fans at the Silverdome were forced to look on helpless, as Utley lay on the field unable to move. After his neck was stabilized Utley, who would wind up paralyzed muster up enough strength to lift his thumb, and tell his teammates everything would be alright. The Lions would take "Thumbs up" as a rallying call, and would win their next 6 games to claim the Central Division title with a franchise high 12 wins. In the Divisional Playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys the Lions would host their first home playoff game since 1957. Still using Mike Utley as inspiration the Lions turn a close game at halftime in to 38-6 rout as the Lions are able to win in the postseason for the first time since 1957. The win would earn the Lions a birth in the NFC Championship game. For the first time ever the Lions were 4 quarters away from the Super Bowl. However, the Lions would find them on the road in Washington a city in which they had not won since 1935. In what would be a repeat of the season's first game the Redskins would rout the Lions 41-10 to advance to on the Super Bowl in which they were victorious. Sadly the Lions are forced to deal with tragedy once again in the offseason, when Guard Eric Andolsek is killed by a dunk driver while mowing his front lawn during the off season.

1992: Coming of an inspirational 12-4 season that brought them to within 1 game of the Super Bowl the Lions were expected to once again challenge for the NFC title. However, the Lions would suffer a disappointing 5-11 season. The only bright spot of the season would come when Barry Sanders passed Billy Sims for the franchise record in rushing on November 22nd.

1993: After a disappointing season, the Lions bounce back nicely, and challenge the Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers all season for the NFC Central Title. The battle for the Division would go down to the regular season's final game, as the Lions would win their 2nd Division in 3 years with a 30-20 win over the Packers at the Silverdome. However, just 6 days later the 6th seeded Packers would return to Pontiac and stun the Lions 28-24 to advance to the 2nd Round of the Playoffs.

1994: Highlighted by a November 13th game in which he rushed for a franchise record 237 yards, Barry Sanders sets a new single season record in rushing yards with 1,883. The Lions would use this to carry them into the playoffs with a 9-7 record where they found themselves in a Wild Card round rematch with the Packers. In the game played in Green Bay's Lambeau Field Barry Sanders had a tough time getting his footing as the Packers knocked the Lions out for the 2nd year in a row 16-12.

1995: With QB Scott Mitchell setting a new franchise record in TD passes with 32, and receivers Herman Moore and Brett Perriman setting NFL record for most catches and receiving yards by teammates in a season the Lions show there is more to the team then just Barry Sanders. With a 10-6 record the Lions make the playoffs for a 3rd consecutive season. However, for the 3rd straight year they are knocked out in the Wild Card round this time it's their defense that falters them in a 58-37 loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia.

1996: Coach Wayne Fontes who always seemed on the verge of getting fired only to rally the Lions into the playoffs is finally let go after a woeful 5-11 last place finish. Despite the struggles Barry Sanders has another impressive season with 1,553 yards rushing.

1997: The Lions rebound with Barry Sanders once again leading the way, in what would end up being a career year for Sanders who becomes just the 3rd player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season with 2,053. Sanders would later be named c0-MVP, as the Lions finished 9-7 to make the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 years. However, once again the Lions could not get past the Wild Card, as the Buccaneers beat the Lions 20-10 in Tampa.

1998: Despite another outstanding season from Barry Sanders the Lions suffer through another poor season as they finish in 4th place with a record of 5-11, as their defense allows a robust 378 points.

1999: The Lions franchise is dealt another blow when Barry Sanders, fed up with losing every season, suddenly retires at the start of training camp. However thanks to some unexpected help from QB Charlie Batch the Loins would put together a solid 8-8 season, which was good enough to sneak in to the playoffs as the 6th seed in a weak NFC. In the Wild Card round in Washington, the Lions would end up not providing much of a challenge as the Redskins tamed the Lions 28-13.

2000: The Lions get off to a fast start winning 5 of their first 7. However after back to back loses head coach Bobby Ross suddenly resigns, and linebackers coach/asst. head coach Gary Moeller takes over. Under Moeller the Lions win their first 3 games, and look like a lock for the playoffs with n 8-4 record. However, the Lions would lose 3 of their final 4 games and would wind up on the outside looking in. Moeller would himself be let go after the season when new club president Matt Millen takes over and hires Marty Mornhinweg too lead the Lions into the future.

2001: The final season in the Pontiac Silverdome was one the Lions would rather forget. The Lions went through 3 Quarterbacks, and became the punch line of countless jokes as they lost their first 11 games. On December 16th rookie QB Mike McMahon finally ended the Lions season long frustrations by leading the way in a win over the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions would go on to finish with a franchise worst 14 losses. However, they were able to end the season on a positive not by winning just their 2nd game of the season on January 5th against the Dallas Cowboy to close out the Silverdome.

2002: Coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history the Lions hoped to be able to begin a new era from scratch as they opened a new stadium in downtown Detroit, with a rookie QB Joey Harrington. After losing their first 2 games on the road Harrington would make his debut as the Lions played the Green Bay Packers in the first game at Ford Field. Harrington would have a solid game as the Lions lost 37-31. Though showing typical rookie inconstancy Harrington would help lead the Lions to 3 wins their next 5 games. However, then it would fall apart as fans in Detroit called for the jobs of GM Matt Millen and Coach Marty Morhinweg. The criticism of Mornhinweg grew even louder when he chose to kickoff in overtime in a November 24th road game against the Chicago Bears. The Bears would score on their first possession as the Lions and Morhinweg became the butt of jokes again. The Lions would go on to lose their final 8 games and finish in last place with a 3-13 record. Following the season Mornhinweg would be fired as the Lions hired former San Francisco 49ers Coach Steve Mariucci, who has a solid reputation of turning young QBs into winners.

2003: The began the Steve Mariucci in style with a solid 42-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals at Ford Field, as Joey Harrington had 4 Touchdown passes. However the joy would be short lived as the Lions lost their next 6 games, as super rookie WR Charlie Rogers is lost for the season to a collarbone injury. The Lions would go on to finish the season in last place again with a 5-11 record. The Lions would play solid football all season at Ford Field but the road would be their undoing as they lost all 8 road games for the 3rd season in a row establishing a new NFL record for road futility with 24 straight losses.

2004: The Lions begin the season by ending 3 years of frustration ending their record 24-game road losing streak by beating the Chicago Bears 20-16. A week later in their home opener the Lions would improve to 2-0 with a win over the Houston Texans. After a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles the Lions would win another road game stunning the Atlanta Falcons 17-10. However that would be the highest peak the Lions would reach as they struggled the rest of the way winning just 3 more games as they posted a 6-10 record as fans began to question weather QB Joey Harrington was ever going to live up to the hype he got when the Lions drafted him. While Harrington was booed by fans, 2 rookies gave Lions fans hope RB Kevin Jones who led the team with 1,133 TD, and WR Roy Williams ho had a team high 8 Touchdowns while collecting 817 yards in receptions.

2005: The Lions started the season successfully shutting down the Green Bay Packers in a 17-3 win at Ford Field. However, it was a passing moment in another gloomy season, as the Lions were badly beaten 38-6 by the Chicago Bears in Week 2 as the Lions lost 3 of their first 5 games, before QB Joey Harrington was benched. The Lions would split their next two games with Jeff Garcia, before an injury allowed Harrington another chance to lead the Lions. However, it was becoming clearer by the minute the Lions had a megabust on their hands as the one time number two overall pick struggled again, as the Lions saw another season quickly go up in smoke. After three weeks of Joey Harrington struggling, Jeff Garcia returned as the Lions were lifeless in a 27-7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving. Fans fed up and frustrated began to call for the ouster of GM Matt Millen, as Coach Steve Mariucci was discarded like the Turkey carcass, a few later. With Interim Coach Dick Jauron leading the way the rest of the years and angry fan protest, the Lions would win just 1 of their final 7 games finishing in 3rd place with an awful 5-11 record. Following the season, Lions fans would be furious again as Millen kept his job, while Rod Marinelli was named the new head coach, as QB Joey Harrington was released.

2006: The Lions started the Rod Marinelli with a morale victory as they gave the defending NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks all they could handle and more, holding reigning NFL MVP Shaun Alexander to 51 yards rushing as they held the Seahawks out of the endzone. However, in the end the Seahawks would win the battle of field goals 9-6. The next four games would not be as satisfying as the Lions started 0-5. The Lions would finally earn their first against the Buffalo Bills 20-17. After a road loss to the New York Jets, the Lions won their second straight home game against the Atlanta Falcons, as the Lions defense bottled up Michael Vick, as Kevin Jones rushed for 110 yards with two touchdowns. However, that win would be the last for a while as they endured yet another terrible season losing their next seven games before ending the season with a win over the Dallas Cowboys as they finished 3-13 with the worst record in the NFC. Along the way the familiar refrain of "Fire Millen" filled the air, as their Thanksgiving loss to the Miami Dolphins was especially hard to swallow, as Joey Harrington returned with a chorus of boos, and led the Dolphins to a 27-10 win with three touchdown passes.

2007: General Manager Matt Millen continued to look to the receiving game in the NFL Draft as he selected Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech with the number two overall pick, a choice that was not heavily criticized because Johnson was considered by many to be the best overall player in the draft. A new confident Lions team started the season as QB Jon Kitna boldly predicted the Lions would win ten games, a prediction that seemed laughable when looking at recent seasons in Detroit. However, with Kitna leading the way the Lions actually got off to a good start winning their first two games including a dramatic 20-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings in the home opener, as Jon Kitna overcame a slight concussion to lead the winning drive that was capped by a 37-yard Field Goal from Jason Hanson. After taking their lumps in a 56-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on the road the Lions scored 34 points in the fourth quarter to stun the Chicago Bears 37-27 at Ford Field. After another ugly road loss the Lions took a step towards reaching Kitna's goal of ten wins, as they completed a stunning sweep of the Bears by winning in Solider Field 16-7. At 6-2 the Lions were sitting in strong position to reach the playoffs, but ahead was the toughest part of the schedule, and despite their solid record they would need to play better in the second half to keep it up. However, beginning with a stunning 31-21 loss to the Arizona Cardinals the Lions quickly came crashing to earth as six in a row while playing the toughest part of the schedule. The Lions would end the losing streak by beating the Kansas City Chiefs 25-20 in Week 16, but the damage had been done as the Lions with one of the league's poorest defenses finished with a losing record again at 7-9. However, while his goal of ten wins did not come true, Jon Kitna did everything he could; passing for over 4,000 yards for the second straight season.