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A Brief History of the Detroit Lions

    The Detroit Lions joined the NFL in 1930. Originally (starting in 1929), the team played in Portsmouth, Ohio as the Portsmouth Spartans; playing their home games at Universal Stadium. Poor gate sales and the Great Depression forced the team to move from Portsmouth to Detroit. Once in Detroit, they changed the team nickname to the Lions. The Lions split their home games between the University of Detroit Stadium and Tiger Stadium. That same season, Detroit hosted the first ever Thanksgiving Day Game, a tradition that continues today.

    In 1935, the Detroit Lions won their first NFL Championship by beating the New York Giants 26-7 at the University of Detroit Stadium. In 1937, the Lions began playing their home games at Tiger Stadium only and remained there until 1975. The Lions won only 35 games during the 1940s including a 0-11 season in 1942. In 1943, the Detroit Lions and New York Giants played to a 0-0 tie, the last time an NFL game ended scoreless.

    Under the leadership of QB Bobby Layne, The Detroit Lions were an elite team during the 1950's, winning three NFL Championships. In 1952 and in 1953 the Lions beat the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship game, 17-7 in 1952 and 17-16 in 1953. In 1954, it was Cleveland's turn as they beat the Lions in the Championship game 56-10. In 1957, the Lions were once again playing against the Cleveland Browns for the NFL Championship. The Lions won their fourth and last NFL Championship 59-14 over the Browns.

    The Lions were a force in the early 1960's but were bridesmaids to the new kings of the NFL, the Green Bay Packers. In 1964, William Clay Ford, Sr. purchased a controlling interest in the Lions and the Ford family has owned the Lions ever since. The Lions failed to win a division title during both decades of the 1960's and 1970's. They made only one playoff appearance during that time when they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 5-0 in 1970.

    In 1982, under head coach, Monte Clark, the Detroit Lions made their first playoff appearance since 1957. In 1982, they won their division for the first time in 25 years. Despite their successful seasons in 1982 and 1983, they failed to win a single playoff game. For the remainder of the 1980's, the Lions never finished better than third in their division. In 1991, the Detroit Lions had their best season since 1957. They won their division with a 12-4 record and beat the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs, their first playoff win since the 1957 NFL Championship. Head Coach Wayne Fontes led the Lions to four playoff appearances in 5 seasons, their longest string of success since the 1950s. Bobby Ross took over the head coaching duties in 1997 and led the Lions to two more playoffs in 4 seasons. The Lions appeared in the playoffs 6 times during the 1990s but only won one playoff game.

    The early years of the 2000's have not been kind to the Lions. They have not finished better then third in their division for the first half of the decade and have had five different head coaches in 5 seasons. The Lions finished 9-7 in 2000, but won only 21 games in the five following seasons; including a 5-11 record in 2005. For 2006, the Lions brought in a new head coach, Rod Marinelli and veteran QB Jon Kitna; finishing with a 3-13 record. In 2007, the Lions won six of their first eight games; however, they finished the season with a 7-9 record. So, get your Detroit Lions tickets today and see if this team can not only make more improvements, but also go all the way and lose the title "One of six NFL teams never in a Super Bowl".