50 Fun Facts About Detroit Lions

The Lions franchise began in which Ohio town, as the Spartans?

The Spartans joined the NFL in 1930 and were bought and moved to Detroit four years later.

The team was renamed the Lions in 1934 as a nod to which other Detroit club?

The idea was that the lion is the king of the jungle and the tiger the king of the baseball diamond.

What was unusual about the field for the 1932 Spartans–Bears playoff, played indoors at Chicago Stadium?

The Bears won 9-0, and the game led the NFL to create divisions, a championship game and hash marks.

George A. Richards, who bought the Spartans in 1934 and moved them to Detroit, made his money in what business?

He owned WJR and paid about $8,000 for the team, then used his network connections to put its Thanksgiving game on the air.

The Lions' first Thanksgiving Day game, in 1934, was a 19-16 loss to which team?

The owner staged it as a gimmick to sell tickets; the Lions have hosted every Thanksgiving since except 1939 to 1944.

For which years did World War II interrupt the Lions' Thanksgiving tradition?

The Cowboys joined them as a permanent Thanksgiving host in 1966, and a third night game was added in 2006.

The Lions' shade of blue is officially named after which place?

It is meant to evoke the colour of the waves off the Hawaiian coast, paired with silver.

How many NFL championships did the Lions win between 1935 and 1957?

1935, 1952, 1953 and 1957; the 1957 title game was a 59-14 rout of the Browns.

Which quarterback led the Lions to their titles in 1952, 1953 and 1957?

The Texan famously played without a facemask; Sports Illustrated called him the toughest quarterback who ever lived.

According to legend, what did the 1950s quarterback say when the Lions traded him to Pittsburgh in 1958?

The "Curse of Bobby Layne" seemed real enough: the franchise did not win a playoff game until 1991.

The Lions are the only franchise from the whole modern championship era never to have done what?

They reached the NFC Championship Game in 1991 and 2023 and lost both.

William Clay Ford Sr. bought control of the Lions on what notable date in 1963?

He paid $6 million; the Ford family, led since 2020 by his daughter Sheila Ford Hamp, has owned the team ever since.

Who took over as the Lions' principal owner in 2020?

She took over from her mother, Martha, and hired Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell within a year.

Which Lions receiver died of a heart attack on the field during a 1971 game?

He remains the only NFL player to die during a game.

The Lions played their home games from 1975 to 2001 in which suburban stadium?

Its air-supported roof was the first of its kind and it seated more than 80,000, the biggest in the NFL for years.

Which title game was played at the Silverdome in January 1982, with the 49ers beating the Bengals?

The building later hosted indoor World Cup matches and a papal Mass for 93,682.

The 1991 Lions won their first playoff game since 1957 by beating which team 38-6?

Washington then crushed them 41-10 in the NFC title game; the team had rallied around Mike Utley's thumbs-up after his paralysing injury.

The Lions' third overall pick in 1989, a Heisman-winning running back, came from which college?

Barry Sanders went on to rush for 1,000 yards in all ten of his NFL seasons.

How did the Lions' star running back announce his retirement in July 1999?

Barry Sanders faxed the Wichita Eagle; he walked away 1,457 yards short of Walter Payton's career record.

How many yards did the Lions' running back rush for in his 1997 MVP season?

Barry Sanders was only the third back to pass 2,000, and finished his career with 15,269 yards.

The Lions' 2008 team was the first in NFL history to finish with what record?

They had gone 4-0 in the preseason; Matt Millen was fired in September and coach Rod Marinelli after the finale.

Which Lions quarterback ran out of the back of his own end zone for a safety against Minnesota in 2008?

The play became the enduring image of a season that only the 2017 Browns have matched.

Calvin Johnson's 2012 season set an NFL single-season record with how many receiving yards?

The old mark was Jerry Rice's 1,848; "Megatron" retired at 30 in 2016 and made the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

Who gave Calvin Johnson the nickname "Megatron"?

The comparison was to the Transformers villain and Johnson's enormous hands.

The 2010 'Calvin Johnson rule' on catches came from a season opener against which team?

His apparent game-winning touchdown was ruled incomplete because he let go of the ball while getting up.

Matthew Stafford, the Lions' first overall pick in 2009, came from which college?

He threw for more than 5,000 yards in 2011 but never won a playoff game in Detroit.

In 2021 the Lions traded Matthew Stafford to which team in exchange for Jared Goff and draft picks?

Stafford won the Super Bowl in his first year there; Goff beat him in a playoff game two seasons later.

What did Dan Campbell promise to do to opponents at his introductory press conference in January 2021?

The former tight end had played for the Lions himself; he was hired on January 20, 2021.

The Lions' 2023 NFC North title was their first division crown since which year?

It was also their first ever in the NFC North, which was only formed in 2002.

The Lions' first playoff win since 1991 came in January 2024, 24-23, over which team?

The visitors were quarterbacked by Matthew Stafford; Detroit then beat Tampa Bay before losing the NFC title game.

The Lions led by how much at half-time before losing the 2023 NFC Championship Game 34-31?

Two failed fourth-down attempts in the second half became the story of the night.

What was the Lions' record in 2024, the best in franchise history?

They led the league with 564 points and earned the NFC's number one seed for the first time.

The top-seeded 2024 Lions were upset 45-31 in the divisional round by which team?

Both coordinators then left for head-coaching jobs: Ben Johnson to the Bears and Aaron Glenn to the Jets.

Which Lions running back scored a franchise-record 20 touchdowns in 2024?

He shared the backfield with David Montgomery in the "Sonic and Knuckles" pairing.

In a 2024 game against Seattle, Jared Goff did what for the first time in NFL history?

The 18-for-18 night went for 292 yards and two scores; he had signed a $212 million extension that May.

Amon-Ra St. Brown was drafted by the Lions in which round?

The 112th pick out of USC became a two-time All-Pro; his father was a two-time amateur Mr. Universe.

Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions' second overall pick in 2022, played his college football where?

The Plymouth, Michigan native was Heisman runner-up in 2021 and broke his leg against Dallas in October 2024.

Ford Field, opened in 2002, incorporates which historic downtown building into its structure?

The field sits 45 feet below street level and the stadium hosted Super Bowl XL in 2006.

Which two teams met in the February 2006 championship game hosted at Ford Field?

Pittsburgh won 21-10; the building later held the 2009 Final Four and a record WrestleMania crowd.

What is the name of the Lions' costumed mascot?

The team's fan slogan is "One Pride".

After the 15-2 season, how did the 2025 Lions finish?

They started 7-4 and won just two of their last six, with a six-turnover Christmas loss to Minnesota sealing it.

The Lions' first NFL championship, in 1935, was a 26-7 win over which team?

It came just one year after the move from Portsmouth, with Dutch Clark, whose number 7 was the first the team retired.

Which coach switched the Lions to scarlet and black uniforms from 1948 to 1950?

The colours were a nod to his years coaching Indiana; the team's blue and silver has otherwise stayed since 1934.

Who chose the Lions' blue and silver colours in 1934, according to a surviving 1934 player?

Owner George A. Richards offered combinations including red and white and orange and black; the Presnells liked blue and silver best.

In 2017 the Lions removed which colour entirely from their team identity?

Black trim had been added in 2003; a black 'Motor City Muscle' alternate returned in 2024 after Dan Campbell lobbied for it.

What do the initials 'WCF' on the Lions' uniform commemorate?

Ford owned the team from 1963 until his death in 2014; the tribute moved from a breast patch to the sleeve and then to a helmet decal.

Which network agreed in 1934 to carry the Lions' Thanksgiving game live on all its stations?

Owner George A. Richards also owned Detroit's WJR, a major NBC Blue Network affiliate, which helped him make the deal.

Why did the Lions retire No. 93 for the 2009 season only?

Smith disappeared, presumed dead, when a fishing boat capsized off Florida; the Lions wore 93 helmet decals and reissued the number in 2010.

Which team did the Lions face in four NFL Championship Games during the 1950s?

Detroit won three of the four; from 2002 to 2014 the pair met in an annual preseason 'Great Lakes Classic'.

In 2016 the Lions added an official cheerleading squad for the first time in how long?

Rebecca Girard-Smoker, formerly director of the Pistons dance team, was hired to coach the new squad.