Detroit Lions Legacy
Love them or hate them, the Detroit Lions are the only professional soccer franchise in the city. The team currently resides just a luxury sedan or limousine away at Ford Field, located in downtown Detroit. Here are some historical highlights of the team:
The Lions were not Detroit’s first professional football team. In 1920, the Detroit Heralds were charter members of the American Professional Soccer Association, but the franchise folded after two years. The Detroit Panthers were then formed in 1925, but that team, too, folded after two seasons. In 1928, the Detroit Wolverines were formed, but they failed after only one year. Detroit finally welcomed the Lions in 1934. The team originated in Ohio and was purchased for $7,952.08 by a group headed by Detroit radio executive George A. Richards, later moving to Motown.
The Lions played at the University of Detroit Stadium before an average crowd of 16,000. The new Detroit Lions won the NFL Championship in just their second year in 1935. Under the guidance of coach “Potsy” Clark and stars such as Hall of Famer “Dutch” Clark, Ernie Caddel, George Christensen, “Ace Gutowski,
Glenn Presnell and “Ox” Emerson, the early Lions established professional football in Detroit.
In 1940 Fred Mandel of Chicago bought the club. The team was sold eight years later to a group of local businessmen under the leadership of Edwin J. Anderson. The Detroit syndicate controlled the club until 1964, when William Clay Ford became sole owner for a price of $4.5 million…
The Lions dominated in the 1950s with four division titles and three league championships. Under head coach Buddy Parker, the team won back-to-back world crowns in 1952-53, defeating Cleveland both times. The Detroit-Cleveland battles of the time were classic matchups between two giants of the burgeoning NFL.
In 1967, Schmidt began the first of six seasons as the Lions’ head coach. His 1970 team made the playoffs (first postseason trip since 1957) but lost in the first round to Dallas by a baseball-like score of 5-0.
During the 1974 season, the Lions moved into a new domed stadium, the Silverdome, in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb 30 miles north of Detroit. It remains the largest air-supported domed structure in the world, accommodating more than 80,000 spectators under a fiberglass roof.
Monte Clark took control of all football operations as head coach in 1978. Under Clark’s guidance, the Lions narrowly missed the playoff berths in 1980-81, before qualifying in 1982, the Lions’ first appearance. in the playoffs since 1970.
Darryl Rogers replaced Clark in 1985, but was replaced on an interim basis by his defensive coordinator, Wayne Fontes, in November 1988, after Rogers’ teams posted a combined 18-40 record. Fontes was officially named the 17th head coach of the Detroit Lions on December 22, 1988.
The Lions “Restored the Roar” in 1991, winning a franchise-record 12 regular-season games. Riding a tidal wave of emotions after guard Mike Utley’s crippling neck injury, Detroit defeated Dallas, 38-6, in the Lions’ Silverdome playoff opener. The victory gave the Lions a berth in the NFC Championship Game, where they were defeated by the Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins.
The Lions went 10-6 in 1993 en route to capturing the NFC Central title, and earned a wild card playoff bid in 1994. The 1995 Lions fielded the NFL’s highest-rated offense and won their last two games. seven games to win a third straight. playoff berth.
In 1996, running back Barry Sanders captured his third NFL rushing title with a dramatic 175-yard burst on the final Monday night of the season in San Francisco.
Bobby Ross was named the 18th head coach in team history on January 13, 1997, and led the club back to the playoffs in his inaugural year in charge with a 9-7 record. That season, Sanders continued his storybook career by becoming the third player in league history to record 2,000 rushing yards in a single season (2,053) and had an NFL-record 14 consecutive 100-yard outings. to end the season.
After nine games into the 2002 season and compiling a 5-4 record, Bobby Ross abruptly resigned as head coach on November 6 and was immediately replaced by Gary Moeller. Moeller guided the team to a 4-3 record in the last seven games, but narrowly missed the playoffs with a loss to the Chicago Bears in the season finale. After the season, William Clay Ford named Matt Millen president and CEO and assumed control of team operations. On January 25, 2001, Gary Moeller was replaced as head coach by former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.
In 2002, Detroit opened Ford Field, the $500 million downtown stadium. After the two worst consecutive seasons in Lions history, the team’s front office fired Marty Mornhinweg, who went 5-27 over the two years. The Lions then hired former San Francisco 49ers head coach and Michigan native Steve Mariucci as their 22nd head coach.
During his third season in Detroit, Mariucci and his Lions maintained a 4-7 record after their Thanksgiving loss against Atlanta. Millen then released Mariucci and named defensive coordinator Dick Jauron as interim head coach. Detroit finished the season 5-11 and formed the defensive line for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers / assistant head coach Rod Marinelli was named the Lions’ 24th coach in franchise history on January 19, 2006.
