Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are an American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the NFC North of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL), and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.

Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and called the Portsmouth Spartans, the team began play in 1929 as an independent professional team, one of many such teams in the Ohio and Scioto River valleys. For the 1930 season, the Spartans formally joined the National Football League (NFL) as the other area independents folded because of the Great Depression. Despite success within the NFL, they could not survive in Portsmouth, then the NFL's smallest city. The team was purchased and moved to Detroit for the 1934 season.

The Lions have won four NFL Championships, the last in 1957, giving the club the second-longest NFL championship drought behind the Arizona Cardinals, who last won in 1947 (as the Chicago Cardinals). The Lions are one of four current NFL teams that have yet to qualify for the Super Bowl. The team has qualified for the playoffs only nine times in the more than 50 years since winning the 1957 championship.

The Lions hold the second longest regular season losing streak in NFL history; losing 19 straight games from the final week of the 2007 season and ending on September 27, 2009, when the Lions defeated the Washington Redskins 19–14. It is second only to the 1976–77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' losing streak of 26. Also since the NFL's expansion to 32 teams in 2002 the Lions are the only NFC team to not make the playoffs.

The 2008 Detroit Lions became the only team in NFL history to lose all 16 regular-season games. Ironically, their preseason record had been 4-0. They are only the second team to go winless without a tie (next to the 0–14 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers) since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. They went 2–14 in 2009. The Lions currently hold a 20 game road losing streak, the 4th longest in NFL history.

Logos and uniforms


Aside from a brief change to maroon in 1948 instituted by then head coach Bo McMillin (influenced by his years as coach at Indiana), the Lions uniforms have basically remained the same since the team debuted in 1930. The design consists of silver helmets, silver pants, and either blue or white jerseys.

There have been minor changes to the uniform design throughout the years, such as changing the silver stripe patterns on the jersey sleeves, and changing the colors of the jersey numbers. White trim was added to the logo in 1970. In 1998, the team wore blue pants with their white jerseys along with grey socks but dropped that combination after the season. In 1999, the 'TV numbers' on the sleeves were moved to the shoulders.

The shade of blue used for Lions uniforms and logos is officially known as "Honolulu blue," which is supposedly inspired by the color of the waves off the coast of Hawaii. The shade was chosen by Cy Huston, the Lions first vice president and general manager, and of the choice, he said: "They had me looking at so many blues I am blue in the face," Huston said about the selection. "But anyway, it's the kind of blue, I am told, that will match with silver."

In 1994, every NFL team wore 'throwback' jerseys, and the Lions' were similar to the jerseys used during their 1935 championship season. The helmets and pants were solid silver, the jerseys Honolulu blue with silver numbers and the jersey did not have 'TV numbers' on the sleeves. The team wore solid blue socks along with black shoes. The helmets also did not have a logo as helmets were simple leather back then. The Lions also wore '50s-style jerseys during their traditional Thanksgiving Day games from 2001 to 2004 as the NFL encouraged teams to wear throwback jerseys on Thanksgiving Day.

In 2003, the team added black trim to their logo and the jerseys. The face masks on the helmet changed from blue to black with the introduction of the new color. Additionally, an alternate home field jersey which makes black the dominant color (in place of Honolulu Blue) was introduced in 2005.

For 2008, the team dropped the black alternate jerseys in favor of a throwback uniform to commemorate the franchise's 75th anniversary. The throwback uniform became the team's permanent alternate jersey in 2009, replacing the former black alternate. The Lions officially unveiled new logo designs and uniforms on April 20, 2009. The Lion on the helmet now has a flowing mane and fangs, and the font of "Lions" is more modern.

Pro Football Hall of Famers

 * 20 Lem Barney, DB (1992)
 * 76 Lou Creekmur, G/T (1996)
 * 14 Jack Christiansen, DB (1970)
 * 7 Dutch Clark, QB (1963)
 * 35 Bill Dudley, HB (1966)
 * 72 Frank Gatski, C (1985)
 * 35 John Henry Johnson, FB (1987)
 * 81 Dick Lane, DB (1974)
 * 28 Yale Lary, DB, P (1979)
 * 22 Bobby Layne, QB (1967)
 * 44 Dick LeBeau, DB (2010)
 * 20 Barry Sanders, RB (2004)
 * 88 Charlie Sanders, TE (2007)
 * 56 Joe Schmidt, LB (1973)
 * 37 Doak Walker, HB (1986)
 * 50 Alex Wojciechowicz, C, LB (1968)

Retired numbers

 * Dutch Clark (7)
 * Barry Sanders (20)
 * Note: The #20 was retired specifically for Sanders, even though the retired number was also worn by RB Billy Sims and DB Lem Barney, both of whom are also among the top all-time Lions at their positions.
 * Bobby Layne (22)
 * Doak Walker (37)
 * Joe Schmidt (56)
 * Note: The #56 was unretired with Schmidt's blessing when the Lions acquired linebacker Pat Swilling from the Saints. No player has worn it since Swilling left.
 * Chuck Hughes (85)
 * Note: Hughes died of a heart attack during a game on October 24, 1971, and his #85 was withdrawn from circulation. However, WR Kevin Johnson wore #85 during his stint in Detroit after asking permission from the Hughes family as he had worn that number throughout his professional career.

Temporary

 * Corey Smith (93) - The Lions retired #93 for the 2009 season after Smith went missing, presumed dead, when a boat he was fishing in with friends capsized off the Florida coast. The Lions also wore 93 stickers on their helmets that season. Number 93 was assigned to Kyle Vanden Bosch in 2010.

Lions Legends
The Lions have a special "program" called Lions Legends that honors noteworthy former players. The current list of legends includes not only the hall of famers listed above, but also the following players, who according to the Lions, "...Created special moments and added to the lore of football in the Motor City.":
 * Charley Ane, C/T
 * Al Baker, DE
 * Jerry Ball, DT
 * Terry Barr, WR/DB
 * Les Bingaman, DT
 * Bennie Blades, S
 * Cloyce Box, RB/TE/QB
 * Lomas Brown, T
 * Dexter Bussey, RB
 * Gail Cogdill, E
 * James David, DB
 * Keith Dorney, T/G
 * Doug English, DT
 * Jim Gibbons, TE
 * Kevin Glover, C/G
 * Mel Gray, WR/KR
 * Robert Hoernschemeyer, RB
 * James Hunter, DB
 * Alex Karras, DT
 * Greg Landry, QB
 * Dick LeBeau, DB
 * Mike Lucci, LB
 * Darris McCord, DE
 * Scott Mitchell, QB
 * Herman Moore, WR
 * Eddie Murray, K
 * Brett Perriman, WR
 * Rodney Peete, QB
 * Tobin Rote, QB
 * Barry Sanders, RB
 * Harley Sewell, G
 * Billy Sims, RB
 * Chris Spielman, LB
 * Wayne Walker, LB

Radio
The Lions' flagship radio stations are WXYT-FM, 97.1 FM, and WXYT-AM, 1270 AM. Dan Miller does play-by-play, Jim Brandstatter does color commentary, and Tony Ortiz provides sideline reports. If a conflict with Detroit Tigers or Detroit Red Wings coverage arises, only WXYT-FM serves as the Lions' flagship. The Lions and WXYT AM/FM renewed their partnership for three more seasons on October 9, 2009.

Preseason
Since 2008, WWJ-TV has been the flagship television station for Lions pre-season games. The announcers are Matt Shepard on play-by-play and Rob Rubick with color commentary. Steve Courtney and Lions Hall of Famer Charlie Sanders host the pre-game show and halftime show and provide sideline reports.

Regular season
Regular season games are broadcasted regionally on Fox, except when the Lions play an AFC team in Detroit, in which case the game airs regionally on CBS. The Thanksgiving Classic game in Detroit is always televised nationally on either Fox or CBS, depending on who the visiting team is.

The Lions' official regular season show of record is The Ford Lions Report.

For regular season games vs NFC opponents when Fox doesn't have a double header, WJBK produces a live postgame show.

Blackouts
The Lions' winless performance in 2008 led to several local broadcast blackouts, as local fans did not purchase enough tickets by the 72 hour blackout deadline. In 2008, five of the Lions' final six home games of the season did not sell out, with the Thanksgiving game being the exception. The first blackout in the 7 year history of Ford Field was the October 26, 2008 game vs the Washington Redskins. The previous 50 regular season home games had been sellouts. The second home game of the 2009 season in which the Lions broke the losing streak (also against the Washington Redskins) was blacked out locally, as well as the come from behind victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Games were also often blacked out at the Lions' previous home the 80,000 seat Pontiac Silverdome, despite the success and popularity of Barry Sanders.