The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team plays their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.
Barry David Sanders is an American former football running back who played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and in rushing touchdowns once, establishing himself as one of the most elusive runners in the history of the NFL with his quickness and agility, despite being only 5 ft 8 in tall and weighing 203 lbs. Sanders played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. As a junior in 1988, he compiled what is widely considered the greatest individual season by a running back in college football history, rushing for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns in 11 games. He won the Heisman Trophy and was unanimously recognized as an All-American.
The professional American football team now known as the Detroit Lions previously played in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans, from its founding in 1928 to its relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct independent professional and semi-professional teams, they joined the fledgling National Football League in 1930. Their home stadium was Universal Stadium.
Michael George Holmgren is an American former football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, where they won Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV. He served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 1998, where he won Super Bowl XXXI, and of the Seattle Seahawks from 1999 to 2008. His last role in the NFL was as team president of the Cleveland Browns from 2010 to 2012. Prior to his career in the NFL, Holmgren coached football at the high school and collegiate levels.
Jason Hanson is an American former professional football placekicker who spent his entire 21-year career with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football with the Washington State Cougars, he was selected by the Lions in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft with the 56th overall pick. Hanson holds the NFL record for the most seasons played with one team and also holds multiple kicking and scoring records. Due to his longevity and statistical success, even on many non-playoff teams, Hanson is often cited as one of the most-loved players in Detroit Lions franchise history.
Wayne Fontes is a former American football coach and college and professional football player who was the head coach of the National Football League (NFL)'s Detroit Lions from 1988 to 1996. His 67 wins and 71 losses are each the most for a head coach in team history.
Raymond Klein "Buddy" Parker was an American football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL), who served as head coach for the Chicago Cardinals, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Earl Harry "Dutch" Clark, sometimes also known as the "Flying Dutchman" and the "Old Master", was an American football player and coach, basketball player and coach, and university athletic director. He gained his greatest acclaim as a football player and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame with its inaugural class in 1951 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame with its inaugural class in 1963. He was also named in 1969 to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team and was the first player to have his jersey retired by the Detroit Lions.
Sidney P. Wagner was an American college and professional football player who was a lineman for the Michigan State Spartans football team of Michigan State University and the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Wagner was a consensus All-American in 1935.
The 1935 NFL Championship game was the third National Football League (NFL) title game, held on December 15 at University of Detroit Stadium in Detroit, Michigan. The 1935 champion of the Western Division was the Detroit Lions (7–3–2) and the champion of the Eastern Division was the New York Giants (9–3).
The 1957 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 24th as the Detroit Lions. Under first-year head coach George Wilson, the Lions won their fourth and most recent NFL title.
The 2001 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 72nd season in the National Football League (NFL). Marty Mornhinweg was named the 21st head coach in franchise history on January 21, 2001, after owner William Clay Ford, Sr. controversially fired 2000 interim coach Gary Moeller.
George M. "Potsy" Clark was an American football and baseball player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Michigan Agricultural College, now Michigan State University, (1920), the University of Kansas (1921–1925), Butler University (1927–1929), and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, compiling a career college football record of 40–45–7. Clark was also the head coach of the National Football League's Portsmouth Spartans/Detroit Lions and Brooklyn Dodgers (1937–1938), amassing a career NFL mark of 64–42–12. Clark's 1935 Detroit Lions team won the NFL Championship. From 1945 to 1953, Clark served as the athletic director at Nebraska.
