Meet the Lions T here is an old saying in football that defense wins be true Great defense is what makes them stand up and cheer their loudest That says a lot because the Lions have had some great runners passers and receivers over the years championships Fans of the Detroit Lions know this to The truth is that winning football games takes a full team effort For more than 75 seasons the Lions have been putting talented players on the field When they work together as one the results have been amazing This book tells the story of the Lions They are similar to the animal they’re named after The Lions are a family and they work as a team Every year their goal is to become the kings of the National Football League NFL If their opponents lose focus for just an instant they had better look out the Lions will make a meal of them Quarterback Matthew Stafford has words of advice for his favorite target Calvin Johnson The Lions have had many great passers and receivers over the years 5
Glory Days I n the early days of professional football many of the best teams weren’t part of the NFL Instead they were based in small cities where they were the only game in town for sports fans The Portsmouth Spartans were just such a team They played in southern Ohio near the borders of Kentucky and West Virginia The Spartans were very good so good in fact that they were invited to join the NFL in 1930 The Spartans nearly won the league championship in 1931 and 1932 They were one of the NFL’s toughest teams Coach Potsy Clark once decided he would use the same 11 players for all 60 minutes of a game against the Green Bay Packers The Spartans won 19 0 The Packers had been the NFL champions the year before Portsmouth had a running attack that was almost unstoppable Linemen Ox Emerson and George Christensen opened up holes for 6
running backs Dutch Clark Glenn Presnell and Ace Gutowsky Unfortunately for the people of Portsmouth the Great Depression hit their city hard In 1934 when fans could no longer afford to support the team the Spartans moved to Detroit Michigan and became the Lions A year later they won the NFL championship The Lions built a dangerous offense during the 1930s and 1940s Their stars included Ernie Caddel Byron Whizzer White Frank Sinkwich and Bill Dudley However it was not until the 1950s when the team’s defense became dominant that the Lions returned to the top of the NFL Detroit played for the NFL championship four times during the decade and won the title three times The defense starred Joe Schmidt Les Bingaman Jim David Yale Lary and Jack Christiansen The Lions of this era often looked to quarterback Bobby Layne for leadership As long as there was time on the clock his teammates believed he could guide them to victory Layne got help from dynamic players such as Doak Walker Cloyce Box Hopalong Cassady Bob Hoernschemeyer Leon Hart and Lou Creekmur LEFT Ernie Caddel ABOVE Bobby Layne 7
