When the Lions first roared
Author: Mary J. Wallace
Original Publication Date: January/February 2006
"A gathering of some 15,000 hardy souls, huddled and
blanketed in the uncovered stands of the University of Detroit Stadium, saw
the Lions lash a bewildered New York eleven before them as though part of
the storm, and win by a score of 26 to 7," wrote reporter John Drebinger of
The New York Times after the Detroit Lions defeated the defending champion,
New York Giants, for their first National Football League title in 1935.
With Super Bowl XL coming into Detroit in February 2006,
the people of Michigan are paying more attention to the National Football
League (NFL). Naturally, thoughts go to the state's own NFL team, the
Detroit Lions. With so many other outstanding professional sports teams in
the state winning national titles in the recent past, the Lion's history of
greatness is often forgotten. The Lions dominated national football in the
1950s, with three titles in that decade alone. They had their best record of
12-4 as recently as 1991, and have appeared in the playoffs nine times since
the 1950s. Future Hall of Famers like Bill Dudley, Dick Lane, Alex
Wojciechowicz, Lem Barney and Barry Sanders all showed their own greatness
to create some exciting football even during the lean years. Perhaps the
Lions' finest achievement, though, came only one year after coming to
Detroit, when they took the National Football League title in 1935.
The NFL in Detroit did not begin with the Lions. In 1920
the Detroit Heralds was one of the charter thirteen teams in the American
Professional Football Association, later renamed the National Football
League (NFL). After two years, the Heralds went bust. In 1925 the Detroit
Panthers were formed but also folded after two years. They were replaced by
the Detroit Wolverines, who began playing in 1928, but only lasted one year.
In 1934, Detroit gained an NFL team with some sticking
power. That was the year when the NFL's Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartan team was
purchased by a group of men headed by WJR radio executive George Richards
and moved to Detroit.
Led by quarterback Earl "Dutch" Clark, who was lured
away from a higher-paying coaching job in Colorado, Detroit's first season
was exciting. The Lions won their first ten straight games and did not allow
a single point in the first seven games.
The Lions signed a two-year lease agreeing to play their
games at the University of Detroit's Dinan Field. Ticket prices ranged from
40 cents to $2.00. The Lions played their first game in front of a crowd of
12,000 on September 23, 1934. They beat the New York Giants by a score of
9-0. The Lions suffered their first loss November 25 in a game against the
Green Bay Packers with a score of 3-0.
In that first year, team owner George Richards took a
chance and scheduled the Lions to play the Chicago Bears in Detroit on
Thanksgiving Day. Detroiters showed their devotion to their new football
team by filling U of D stadium to beyond capacity (26,000). The country
became interested in Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day football when that game
was broadcast on the radio to 94 stations nationwide. The enthusiasm i
generated by that Lions game helped launch a Detroit foot ball Thanksgiving
Day tradition that continues to this day. The Lions finished the 1934 season
with a 10-3 record and a desire to prove themselves the following season.
After winning the Western Division in 1935, they hosted
the NFL championship game, which was played on December 15. It was a cold
and windy day, with lots of rain, sleet and snow. But the miserable
conditions did not stop 15,000 fans from turning out to watch their team
play the New York Giants, the defending champions.
Within the first three minutes of the game, the Lions
executed two big passing plays in a drive that ended in their first
touchdown. The Giants, who were known for their passing game, were crippled
in the first quarter when their best receiver, Tad Goodwin, left the game
with two broken ribs. The Giant's only score came in the third quarter on an
11-yard pass reception and a 30-yard run by Ken Strong. The Lions dominated
the rest of the game, winning by a score of 26-7, gaining 235 yards rushing
and 68 yards passing along the way.
Those first two years of the Detroit Lions not only
served to show the NFL that Detroit was worthy of professional football, but
they established the type of thick-skinned, hardy fan base that has lasted
through the generations and is still one of the strongest assets the Lions
have today.
MARY J. WALLACE is an audiovisual archivist at the
Walter P. Reuther Library in Detroit.
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