Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions who were formally known as the Portsmouth Spartans joined the NFL in 1930 and currently play in the NFC North Division of the National Football League (NFL). They became the Detroit Lions in the 1934 Season and in 1935 won their first honours taking the NFL western Division title and going on to win the NFL Championship beating The New York Giants 26-7.

The rest of the 1930s and 1940s are best forgotten by Lions fans, however in the 1950s, the Lions enjoyed their finest run winning four divisional titles and three league championships between 1952 and 1957 as they and the Cleveland Browns dominated American Football.  During this run they Beat the Browns in 1the 1952, 1953 &1957 finals and lost to them in 1954.

In the years since their last title in 1957, the Lions have struggled to make any meaningful impression on the playoffs despite having talented players on the roster such as such as Joe Schmidt and Dick “Night Train” Lane both Hall of Famers in 26 seasons the Lions only managed wild-card places in 1970 and 1982 and the NFC Central Division championship in 1983.

Things briefly looked a little brighter in the 1990s when the team won the Central division in 1991, going on to reach the NFC Championship game before losing to the eventual Super Bowl winners the Washington Redskins. They also won the Central Division in 1993 and made the Wild Card game on 4 more occasions including reaching it in 1999 with an 8-8 record.

In 2002, the Lions left the Pontiac Silverdome where they had played for 37 years to  a new domed stadium, Ford Field. Where they are still awaiting their first winning season having been no better than 6-10 and in 2008 suffered the ignominy of losing all their regular season games the only time this has happened in a 16 game season.

Detroit Lions Honours

NFL Champions

1935, 1952, 1953, 1957

Conference Champions

NFL National: 1952

NFL Western: 1953, 1954, 1957

Division champions

NFL West: 1935

NFC Central: 1983, 1991, 1993

Playoff appearances (14)

NFL: 1935, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1970, 1982, 1983, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999

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