Detroit Lions History: 75 Years of Ups and Downs

The Portsmouth Spartans began playing in 1930 and hosted the NFL's first ever night game when they defeated the Newark Tornadoes 13-6. Running backs Earl Clarke and and Greg Presnell highlighted their second season, and were the key cogs to the team's 12-2 record.

For two more seasons, the Spartans would be a top team in the NFL, before a man named Dick Richards bought the team and moved them to the city of Detroit, Michigan. (For those who actually care, their final game in Portsmouth was a 7-17 loss to the Chicago Bears).

God Bless Richards.

Not only because he must've been born Richard Richards and could've gone by Dick Dick, but because he single-handedly created the Detroit Lions franchise. I believe the rest of the NFL must love him as well.

Over the past 75 years, the Detroit Lions have had their ups and (most often) their downs. Whether it be the losing, the failing coaches, or the Matt Millenness, us Lions fans have always found a reason in which to make an excuse of why the team is not up to standard as we still watch every single game.

The proof? Ford Field opened in 2002 and the Lions have sold out every home game, all while compiling a stellar 29-67 record over that span.

I blame most of this on President and CEO Matt Millen, due to the fact that he has drafted future Hall of Famers Joey Harrington, Charles Rogers, and Mike Williams. Millen has also referred to players on opposing teams with homosexual slurs and failed to interview a minority head coach during the Steve Mariucci hiring process.

I might be the truest football fan I know. I constantly proclaim their greatness prior to each season, watch every game, and have developed man-crushes on WRs Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson.

Why? Because the road taken over the past 75 years is one full of history. 

The Lions have played on Thanksgiving Day every year since 1934. The only years the Lions haven't hosted a game on "The Giving" were the years of World War II, when most of the roster was drafted to save Europe. The Dallas Cowboys are the only other franchise to have been given the annual privilege, beginning with the 1966 Turkey Day.

The Lions have had various NFL legends with the most notable being Barry Sanders. Arguably the greatest running back to ever play the game, Sanders' career eclipsed ten seasons and he gained an unbelievable 15,269 yards in that span. Sanders also averaged 5.0 yards per carry, second only to Jim Brown's untouchable total of 6.0 ypc. Sanders was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004 and got to wear the puke-colored jacket all inductees wear.

Those runners who came before Sanders were also great. Bill Dudley was enshrined into Canton in 1966, John Johnson in 1987, and Doak Walker in 1986. Not in the Hall of Fame but apart of the greatness was Billy Simms, who came just before Sanders and whose career was cut short by injury.

The winningest Lions coach in history is Wayne Fontes with 66 career wins. Fontes also won two divisional titles in the 1990s, making his 66 wins seem more respectable. Fontes and his windbreakers were a sight to behold as he was the Lions coach during most of the 1990s before he and his staff were fired unceremoniously in 1996.

The Lions franchise has had one playoff victory since 1957: a 38-6 obliteration of the Dallas Cowboys in 1991. This total is what people of the NFL and media call "pathetic" and is a stat that basically sums up the Lions for a friend in Pakistan or Slovenia who has never heard of the franchise.

Matt Millen has almost single-handedly driven the franchise into the ground after being hired by the apparently incredibly football-savvy Ford family. Millen has been a disaster, compiling a 31-81 record since 2001 and hiring such gems of coaches as Marty Mornhinweg (awful), and Steve Mariucci (pardon me while I discard my dinner violently).

Millen has been honored with various anti-Millen showings as fans wear bags over their heads at games and protest his apparent lack of front office sense with picketing outside of Ford Field. "Fire Millen" signs are an object of regularity in Detroit and even opposing teams have caught on.

So, the 75th year anniversary is rapidly coming upon us with a team that has a chance to earn its first playoff berth since 1999. Current head coach Rod Marinelli is a no-nonsense, football comes first coach. Williams and Johnson are the known studs, and QB Jon Kitna is a tough-nosed hardworking player (plus he prays a lot...always a positive sign).

So, with the last 3/4 of a century full of Lions football, both negatively and positively, no matter what happens, us life-long fans will be watching while others wonder why in the hell we do.