Detroit Lions are a professional football team that plays in the National Football League (NFL) . The team competes in the North Division of the National Football Conference. The Lions play their home games at Ford Field in downtown Detroit.
The team entered the National Football League in 1930 as the Portsmouth, Ohio, Spartans. The team moved to Detroit and was renamed the Lions in 1934. The Lions won the NFL championship in 1935. They dominated the NFL during the early 1950’s. Detroit won the NFL championship in 1952, 1953, and 1957.
The Lions made the playoffs only once from 1957 to 1982. In the 1990’s, Detroit made the playoffs six times. The Lions struggled from 2001 to 2010, going 39-121 during that 10-year span. In 2008, the Lions became the first NFL team to lose all 16 of their regular season games.
Detroit Lions legends have included cornerback Lem Barney (1967-1977), quarterback and running back Earl (Dutch) Clark (1931, 1932, and 1934-1938), defensive tackle Alex Karras (1958-1970), quarterback Bobby Layne (1950-1958), wide receiver Herman Moore (1991-2001), running back Barry Sanders (1989-1998), tight end Charlie Sanders (1968-1977), and linebacker Joe Schmidt (1953-1965, and Lions head coach 1967-1972). Recent stars have included wide receiver Calvin Johnson, center Dominic Raiola, quarterback Matthew Stafford, and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
