The 1942 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 13th season in the National Football League. The Lions suffered the first winless season since Cincinnati went 0–8 in 1934.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 301 This was the first NFL season during U.S. involvement in World War II, which led to player shortages, and thus a depletion of talent. The Lions were hit especially hard by the loss of star halfback Byron “Whizzer” White and tackle Tony Furst.Barnas, Jo-Ann; ‘Missing Their Engine Parts: War Machine Hampered the 1942 Lions, Who Went 0–11’; The Washington Post, December 9, 2001, p. D1A Head coach Bill Edwards was sacked after three games, but the decision had no effect on the Lions’ fortunes.

While there were talks of suspending play, it was ultimately decided to allow all professional sports to continue as morale boosters on the home front. It would remain the only winless season for the Lions until 2008.

Offseason NFL Draft

Regular season Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 20 at Chicago Cardinals L 0–13 0–1 Comiskey Park 18,698 Recap 2 September 27 Cleveland Rams L 0–14 0–2 Briggs Stadium Recap 3 October 4 Brooklyn Dodgers L 7–28 0–3 Briggs Stadium Recap 4 October 11 at Green Bay Packers L 7–38 0–4 State Fair Park Recap 5 October 18 Chicago Cardinals L 0–7 0–5 Briggs Stadium Recap 6 October 25 Green Bay Packers L 7–28 0–6 Briggs Stadium Recap 7 November 1 at Chicago Bears L 0–16 0–7 Wrigley Field Recap 8 November 8 Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–35 0–8 Briggs Stadium Recap 9 November 15 at Cleveland Rams L 7–27 0–9 League Park Recap 10 November 22 Chicago Bears L 0–42 0–10 Briggs Stadium Recap 11 November 29 Washington Redskins L 3–15 0–11 Briggs Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. September 20: Night game.

Standings

Roster 1942 Detroit Lions final roster Backs 11 Emil Banjavic RB/CB/P 25 Bill Callihan RB/S 10 Lloyd Cardwell RB/CB 46 Tommy Colella RB/CB/P 23 Murray Evans RB/S 31 Frank Grigonis FB/LB 34 Elmer Hackney FB/LB 14 Johnny Hall RB/CB 44 Harry Hopp RB/CB 12 Ned Mathews RB/CB 42 Mickey Sanzotta FB/LB 33 Harry Seltzer FB/LB 40 Chet Wetterlund RB/CB/P Linemen/Linebackers 51 Sloko Gill C/LB 72 Hank Goodman T/DT 66 Bill Kennedy G/DG 61 Augie Lio G/DG/K 71 Ted Pavelec G/DG 60 Larry Sartori G/DG 52 John Schiechl C/LB 73 George Speth T/DT 75 Emil Uremovich T/DT 68 Socko Wiethe G/DG Ends/Receivers 85 Charlie Behan 80 Bill Fisk 88 Larry Knorr 82 Perry Scott 81 Joe Stringfellow 22 Paul Szakash 50 Alex Wojciechowicz C/LB

Reserve 52 Tony Arena LB/C (inactive) Stan Batinski G/DG (Military) Dave Diehl E (inactive) Tony Furst T/DT (Military) 32 John Polanski FB/LB (Military) Stillman Rouse E (Military) 79 Alex Schibanoff T/DT (Military) 65 Tony Zuzzio G/DG (Military)

rookies in italics

Awards and records

Most giveaways, single game: 12 (vs. Chicago Bears)

References

External links 1942 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1942 Detroit Lions at JT-SW.com 1942 Detroit Lions at The Football Database