1962 Detroit Lions season

The 1962 Detroit Lions season was the 33rd season in franchise history. In one of the best regular seasons in their history, the Lions posted an 11–3 record (), but finished two games behind the eventual NFL champion Green Bay Packers in the NFL Western Conference. It was the third straight season the Lions finished as runner-up to the Packers in the West. Entering the final weekend, Detroit was one game behind and had won seven consecutive, but were shut out 3–0 by the Chicago Bears. The Lions' three losses, all on the road, were by a total of eight points.

As conference runner-up, Detroit won their third consecutive Playoff Bowl game over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17–10. The third place game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 6, three weeks after the end of the regular season.

The Lions never trailed by more than seven points at any point in any game during the season, a feat that was not repeated for 48 years. Their 26–14 win over the Packers on Thanksgiving Day in week 11 denied defending champion Green Bay the NFL's first true perfect season. The Lions were up 26–0 in the fourth quarter before Green Bay scored two touchdowns; the Packers had won the first meeting 9–7 in the mud in Green Bay with a late field goal on October 7.

After the season, defensive coordinator Don Shula left to become the head coach for the Baltimore Colts, a position he would hold for seven years.

Offseason NFL draft Round Pick Player Position School 1 10 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 395John HadlJohn Hadl Signed with the San Diego Chargers of the American Football LeagueBackKansas

Regular season

According to the team, a total of 35,693 season tickets were sold by the Lions for the 1962 campaign.Edward M. "Bud" Erickson (ed.), Detroit Lions Facts Book 1963: Press, Radio, TV. Detroit, MI: Detroit Football Company, 1963, p. 4. The Lions played their home games in Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium), which had a regular listed seating capacity of 46,194, with an additional 7,000 bleacher seats for football to bring total capacity to 53,194.

Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 16 Pittsburgh Steelers W 45–7 1–0 Tiger Stadium 46,641 Recap 2 September 23 San Francisco 49ers W 45–24 2–0 Tiger Stadium 51,032 Recap 3 September 30 at Baltimore Colts W 29–20 3–0 Memorial Stadium 57,966 Recap 4 October 7 at Green Bay Packers L 7–9 3–1 City Stadium 38,669 Recap 5 October 14 Los Angeles Rams W 13–10 4–1 Tiger Stadium 53,714 Recap 6 October 21 at New York Giants L 14–17 4–2 Yankee Stadium 62,856 Recap 7 October 28 Chicago Bears W 11–3 5–2 Tiger Stadium 53,342 Recap 8 November 4 at Los Angeles Rams W 12–3 6–2 L.A. Memorial Coliseum 44,241 Recap 9 November 11 at San Francisco 49ers W 38–24 7–2 Kezar Stadium 43,449 Recap 10 November 18 at Minnesota Vikings W 17–6 8–2 Metropolitan Stadium 31,257 Recap 11 November 22 Green Bay Packers W 26–14 9–2 Tiger Stadium 57,598 Recap 12 December 2 Baltimore Colts W 21–14 10–2 Tiger Stadium 53,012 Recap 13 December 9 Minnesota Vikings W 37–23 11–2 Tiger Stadium 42,256 Recap 14 December 16 at Chicago Bears L 0–3 11–3 Wrigley Field 44,948 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. Thanksgiving: November 22.

Season summary Week 4 at Packers

This game provided the backdrop for the Vince Lombardi book Run to Daylight!, chronicling a typical week in the life of a pro football team. Alex Karras reportedly threw a helmet at Milt Plum in the locker room after the game for throwing the late interception that led to the Lions' defeat.

Week 11 vs. Packers

The game was dubbed the "Thanksgiving Day Massacre" thanks to the dominant performance of the Lions defense, who sacked Bart Starr 11 times. It was Green Bay's sole loss of the season; they repeated as NFL champions.

Standings

Roster 1962 Detroit Lions roster Quarterbacks 14 Earl Morrall 16 Milt Plum K

Running backs 45 Dan Lewis 33 Nick Pietrosante 23 Tom Watkins 34 Ken Webb

Wide receivers 89 Gail Cogdill 86 Tom Hall 82 Harlon Hill 25 Pat Studstill

Tight ends 80 Jim Gibbons 85 Larry Vargo Offensive linemen 79 John Gonzaga T 75 John Gordy G 77 Dan LaRose T 64 John Lomakoski T 50 Bob Scholtz T 66 Harley Sewell G 73 Paul Ward G 51 Bob Whitlow C

Defensive linemen 74 Mike Bundra DT 76 Roger Brown DT 71 Alex Karras DT 78 Darris McCord DE 84 Leo Sugar DE 88 Sam Williams DE Linebackers 57 Carl Brettschneider OLB 52 Dave Lloyd OLB 64 Max Messner OLB 56 Joe Schmidt MLB 55 Wayne Walker K/OLB

Defensive backs 81 Night Train Lane CB 28 Yale Lary FS/P 44 Dick LeBeau CB/SS 43 Gary Lowe SS 21 Bruce Maher CB Inactive 41 Terry Barr WR 20 Dick Compton RB 67 Dick Mills G

Note: rookies in italics

Playoff Bowl

The game matched the conference runners-up for third place in the league and was played three weeks after the end of the regular season (and a week after the championship game). The ten editions of the Playoff Bowl, all held at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, are now considered exhibition games by the NFL, not post-season contests. Round Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Playoff Bowl January 6, 1963 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–10 Orange Bowl 36,284 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 369

Awards and records The Lions were only the third NFL team since that never trailed by more than 7 points at any time during the season. This feat was not repeated until the Green Bay Packers did so in their Super Bowl-winning 2010 season. See especially the "Scoring Summary" section, which shows that the Packers never trailed in the game.

1962 Detroit Lions season

Bron en licentie