Welcome to Sports History, a new section on CatchMark SportsNet where we look back at the teams, athletes, and moments that shaped the games we love. For our first feature, we’re diving into the story of the Detroit Lions — a franchise defined by early championships, decades of heartbreak, and a resurgence that has the city buzzing like never before.
1930 – 1935: The Portsmouth Spartans, A Big Rebrand and the First Championship
The Lions weren’t always in Detroit. They began in 1930 as the Portsmouth Spartans, a small-town team with big ambition. Just a few years later, the team moved to Detroit, taking on the name Lions to match the city’s baseball team, the Tigers. The move was a success. In 1935, Detroit won its first NFL Championship, beating the New York Giants.
1950 – 1960: Glory Years
The 1950s stand as the Lions’ golden age. With Bobby Layne and Doak Walker leading the way, Detroit became a powerhouse.
1957: A 59–14 demolition of the Browns gave Detroit its last championship.
1952: NFL Champions over Cleveland.
1953: Back-to-back title, again over Cleveland.
Now, something we have to mention is the curse of Bobby Layne. Bobby Layne was the fiery quarterback who led the Lions to three NFL championships in the 1950s (1952, 1953, and 1957). He was tough, clutch, and beloved in Detroit — the face of their golden era. Randomly, in 1958, just two games into the season, the Lions shocked the football world by trading Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Layne was furious. According to legend, he declared that Detroit “wouldn’t win for 50 years.”
That offhand comment became known as The Curse of Bobby Layne. Whether he said it exactly that way is debated, but the timing couldn’t have been worse for Lions fans. After Layne’s departure:
The Lions never returned to the NFL Championship Game.
They went through decades of losing seasons, bad trades, and crushing playoff defeats.
For much of that stretch, they were considered one of the NFL’s most snakebitten franchises.
1960s–1970s: Struggles and Near Misses
After the 50s, the wins slowed down. Detroit still had stars like Alex Karras, Lem Barney, and Dick “Night Train” Lane, but the success never matched the talent. The 1970 team went 10–4 and looked like a contender, but their playoff game ended in a 5–0 loss to Dallas — one of the strangest scores in NFL history. That summed up a lot of Lions football in the years to come. Close, but not enough.
1989 – 1999: The Barry Sanders Years
The Lions finally had a spark again in 1989 when they drafted Barry Sanders. He was electric, maybe the most exciting player the league, and, definitely Detroit at the time, has ever seen. Every game he played felt like a highlight reel. In 1991, Detroit rode Sanders to a 12–4 record and a playoff win over Dallas, their first in decades. They reached the NFC Championship but were blown out by Washington. Still, Sanders kept them relevant all through the 90s. In 1997, he rushed for over 2,000 yards and won league MVP. But even with him, the Lions could never break through in the playoffs. Then in 1999, Sanders suddenly retired at just 30 years old, leaving fans shocked and frustrated.
2000 – 2009: The Lowest of Lows
The 2000s were tough. The Lions lost, and they lost a lot. Coaches came and went, quarterbacks came and went, but the results stayed the same. The lowest point came in 2008, when the Lions went 0–16, the first NFL team to ever go winless in a 16-game season. For fans, it felt like rock bottom.
If you take Layne’s supposed curse literally, it would have expired in 2008 — 50 years after the trade. Ironically, 2008 was the very season Detroit hit absolute rock bottom, going 0–16, the first NFL team to do so. Fans joked that the curse didn’t just linger, it twisted the knife on its way out.
2009 – 2021: Stafford and The Megatron
Detroit bounced back with some hope in the 2010s. Matthew Stafford came in as the No. 1 pick in 2009, and he quickly paired up with wide receiver Calvin “Megatron” Johnson, who became one of the most unstoppable players in the game. The two gave Detroit one of the most dangerous passing attacks in the league.
In 2011, the Lions made the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. In 2012, Johnson set the NFL record for most receiving yards in a season. But the postseason heartbreaks continued, including a controversial loss to Dallas in 2014. Johnson retired early in 2016, much like Sanders, and Stafford never got the playoff run he deserved in Detroit. When he was traded to the Rams in 2021, he won a Super Bowl his first year. Lions fans were happy for him, but it hurt to watch.
2021 – Present: The Dan Campbell Era
Things changed in 2021 when Dan Campbell was hired. From day one, his fire and toughness connected with the city. He did get some laughs, it’s hard not to when in his opening press conference he talks about biting kneecaps off. The Lions only won three games his first year, but fans noticed the fight in his team. They were building something.
By 2022, the culture had flipped. They started that season 0-7, but after Peyton Manning and Jeff Daniels “Lifted the curse of Bobby Layne”, Detroit finished 9–8, just missing the playoffs, but they ended the season with a win at Lambeau Field to knock Green Bay out. That game felt like a turning point.
Then came 2023, the season that gave fans real hope. The Lions won the NFC North for the first time ever, snapped their playoff drought, and won not one but two postseason games. Ford Field was rocking like never before. They came one win short of the Super Bowl, falling to San Francisco in the NFC Championship, but this time the future looked different.
2024 was more of the same, setting a franchise record 15 wins, winning the NFC North and getting the bye in the playoffs. Unfortunately, they would run into an underrated Washington Commanders team that absolutely torched Detroit. They were knocked out of the playoffs early and another disappointing end but there is light at the end of this tunnel.
Now in 2025, the Lions are 2-1, just beat the Ravens and other than game one, look like the guys who give everyone the Honolulu flu. Lets just see where they end up this year.
