1962 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season (won NFL Playoff Bowl) August 2023 March 2026 1962-Lions-mediaguide.jpg Detroit Lions 1962 11–3 2nd NFL Western George Wilson Tiger Stadium Won NFL Playoff Bowl(vs. Steelers) 17–10 Lions seasons 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 (11 3), 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.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7bBOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OQEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7327%2C144071 Toledo Blade Ohio Associated Press Bears pull the rug out, but it still didn't matter December 17, 1962 26 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.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D3BIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tBAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5092%2C1540341 Milwaukee Sentinel UPI Plum, Webb host Lions to 17-10 win January 7, 1963 4, part 2https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JmwUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=agEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7316%2C2004816 Toledo Blade Ohio Associated Press Lions have a plum of a blitz game, too January 7, 1963 12 The third place game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 6, three weeks after the end of the regular season.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mxQoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ziYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4172%2C2653868 Milwaukee Journal press dispatches Lions turns back Pittsburgh in NFL Play-off Bowl, 17-10 January 7, 1963 12, part 2 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.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bPsjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OxEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7426%2C1854609 Milwaukee Sentinel Lea Bud Bud Lea Lions shatter Packers' streak November 23, 1962 4, part 2 The Lions were up 26–0 in the fourth quarter before Green Bay scored two touchdowns;https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C9daAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YWwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7323%2C3936259 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Associated Press Lions hand Packers first loss, 26 to 14 24 the Packers had won the first meeting 9–7 in the mud in Green Bay with a late field goal on October 7.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IVAaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JBEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7026%2C1809480 Milwaukee Sentinel Lea Bud Bud Lea Packers nip Lions at wire, 9-7 2, part 2https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Wd8jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NicEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5099%2C4090644 Milwaukee Journal Johnson Chuck Lions dare Packers to intercept; they do October 8, 1962 10, part 2 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, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 395John HadlJohn Hadl Signed with the San Diego Chargers of the American Football LeagueBackKansas Regular season 1962 NFL 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 1962 Green Bay Packers season Lions–Packers rivalry Detroit Lions 1962 2; text-align:center autocollapse Detroit Lions (3–0) at Green Bay Packers (3–0) October 7 Lions 0 7 0 0 Packers 3 0 3 3 City Stadium • Green Bay, Wisconsin 38,669 56 F • Wind 8 mph on Pro-Football-Reference.com Lions Milt Plum11/26, 107 Yds, INT7 Rush, 58 Yds Jim Gibbons3 Rec, 41 Yds Packers Bart Starr18/26, 198 Yds Jim Taylor20 Rush, 95 Yds Max McGee5 Rec, 69 YdsThis 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. DET GB collapsed 1 Packers FG 13 Hornung 0 3 2 Lions RushTD Lewis 6 good Walker run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 3 3 Packers FG 15 Hornung 7 6 4 Packers FG 26 Hornung 7 9 7 9 Week 11 vs. Packers Detroit Lions 1962 2; text-align:center collapsed Green Bay Packers (10–0) at Detroit Lions (8–2) November 22 Thursday Packers 0 0 0 14 Lions 7 16 3 0 Tiger Stadium • Detroit, Michigan 57,598 37 F • Wind 15 mph on Pro-Football-Reference.com Packers Bart Starr11/19, 142 Yds, 2 INT Jim Taylor13 Rush, 47 Yds Ron Kramer4 Rec, 62 Yds Lions Milt Plum8/16, 137 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Ken Webb11 Rush, 62 Yds Gail Cogdill3 Rec, 79 Yds, 2 TD The game was dubbed the "Thanksgiving Day Massacre" thanks to the dominant performance of the Lions defense, who sacked Bart Starr 11 times.#6 Thanksgiving Day Massacre http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/0ap3000000745269/6-Thanksgiving-Day-Massacre NFL.com October 21, 2019Anwar S. Richardson Stars of Detroit Lions' past see similarities to 1962 Thanksgiving showdown with Packers https://www.mlive.com/lions/2011/11/stars_of_detroit_lions_past_se.html MLive November 24, 2011 October 21, 2019 It was Green Bay's sole loss of the season; they repeated as NFL champions. GB DET collapsed 1 Lions RecTD Cogdill Plum 33 good Walker run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 7 2 Lions RecTD Cogdill Plum 27 good Walker run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 14 2 Lions FumbleTD Williams 6 good Walker run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 21 2 Lions SafetyTackle Starr Brown 0 23 3 Lions FG 47 Plum 0 26 4 Packers Other Fumble recovery in end zone for touchdown by Davis, Kramer kick good 7 26 4 Packers RushTD Taylor 4 good Kramer run/pass good/failed/incomplete 14 26 14 26 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 Source: Playoff Bowl 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 Source:NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369 Awards and records The Lions were only the third NFL team since 1940 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.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=8534 Super Bowl notes: Stat of the Year and Updated SRS Standings Chase Stuart Pro Football Reference Blog Pro-Football-Reference.com January 26, 2011 February 6, 2011http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=310206009 Aaron Rodgers tosses 3 TD passes as Packers drop Steelers to win Super Bowl XLV Associated Press ESPN.com February 6, 2011 February 6, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110225151827/http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=310206009 25 February 2011 dead See especially the "Scoring Summary" section, which shows that the Packers never trailed in the game. See also 1962 in Michigan References 2 External links 1962 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1962 Detroit Lions at JT-SW.com 1962 Detroit Lions at The Football Database (FootballDB.com) Detroit Lions Category:Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions Category:1962 in Detroit