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1959 Detroit Lions season
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NFL team season
November 2013
March 2026
1959-Lions-mediaguide.jpg Detroit Lions 1959 3–8–1 5th NFL Western George Wilson Briggs Stadium Did not qualify Lions seasons
The 1959 NFL season was the 30th year of the Detroit Lions in the National Football League (NFL). The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 4–7–1, winning only three games.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V_8jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sg8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3812%2C2037780 Milwaukee Sentinel Associated Press Bears beat Lions for 7th straight December 14, 1959 4, part 21959 Detroit Lions They missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
Regular season
According to the team, a total of 41,029 season tickets were sold by the Lions for the 1959 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.
For the 1959 season the Lions offered box seat tickets for $6.00, upper grandstand seats for $4.50, lower grandstand seats for $3.50, and bleacher seats for $2.00.E.J. O'Malley, "Purchasing NFL Tickets: A Guide to Ticket Information," Sports Forecast, vol. 2, no. 2. Chicago: E.J. O'Malley Publishing Co., 1959; p. 78. Season tickets were similarly tiered, with prices of $36, $27, $21, and $12 for the full slate of six home games.
Schedule
GameDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecapSources 1 September 27 at Baltimore Colts L 9–21 0–1 Memorial Stadium 55,588 Recap 2 October 4 at Green Bay Packers L 10–28 0–2 New City Stadium 32,150 Recap 3 October 11 Baltimore Colts L 24–31 0–3 Briggs Stadium 54,197 Recap 4 October 18 San Francisco 49ers L 13–34 0–4 Briggs Stadium 52,585 Recap 5 October 25 at Los Angeles Rams W 17–7 1–4 L.A. Memorial Coliseum 74,288 Recap 6 November 1 at San Francisco 49ers L 7–33 1–5 Kezar Stadium 59,064 Recap 7 November 8 at Pittsburgh Steelers T 10–10 1–5–1 Forbes Field 24,614 Recap 8 November 15 Los Angeles Rams W 23–17 2–5–1 Briggs Stadium 52,217 Recap 9 November 22 Chicago Bears L 14–24 2–6–1 Briggs Stadium 54,059 Recap 10 November 26 Green Bay Packers L 17–24 2–7–1 Briggs Stadium 49,221 Recap https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7swwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hA8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7375%2C3216303 Milwaukee Sentinel Lea Bud Bud Lea 50,000 (plus TV) to see Bays, Lions November 26, 1959 3, part 4https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=78wwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hA8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6964%2C3345370 Milwaukee Sentinel Lea Bud Bud Lea Packers start fast, beat Lions November 27, 1959 4, part 2 11 December 6 Chicago Cardinals W 45–21 3–7–1 Briggs Stadium 45,811 Recap 12 December 13 at Chicago Bears L 14–25 3–8–1 Wrigley Field 40,890 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. November 26: Thanksgiving
Standings
Roster
Detroit Lions 1958 roster Quarterbacks
14 Earl Morrall
18 Tobin Rote
Running backs
40 Howard Cassady
35 John Henry Johnson
45 Dan Lewis
34 Ken Webb
Receivers
88 Gene Cook
83 Jim Doran
80 Jim Gibbons
84 Dave Middleton
87 Jerry Reichow QB Offensive linemen
50 Charlie Ane C/T
76 Lou Creekmur T
75 John Gordy G/T
60 Bob Grottkau G
64 Mike Rabold G
66 Harley Sewell G
76 Ollie Spencer T
Defensive linemen
85 Gene Cronin DE/OLB
53 Bill Glass DE/C
71 Alex Karras DT
72 Gil Mains DT/DE
78 Darris McCord DE
79 Gerry Perry DT/DE/K
74 Jim Weatherall DT Linebackers
86 Bob Long OLB
47 Jim Martin OLB/K
56 Joe Schmidt MLB
55 Wayne Walker OLB
Defensive backs
41 Terry Barr CB/RB
25 James David CB
28 Yale Lary CB/S/P
24 Dick LeBeau S
43 Gary Lowe S
20 Jim Steffen CB
23 Dave Whitsell S/CB Reserve lists
-- Hal Boutte WR (Military)
26 Gene Gedman RB (IR) 7px
88 Steve Junker WR (IR) 7px
-- Ron Luciano T (IR) 7px
33 Nick Pietrosante RB (IR) 7px
rookies in italics
References
Category:Detroit Lions seasons
Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
Category:1959 in Detroit