1971 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Detroit Lions 1971 7–6–1 2nd NFC Central Joe Schmidt Tiger Stadium Did not qualify Lions seasons The 1971 Detroit Lions season was their 42nd in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 10–4, winning only seven games. Mired in adversity, the 1971 season turned especially tragic for the Lions and the NFL when, during their week 6 game hosting the Chicago Bears, wide receiver Chuck Hughes collapsed on the playing field. Unresponsive, Hughes was pronounced dead later that day of heart failure. Since 1971, no Detroit player has worn Hughes' #85 jersey, save by special permission of the Hughes family, although his number 85 is not officially retired by the Lions.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLj01vphhRg https://web.archive.org/web/20121106220134/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLj01vphhRg&gl=US&hl=en 2012-11-06 dead YouTube www.youtube.com 2016-11-08https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/1971.htm 1971 Detroit Lions Statistics & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro-Football-Reference.com 2016-11-08 Offseason NFL draft 1971 NFL draft 1971 Detroit Lions 1 21 Bob Bell DT Cincinnati yes 2 30 Dave Thompson C Clemson from Philadelphia yes 2 48 Charlie Weaver LB USC yes 3 72 Al Clark CB Eastern Michigan yes 4 100 Larry Woods DT Tennessee State yes 5 125 Pete Newell G Michigan no 6 150 Frank Harris QB Boston College from Philadelphia no 6 152 Herman Franklin WR USC no 7 177 Brownie Wheless OT Rice no 8 204 Ken Lee LB Washington yes 9 229 Mickey Zofko RB Auburn yes 11 281 Phil Webb DB Colorado State no 12 308 Bill Pilconis WR Pittsburgh no 13 332 David Abercrombie RB Tulane no 14 360 Tom Lorenz TE Iowa State no 15 385 Ed Coates WR Central Missouri no 16 411 Tom Kutchinski S Michigan State no 17 436 Gordon Jolley OT Utah yes no Notes Detroit traded QB Greg Barton to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' second-round selection (30th) and second- and third-round selections in 1972. Detroit traded DE Denis Moore to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' sixth-round selection (150th). Detroit traded its tenth-round selection (256th) to Philadelphia in exchange for DB Len Persin. Personnel Staff / coaches 1971 Detroit Lions Owner - William Clay Ford, Sr. Vice president / general manager - Russ Thomas Executive vice president - Edwin J. Anderson Treasurer - Newton S. Peters Publicity director / business manager - Lyall Smith Assistant publicity director - Elliott Trumbull Equipment manager - Roy Marklem Assistant equipment manager - Charles "Rip" Collins Head coach – Joe Schmidt Offensive coordinator / backs - Bill McPeak Offensive line - Chuck Knox Wide receivers - Johnny North Defensive coordinator / secondary - Jim David Defensive line / linebackers - Jim Martin Trainer - Kent Falb Assistant trainer - Dave Smith https://archive.org/details/lions-1971-media-guide-detroit-c/page/n3/mode/2up 1971 Detroit Lions official guide July 11, 2026 https://www.profootballarchives.com/1971nfldet.html#gsc.tab=0 1971 Detroit Lions ProFootballArchives.com July 11, 2026 Roster 1971 Detroit Lions final roster Quarterbacks 11 Greg Landry 19 Bill Munson Running backs 24 Mel Farr 36 Steve Owens American football 42 Altie Taylor 38 Bill Triplett 34 Mickey Zofko y Wide receivers 86 Al Barnes wide receiver y 89 Ron Jessie y 25 Earl McCullouch 49 Larry Walton Tight ends 87 Craig Cotton 88 Charlie Sanders Offensive linemen 54 Ed Flanagan American football C 76 Rocky Freitas T 68 Frank Gallagher American football G 66 Bob Kowalkowski G 79 Ray Parson T 65 Dave Thompson American football y T 71 Chuck Walton G 75 Jim Yarbrough T offensive lineman Defensive linemen 73 Bob Bell American football y DT 74 Larry Hand DE 83 Jim Mitchell defensive lineman DE 84 Joe Robb DE 82 Jerry Rush DT 70 Larry Woods y DT Linebackers 51 Ken Lee linebacker y MLB 53 Mike Lucci MLB 62 Ed Mooney OLB 50 Paul Naumoff OLB 55 Wayne Walker linebacker OLB 59 Charlie Weaver y OLB Defensive backs 20 Lem Barney CB 21 Al Clark American football y CB 47 Wayne Rasmussen FS 28 Mike Weger SS 45 Bobby Williams defensive back CB Special teams 12 Errol Mann K 18 Herman Weaver P Reserve lists 81 Charlie Brown wide receiver, born 1948 WR IR 52 Bill Cottrell C NF-Ill. 40 Nick Eddy RB IR 77 Dick Evey DT IR 23 Paul Gipson RB IR -- Tom Kutschinski y no S IR 44 Dick LeBeau CB IR 48 Tom Vaughn American football S IR -- Brownie Wheless y no T NF-Ill. Taxi Squad 17 Bill Cappleman QB 64 Gordon Jolley y T -- Manuel Murrell no CB 67 Rocky Rasley G 40 active, 9 reserve, 4 practice / taxi squad rookies in italics Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 20, 1971 Minnesota Vikings L 13–16 0–1 Tiger Stadium 54,418 2 September 26 at New England Patriots W 34–7 1–1 Schaefer Stadium 61,057 3 October 3 Atlanta Falcons W 41–38 2–1 Tiger Stadium 54,418 4 October 10 Green Bay Packers W 31–28 3–1 Tiger Stadium 54,418 5 October 17 at Houston Oilers W 31–7 4–1 Astrodome 45,885 6 October 24 Chicago Bears L 23–28 4–2 Tiger Stadium 54,418 7 November 1, 1971 at Green Bay Packers T 14–14 4–2–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 47,961 8 November 7 at Denver Broncos W 24–20 5–2–1 Mile High Stadium 51,200 9 November 14 Los Angeles Rams L 13–21 5–3–1 Tiger Stadium 54,418 10 November 21 at Chicago Bears W 28–3 6–3–1 Soldier Field 55,049 11 November 25 Kansas City Chiefs W 32–21 7–3–1 Tiger Stadium 54,418 12 December 5 Philadelphia Eagles L 20–23 7–4–1 Tiger Stadium 54,418 13 December 11, 1971 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–29 7–5–1 Metropolitan Stadium 49,784 14 December 19 at San Francisco 49ers L 27–31 7–6–1 Candlestick Park 45,580 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Season summary Week 6 1971 Chicago Bears season Bears–Lions rivalry Detroit Lions 1971 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Six: Chicago Bears (3–2) at Detroit Lions (4–1) October 24, 1971 2:00 p.m. EST Bears 7 14 0 7 Lions 6 14 3 0 Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan 54,418 60 F C Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter DET – Errol Mann 28-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive: CHI – Don Shy 21-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 7–3. Drive: DET – Errol Mann 49-yard field goal. Bears 7–6. Drive: Second quarter CHI – George Farmer 54-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 14–6. Drive: DET – Ron Jessie 102-yard kickoff return (Errol Mann kick). Bears 14–13. DET – Larry Walton 16-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). Lions 20–14. Drive: CHI – Bob Wallace 15-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 21–20. Drive: Third quarter DET – Errol Mann 29-yard field goal. Lions 23–21. Drive: Fourth quarter CHI – Bobby Douglass 1-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 28–23. Drive: Top passers CHI – Bobby Douglass – 15/21, 160 yards, 2 TD DET – Greg Landry – 11/26, 173 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers CHI – Don Shy – 18 rushes, 99 yards, TD DET – Steve Owens – 16 rushes, 81 yards Top receivers CHI – George Farmer – 6 receptions, 95 yards, TD DET – Altie Taylor – 4 receptions, 41 yards Chuck Hughes became the first NFL player to die on the field during a game. References External links 1971 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1971 Detroit Lions at JT-SW.com 1971 Detroit Lions at the Football Database Category:Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions Detroit Lions Category:1971 in Detroit