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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 (.786), 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.[1] The Lions' three losses, all on the road, were by a total of eight points.

1962 Detroit Lions season
Head coachGeorge Wilson
Home fieldTiger Stadium
Results
Record11–3
Division place2nd NFL Western
Playoff finishWon NFL Playoff Bowl
(vs. Steelers) 17–10

As conference runner-up, Detroit won their third consecutive Playoff Bowl game over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17–10.[2][3] The third place game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 6, three weeks after the end of the regular season.[4]

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.[5] The Lions were up 26–0 in the fourth quarter before Green Bay scored two touchdowns;[6] the Packers had won the first meeting 9–7 in the mud in Green Bay with a late field goal on October 7.[7][8]

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

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NFL Draft

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Round Pick Player Position School
1 10 [9] John Hadl[10] Back Kansas

Regular season

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Main article: 1962 NFL season

According to the team, a total of 35,693 season tickets were sold by the Lions for the 1962 campaign.[11] 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.[11]

Schedule

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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

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Week 4 at Packers

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See also: 1962 Green Bay Packers season and Lions–Packers rivalry
Detroit Lions (3–0) at Green Bay Packers (3–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 7 007
Packers 3 0 339

at City Stadium • Green Bay, Wisconsin

Game information

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

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Green Bay Packers (10–0) at Detroit Lions (8–2)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Packers 0 0 01414
Lions 7 16 3026

at Tiger Stadium • Detroit, Michigan

Game information

The game was dubbed the "Thanksgiving Day Massacre" thanks to the dominant performance of the Lions defense, who sacked Bart Starr 11 times.[12][13] It was Green Bay's sole loss of the season; they repeated as NFL champions.

Standings

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NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 13 1 0 .929 11–1 415 148 W3
Detroit Lions 11 3 0 .786 10–2 315 177 L1
Chicago Bears 9 5 0 .643 8–4 321 287 W2
Baltimore Colts 7 7 0 .500 5–7 293 288 W2
San Francisco 49ers 6 8 0 .429 5–7 282 331 L2
Minnesota Vikings 2 11 1 .154 1–10–1 254 410 L3
Los Angeles Rams 1 12 1 .077 1–10–1 220 334 L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
New York Giants 12 2 0 .857 10–2 398 283 W9
Pittsburgh Steelers 9 5 0 .643 8–4 312 363 W3
Cleveland Browns 7 6 1 .538 6–5–1 291 257 W1
Washington Redskins 5 7 2 .417 4–6–2 305 376 L1
Dallas Cowboys 5 8 1 .385 4–7–1 398 402 L2
St. Louis Cardinals 4 9 1 .308 4–7–1 287 361 W2
Philadelphia Eagles 3 10 1 .231 3–8–1 282 356 L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

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Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • None - vacant

Practice/Taxi squad

  • None - vacant

'Note: rookies in italics

Source:

Playoff Bowl

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Main article: 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:[2][3][4][14]

Awards and records

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  • 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.[15][16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bears pull the rug out, but it still didn't matter". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 17, 1962. p. 26.
  2. ^ a b "Plum, Webb host Lions to 17-10 win". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. January 7, 1963. p. 4, part 2.
  3. ^ a b "Lions have a plum of a blitz game, too". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 7, 1963. p. 12.
  4. ^ a b "Lions turns back Pittsburgh in NFL Play-off Bowl, 17-10". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. January 7, 1963. p. 12, part 2.
  5. ^ Lea, Bud (November 23, 1962). "Lions shatter Packers' streak". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 4, part 2.
  6. ^ "Lions hand Packers first loss, 26 to 14". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. p. 24.
  7. ^ Lea, Bud. "Packers nip Lions at wire, 9-7". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
  8. ^ Johnson, Chuck (October 8, 1962). "Lions dare Packers to intercept; they do". Milwaukee Journal. p. 10, part 2.
  9. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 395
  10. ^ John Hadl Signed with the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League
  11. ^ a b Edward M. "Bud" Erickson (ed.), Detroit Lions Facts Book 1963: Press, Radio, TV. Detroit, MI: Detroit Football Company, 1963, p. 4.
  12. ^ "#6 Thanksgiving Day Massacre". NFL.com. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  13. ^ Richardson, Anwar S. (November 24, 2011). "Stars of Detroit Lions' past see similarities to 1962 Thanksgiving showdown with Packers". MLive. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  14. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
  15. ^ Stuart, Chase (January 26, 2011). "Super Bowl notes: Stat of the Year and Updated SRS Standings". Pro Football Reference Blog. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  16. ^ "Aaron Rodgers tosses 3 TD passes as Packers drop Steelers to win Super Bowl XLV". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 6, 2011. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2011. See especially the "Scoring Summary" section, which shows that the Packers never trailed in the game.
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