Hot! Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit , Michigan . They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL), and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit .

Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and called thePortsmouth Spartans, the team began play in 1929 as an independent professional team, one of many such teams in the Ohio and Scioto River valleys. For the 1930 season, the Spartans formally joined the NFL as the other area independents folded because of the . Despite success within the NFL, they could not survive in Portsmouth, then the NFL's smallest city. The team was purchased and moved to Detroit for the 1934 season.

The Lions have won four NFL Championships , the last in 1957, giving the club the second-longest NFL championship drought behind the 2008 team became the only team in NFL history to lose all 16 regular season games since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978.

Franchise history Logos and uniforms

Aside from a brief change to maroon in 1948 instituted by then head coach Bo McMillin (influenced by his years as coach at Indiana ), the Lions uniforms have basically remained the same since the team debuted in 1930. The design consists of silver helmets, silver pants, and either blue or white jerseys.

There have been minor changes to the uniform design throughout the years, such as changing the silver stripe patterns on the jersey sleeves, and changing the colors of the jersey numbers. White trim was added to the logo in 1970. In 1998, the team wore blue pants with their white jerseys along with grey socks but dropped that combination after the season. In 1999, the 'TV numbers' on the sleeves were moved to the shoulders.

The shade of blue used for Lions uniforms and logos is officially known as "Honolulu blue," which is supposedly inspired by the color of the waves off the coast of Hawaii. The shade was chosen by Cy Huston, the Lions first vice president and general manager, and of the choice, he said: "They had me looking at so many blues I am blue in the face," Huston said about the selection. "But anyway, it's the kind of blue, I am told, that will match with silver."

In 1994, every NFL team wore throwback jerseys, and the Lions' were similar to the jerseys used during their 1935 championship season. The helmets and pants were solid silver, the jerseys Honolulu blue with silver numbers and the jersey did not have 'TV numbers' on the sleeves. The team wore solid blue socks along with black shoes. The helmets also did not have a logo, as helmets were simple leather back then. The Lions also wore '50s-style jerseys during their traditional games from 2001 to 2004 as the NFL encouraged teams to wear throwback jerseys on Thanksgiving Day.

Home attendance Notable players Current roster Detroit Lions roster

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QuarterbacksOffensive LinemenLinebackersReserve ListsRetired numbers Coaches Current staff Divisions and division rivals National Conference: 1950-1952 NFL Central Division: 1967-1969 NFC Central: 1970-2001 NFC North: 2002-Present Radio and television Radio TV Preseason Regular season Blackouts Notes and references

. Retrieved 9 February 2009

ESPN NFL Attendance Report

. Retrieved 2009-03-21.

. Retrieved October 29, 2010.