1962 Detroit Lions season
NFL team season (won NFL Playoff Bowl)
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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 coach | George Wilson |
| Home stadium | Tiger Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–3 |
| Division place | 2nd NFL Western |
| Playoffs | Won 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
Regular 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
| 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
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Packers | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
at City Stadium • Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Date: October 7
- Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C) • Wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
- Game attendance: 38,669
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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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.
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Week 11 vs. Packers
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Lions | 7 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 26 |
at Tiger Stadium • Detroit, Michigan
- Date: November 22
- Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C) • Wind 15 mph (24 km/h)
- Game attendance: 57,598
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| 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.
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Standings
| 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.
Roster
| 1962 Detroit Lions roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
|
Inactive
Note: rookies in italics | |||
- Source:
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 |
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.[15][16]