1961 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season (won NFL Playoff Bowl)

1961 Detroit Lions season

Head coach| George Wilson
Results
Record| 8–5–1
Division place| 2nd NFL Western
Playoff finish| Won NFL Playoff Bowl
(vs. Eagles) 38–10

* <- 1960
* Lions seasons
* 1962 ->

The 1961 Detroit Lions season was the 32nd season in franchise history. Detroit was runner-up in the Western conference at 8–5–1, then won a second Playoff Bowl game against the Philadelphia Eagles that was played in the Orange Bowl, 38–10.[1]

This was also the first season that the silhouetted blue lion logo appeared on the helmets.

## Regular season

[edit]

Main article: 1961 NFL season

### Schedule

[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Attendance

|
|
|
|
|

1  | September 17  | at Green Bay Packers | W 17–13  | 1–0  |

32,150

2  | September 24  | at Baltimore Colts | W 16–15  | 2–0  |

49,825

3  | October 1  | San Francisco 49ers | L 0–49  | 2–1  |

38,065

4  | October 8  | Chicago Bears | L 17–31  | 2–2  |

53,854

5  | October 15  | Los Angeles Rams | W 14–13  | 3–2  |

53,295

6  | October 22  | Baltimore Colts  | L 14–17  | 3–3  |

48,447

7  | October 29  | at Los Angeles Rams  | W 28–10  | 4–3  |

54,019

8  | November 5  | at San Francisco 49ers  | T 20–20  | 4–3–1  |

46,267

9  | November 12  | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 45–14  | 5–3–1  |

54,123

10  | November 19  | at Minnesota Vikings | W 37–10  | 6–3–1  |

57,808

11  | November 23  | Green Bay Packers  | L 9–17  | 6–4–1  |

43,272

12  | December 3  | at Chicago Bears  | W 16–15  | 7–4–1  |

51,017

13  | December 10  | Minnesota Vikings  | W 13–7  | 8–4–1  |

42,655

14  | December 17  | Philadelphia Eagles | L 24–27  | 8–5–1  |

44,231

* Thursday (November 23: Thanksgiving)

## Standings

[edit]

NFL Western Conference

* view
* talk
* edit

| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK
Green Bay Packers | 11  | 3  | 0  | .786  | 9–3  | 391  | 223  | W1
Detroit Lions | 8  | 5  | 1  | .615  | 7–4–1  | 270  | 258  | L1
Chicago Bears | 8  | 6  | 0  | .571  | 7–5  | 326  | 302  | W2
Baltimore Colts | 8  | 6  | 0  | .571  | 6–6  | 302  | 307  | W1
San Francisco 49ers | 7  | 6  | 1  | .538  | 6–5–1  | 346  | 272  | L1
Los Angeles Rams | 4  | 10  | 0  | .286  | 3–9  | 263  | 333  | L1
Minnesota Vikings | 3  | 11  | 0  | .214  | 3–9  | 285  | 407  | L2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

## Roster

[edit]

Detroit Lions roster

Quarterbacks

* 15 Earl Morrall
* 33 Nick Pietrosante RB/QB

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

|  | Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

|  | Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

|  | Reserve lists

* currently vacant

rookies in italics

Source:

## Playoff Bowl

[edit]

The Playoff Bowl matched the runners-up of the two conferences to determine third place in the league. It was played in January at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, the week following the NFL Championship game. This season's participants, Detroit and Philadelphia, had met three weeks earlier in the last game of the regular season, a three-point Eagles' road win,[2][3] and were slightly favored in Miami.[4]

This was the second year for the game and the Lions repeated as winners;[1] it is classified by the NFL as an exhibition game, rather than postseason.

Round  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Venue  | Attendance

|
|
|
|
|

Playoff Bowl | January 6, 1962  | Philadelphia Eagles | W 38–10  | Orange Bowl | 25,612

Source:[1][5]

## Awards and records

[edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010)

|

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Detroit storms past Philadelphia, 38-10". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 7, 1962. p. 1B.
2. ^ "Eagles 27, Lions 24". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 18, 1961. p. 3B.
3. ^ "Lucky to finish 2nd, says coach of Lions". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 18, 1961. p. 23.
4. ^ "Eagles slight choice over Lions today". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. January 6, 1962. p. 4, part 2.
5. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369

* Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference
* Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com
* Detroit Lions on The Football Database

* v
* t
* e

Detroit Lions

* Founded in 1928
* Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1928–1933)
* Based in Detroit, Michigan
* Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan

Franchise|

* Ownership:
* William Clay
* Martha Firestone Ford
* Sheila Ford Hamp
* Franchise overview
* Team history
* in Portsmouth, Ohio

Records|

* Coaches
* Draft history
* First-round draft picks
* Picks from 1936 to 1969
* Picks from 1970 to present
* NFL All-Decade Team selections
* Players
* Pride of the Lions
* Pro Bowlers
* Pro Football Hall of Famers
* Retired numbers
* 7
* 20
* 20
* 20
* 22
* 37
* 56
* 85
* Seasons
* Starting quarterbacks

Stadiums|

* Universal Stadium
* University of Detroit Stadium
* Tiger Stadium
* Pontiac Silverdome
* Ford Field

Culture|

* NFL on Thanksgiving Day
* Paper Lion (film)
* "What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye song)
* Home Improvement
* Beverly Hills Cop
* Axel Foley
* Cheerleaders

Lore|

* 1932 NFL Playoff Game
* Curse of Bobby Layne
* 0–16
* Miracle in Motown

Rivalries|

* Chicago Bears
* Green Bay Packers
* Minnesota Vikings

Division championships (9)|

* 1935
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1957
* 1983
* 1991
* 1993
* 2023

League championships (4)|

* 1935
* 1952
* 1953
* 1957

Media|

* Broadcasters
* Radio: Radio network
* Dan Miller
* Lomas Brown
* WXYT-FM
* TV: Television network
* WJBK
* Bally Sports Detroit

Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1930–present)
* Conference: National Football Conference (1970–present)
* Division: North Division (2002–present)

* v
* t
* e

Detroit Lions seasons

Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933)

* 1930
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Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory
Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

* v
* t
* e

1961 NFL season

| Eastern Conference| Cleveland | Pittsburgh| Baltimore| Los Angeles | Western Conference

|
|
|
|
|

Dallas | St. Louis| Chicago| Minnesota
New York | Washington| Detroit| San Francisco
Philadelphia | | Green Bay|

* 1961 NFL Draft
* Expansion Draft
* NFL Championship
* Pro Bowl

* Related: 1961 AFL season

*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[CONF]: Win–Loss record within their conference
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template