The Detroit Lions were founded in 1930 in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans. They moved to Detroit in 1934 and became the Lions.¹⁾

The name “Lions” was chosen to complement Detroit's baseball team, the Tigers. The owner wanted the Lions to be “the king of the NFL, just as the lion is the king of the jungle.”²⁾

The Lions' original colors were blue and silver, which have remained the primary colors throughout their history.³⁾

Before moving to Detroit, the Portsmouth Spartans had an intense rivalry with the Green Bay Packers, which continued after they became the Lions.⁴⁾

The Lions have played a Thanksgiving Day game every year since 1934, except during WWII (1939–1944).⁵⁾

The Thanksgiving game was an idea by team owner George A. Richards to attract more fans, and it worked — the tradition has continued for nearly 90 years.⁶⁾

In 1935, just one year after relocating to Detroit, the Lions won their first NFL Championship, defeating the New York Giants.⁷⁾

The Lions' oldest rival in terms of continuous play is the Chicago Bears, a rivalry dating back to their Spartan days.⁸⁾

The Lions originally played in the University of Detroit Stadium before moving to Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in 1938.⁹⁾

The Lions won three NFL Championships in the 1950s (1952, 1953, and 1957) and were considered one of the most dominant teams of that era.¹⁰⁾

The Lions have one of the longest playoff-win droughts in the NFL, with their last playoff win occurring in 1991.¹¹⁾

In 2008, the Lions became the first team in NFL history to go 0-16 in a single season.¹²⁾

Former kicker Matt Prater set an NFL record with a 64-yard field goal in 2013 while playing for the Broncos. He later joined the Lions and became known for clutch kicking.¹³⁾

Calvin “Megatron” Johnson set an NFL record with 1,964 receiving yards in 2012, which remains the highest single-season total for any receiver.¹⁴⁾

In 1997, Barry Sanders became just the third player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season.¹⁵⁾