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1962 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season (won NFL Playoff Bowl)

NFL team season (won NFL Playoff Bowl)

FieldValue
logo1962-Lions-mediaguide.jpg
teamDetroit Lions
year1962
record11–3
division_place2nd NFL Western
coachGeorge Wilson
stadiumTiger Stadium
playoffs**Won NFL Playoff Bowl**
(vs. [Steelers](1962-pittsburgh-steelers-season)) 17–10
shortnavlinkLions seasons

(vs. Steelers) 17–10 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 (), 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. The Lions' three losses, all on the road, were by a total of eight points.

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

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

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

NFL draft

110John HadlBack[Kansas](1961-kansas-jayhawks-football-team)

Regular season

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. 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.

Schedule

Detroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"GameDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"DateDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"OpponentDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"ResultDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"RecordDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"VenueDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"AttendanceDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"RecapDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"Sources1234567891011121314
September 16[Pittsburgh Steelers](1962-pittsburgh-steelers-season)**W** 45–71–0Tiger Stadium46,641[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196209160det.htm)
September 23**[San Francisco 49ers](1962-san-francisco-49ers-season)****W** 45–242–0Tiger Stadium51,032[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196209230det.htm)
September 30at **[Baltimore Colts](1962-baltimore-colts-season)****W** 29–203–0Memorial Stadium57,966[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196209300clt.htm)
October 7at **[Green Bay Packers](1962-green-bay-packers-season)****L** 7–93–1City Stadium38,669[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196210070gnb.htm)
October 14**[Los Angeles Rams](1962-los-angeles-rams-season)****W** 13–104–1Tiger Stadium53,714[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196210140det.htm)
October 21at [New York Giants](1962-new-york-giants-season)**L** 14–174–2Yankee Stadium62,856[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196210210nyg.htm)
October 28**[Chicago Bears](1962-chicago-bears-season)****W** 11–35–2Tiger Stadium53,342[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196210280det.htm)
November 4at **[Los Angeles Rams](1962-los-angeles-rams-season)****W** 12–36–2L.A. Memorial Coliseum44,241[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196211040ram.htm)
November 11at **[San Francisco 49ers](1962-san-francisco-49ers-season)****W** 38–247–2Kezar Stadium43,449[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196211110sfo.htm)
November 18at **[Minnesota Vikings](1962-minnesota-vikings-season)****W** 17–68–2Metropolitan Stadium31,257[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196211180min.htm)
November 22**[Green Bay Packers](1962-green-bay-packers-season)****W** 26–149–2Tiger Stadium57,598[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196211220det.htm)
December 2**[Baltimore Colts](1962-baltimore-colts-season)****W** 21–1410–2Tiger Stadium53,012[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196212020det.htm)
December 9**[Minnesota Vikings](1962-minnesota-vikings-season)****W** 37–2311–2Tiger Stadium42,256[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196212090det.htm)
December 16at **[Chicago Bears](1962-chicago-bears-season)****L** 0–311–3Wrigley Field44,948[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196212160chi.htm)
**Note:** Intra-conference opponents are in **bold** text. Thanksgiving: November 22.

Season summary

Week 4 at Packers

;Lions

  • Milt Plum 11/26, 107 Yds, INT 7 Rush, 58 Yds
  • Jim Gibbons 3 Rec, 41 Yds ;Packers
  • Bart Starr 18/26, 198 Yds
  • Jim Taylor 20 Rush, 95 Yds
  • Max McGee 5 Rec, 69 Yds

Week 11 vs. Packers

;Packers

  • Bart Starr 11/19, 142 Yds, 2 INT
  • Jim Taylor 13 Rush, 47 Yds
  • Ron Kramer 4 Rec, 62 Yds ;Lions
  • Milt Plum 8/16, 137 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
  • Ken Webb 11 Rush, 62 Yds
  • Gail Cogdill 3 Rec, 79 Yds, 2 TD The game was dubbed the "Thanksgiving Day Massacre" thanks to the dominant performance of the Lions defense, who sacked Bart Starr 11 times. It was Green Bay's sole loss of the season; they repeated as NFL champions.

Standings

Roster

1962 Detroit Lions roster
**Quarterbacks**

:Source:

Playoff Bowl

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.

Detroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"RoundDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"DateDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"OpponentDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"ResultDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"VenueDetroit Lionsyear=1962border=2}}"AttendancePlayoff Bowl
January 6, 1963vs. [Pittsburgh Steelers](1962-pittsburgh-steelers-season)**W** 17–10Orange Bowl36,284

Source:

Awards and records

  • The Lions were only the third NFL team since 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.

References

References

  1. (December 17, 1962). "Bears pull the rug out, but it still didn't matter". Toledo Blade.
  2. (January 7, 1963). "Plum, Webb host Lions to 17-10 win". Milwaukee Sentinel.
  3. (January 7, 1963). "Lions have a plum of a blitz game, too". Toledo Blade.
  4. (January 7, 1963). "Lions turns back Pittsburgh in NFL Play-off Bowl, 17-10". Milwaukee Journal.
  5. Lea, Bud. (November 23, 1962). "Lions shatter Packers' streak". Milwaukee Sentinel.
  6. "Lions hand Packers first loss, 26 to 14". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  7. Lea, Bud. "Packers nip Lions at wire, 9-7". Milwaukee Sentinel.
  8. Johnson, Chuck. (October 8, 1962). "Lions dare Packers to intercept; they do". Milwaukee Journal.
  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. 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".
  13. Richardson, Anwar S.. (November 24, 2011). "Stars of Detroit Lions' past see similarities to 1962 Thanksgiving showdown with Packers".
  14. 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.com.
  16. (February 6, 2011). "Aaron Rodgers tosses 3 TD passes as Packers drop Steelers to win Super Bowl XLV". ESPN.com.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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