1962 Detroit Lions season

1962 Detroit Lions season
1962 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	George Wilson
Home field	Tiger Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Division place	2nd NFL Western
Playoff finish	Won NFL Playoff Bowl; (vs. Steelers) 17–10
	← 1961; Lions seasons; 1963 →;

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.

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 for seven years.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	10 ^[9]	John Hadl^[10]	Back	Kansas

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 16	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 45–7	1–0	Tiger Stadium	46,641
2	September 23	San Francisco 49ers	W 45–24	2–0	Tiger Stadium	51,032
3	September 30	at Baltimore Colts	W 29–20	3–0	Memorial Stadium	57,966
4	October 7	at Green Bay Packers	L 7–9	3–1	City Stadium	38,669
5	October 14	Los Angeles Rams	W 13–10	4–1	Tiger Stadium	53,714
6	October 21	at New York Giants	L 14–17	4–2	Yankee Stadium	62,856
7	October 28	Chicago Bears	W 11–3	5–2	Tiger Stadium	53,342
8	November 4	at Los Angeles Rams	W 12–3	6–2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	44,241
9	November 11	at San Francisco 49ers	W 38–24	7–2	Kezar Stadium	43,449
10	November 18	at Minnesota Vikings	W 17–6	8–2	Metropolitan Stadium	31,257
11	November 22	Green Bay Packers	W 26–14	9–2	Tiger Stadium	57,598
12	December 2	Baltimore Colts	W 21–14	10–2	Tiger Stadium	53,012
13	December 9	Minnesota Vikings	W 37–23	11–2	Tiger Stadium	42,256
14	December 16	at Chicago Bears	L 0–3	11–3	Wrigley Field	44,948

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 4 at Packers

Detroit Lions (3–0) at Green Bay Packers (3–0)

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

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

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.

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	DET	GB
1					Packers	13-yard field goal by Hornung	0	3
2					Lions	Lewis 6-yard touchdown run, Walker kick good	7	3
3					Packers	15-yard field goal by Hornung	7	6
4					Packers	26-yard field goal by Hornung	7	9
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							7	9

Week 11 vs. Packers

Green Bay Packers (10–0) at Detroit Lions (8–2)

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

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.^[11]^[12] It was Green Bay's sole loss of the season; they repeated as NFL champions.

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	GB	DET
1					Lions	Cogdill 33-yard touchdown reception from Plum, Walker kick good	0	7
2					Lions	Cogdill 27-yard touchdown reception from Plum, Walker kick good	0	14
2					Lions	Fumble recovery returned 6 yards for touchdown by Williams, Walker kick good	0	21
2					Lions	Starr tackled in end zone for a safety by Brown	0	23
3					Lions	47-yard field goal by Plum	0	26
4					Packers	Fumble recovery in end zone for touchdown by Davis, Kramer kick good	7	26
4					Packers	Taylor 4-yard touchdown run, Kramer kick good	14	26
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							14	26

Standings

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	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

Detroit Lions roster

Quarterbacks

15 Earl Morrall
16 Milt Plum
33 Nick Pietrosante RB/QB
19 Ken Webb RB/DB

Running backs

46 Larry Ferguson (R)
45 Dan Lewis
8 Ollie Matson RB/WR
23 Tom Watkins
34 Ken Webb HB/DB

Wide receivers

89 Gail Cogdill
41 Terry Barr WR/HB/KR
86 Tom Hall WR/DB (R)
82 Harlon Hill WR/E
20 Dick Comption WR/DB
85 Larry Vargo WR/DB/LB

Tight ends

6 Jim Gibbons
-- Al Greer (R)

Offensive linemen

79 John Gonzaga OL/DL
75 John Gordy G
77 Dan LaRose G/DL
64 John Lomakoski T (R)
-- Dick Mills T
70 Bob Scholtz G/T
85 Harley Sewell G
73 Paul Ward DE/T
61 Bob Whitlow

Defensive linemen

74 Mike Bundra DL/LB (R)
76 Roger Brown DT
71 Alex Karras DT
78 Darris McCord DE/OL
84 Leo Sugar DE
88 Sam Williams DE

Linebackers

57 Carl Brettschneider
52 Dave Lloyd
64 Max Messner LB/DE
56 Joe Schmidt MLB
65 Jim Simon OL/DL/LB
55 Wayne Walker LB/K

Defensive backs

81 Night Train Lane CB
20 Yale Lary S/P/KR
44 Dick LeBeau DB
43 Gary Lowe DB/RB
21 Bruce Maher DB

Special teams

25 Pat Studstill WR/P/KR
55 Wayne Walker LB/K

Reserve lists

None - vacant

Practice/Taxi squad

None - vacant

'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

Source:^[2]^[3]^[4]^[13]

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.^[14]^[15]

References

^ "Bears pull the rug out, but it still didn't matter". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 17, 1962. p. 26.
^ ^a ^b "Plum, Webb host Lions to 17-10 win". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. January 7, 1963. p. 4, part 2.
^ ^a ^b "Lions have a plum of a blitz game, too". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 7, 1963. p. 12.
^ ^a ^b "Lions turns back Pittsburgh in NFL Play-off Bowl, 17-10". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. January 7, 1963. p. 12, part 2.
^ Lea, Bud (November 23, 1962). "Lions shatter Packers' streak". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 4, part 2.
^ "Lions hand Packers first loss, 26 to 14". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. p. 24.
^ Lea, Bud. "Packers nip Lions at wire, 9-7". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
^ Johnson, Chuck (October 8, 1962). "Lions dare Packers to intercept; they do". Milwaukee Journal. p. 10, part 2.
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 395
^ John Hadl Signed with the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League
^ "#6 Thanksgiving Day Massacre". NFL.com. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
^ Richardson, Anwar S. (November 24, 2011). "Stars of Detroit Lions' past see similarities to 1962 Thanksgiving showdown with Packers". MLive. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
^ Stuart, Chase (January 26, 2011). "Super Bowl notes: Stat of the Year and Updated SRS Standings". Pro Football Reference Blog. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
^ "Aaron Rodgers tosses 3 TD passes as Packers drop Steelers to win Super Bowl XLV". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 6, 2011. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2011. See especially the "Scoring Summary" section, which shows that the Packers never trailed in the game.