The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit.

The
Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National
Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team plays their home games
at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.

The franchise was founded in Portsmouth, Ohio as the Portsmouth Spartans and
joined the NFL on July 12, 1930.[1] Amid financial struggles, the franchise
was relocated to Detroit in 1934 and renamed the Lions in reference to the
city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise, the Detroit Tigers.[6][7]

The Lions won four NFL Championship Games between 1935 and 1957. Following
the 1957 championship, the franchise did not win a playoff game until the 1991
season and did not win another until the 2023 season. They are the only franchise
operational for the entirety of the Super Bowl era to not appear in the Super
Bowl.[8][9][10]

Franchise history
Main article: History of the Detroit Lions
See also: List of Detroit Lions seasons

Logos and uniforms

Billy Sims (No. 20) rushing the ball against the Los
Angeles Rams on September 7, 1980
Aside from a brief change to scarlet and black from 1948 to 1950 instituted by then
head coach Bo McMillin, which was influenced by his years as coach at Indiana, the
Lions' uniforms have basically remained the same since they moved to Detroit in
1934–silver helmets, silver pants, and either blue or white jerseys. [11][12]

Glenn Presnell, the then last surviving member of the 1934 Lions, recalled that after
the Portsmouth Spartans relocated to Detroit, team owner George A. Richards asked
him and his wife to pick the Lions' colors from combinations that included red and
white, orange and black, and blue and silver. The Presnells liked blue and silver the
best, so Richards selected it. The blue used by the Lions is officially known as
"Honolulu blue", which is inspired by the color of the waves off the coast of
Hawaii.[12][13]

There have been minor changes to the uniform design throughout the years, such as
changing the silver stripe patterns on the jersey sleeves, and changing the colors of
the jersey numbers. "TV numbers", which are auxiliary uniform numbers to help TV
broadcasters identify players from the line of scrimmage, were added to the jersey
sleeves in 1956.[12] White trim was added to the logo in 1970, with outlines (white on
the blue jersey, silver on the white jersey) added to the numbers in 1972; the color
arrangement on the numbers on the blue jerseys was reversed in 1982. [11] The silver
facemasks became blue in 1984. In 1998, the team wore blue pants with their white
jerseys along with grey socks but dropped that combination after the season. [11][14] In
1999, the "TV numbers" on the sleeves were moved to the shoulders. [15]

In 1994, every NFL team wore throwback jerseys,[16] and the Lions' were similar to
the jerseys wore during their 1935 championship season. The helmets and pants
were solid silver, the jerseys Honolulu blue with silver numbers and the jersey did not
have "TV numbers" on the sleeves. The team wore solid blue socks and black
cleats. The helmets also did not have logos, as helmets were simple leather back
then.[11] The Lions also wore 1950s-style jerseys during their traditional Thanksgiving
Day games from 2001 to 2004 as the NFL encouraged teams to wear throwback
jerseys on Thanksgiving Day.[17]

In 2003, the team added black trim to their logo and jerseys. The facemasks on the
helmet changed from blue to black with the introduction of the new color. In 2005,
the team introduced an alternate, black, jersey. [11][18]

For 2008, the team dropped the black jersey in favor of a throwback uniform to
commemorate the franchise's 75th anniversary. The throwback uniform became the
team's permanent alternate jersey in 2009, replacing the former black
alternate.[19] The Lions officially unveiled a new logo and uniforms on April 20, 2009.
The logo was given a flowing mane and fangs, while the typeface featured a modern
font.[20]

The Detroit Lions' uniform design from 2017 through

2023.
On February 1, 2017, the Lions announced a new typeface, logo, and the complete
removal of the color black from the team identity. While the previous logo was
retained, the border was changed from black to silver. [21][18] The Lions then unveiled
the new uniforms on April 13, 2017, which included the white jersey and blue pants
combo for the first time since 1998. They introduced an alternate all-grey uniform, an
alternate all-Honolulu blue uniform, and a helmet with a silver face mask.[22][23] The
Lions also added the initials "WCF" to the left sleeve as a permanent tribute
to William Clay Ford, who owned the team from 1963 until his death in 2014. The
sleeve addition replaced the black "WCF" patch on the left breast that was added
after Ford's death.[24]
On September 20, 2021, the Lions wore white pants with their road white uniforms
against the Green Bay Packers. The white pants, which lacked striping, were
previously worn during the "scarlet and black" era in the 1948 and 1949 seasons. [25]

On April 12, 2023, the Lions announced they would celebrate their 90th season in
franchise history during the 2023 season with a commemorative logo and jersey
patch. The inspiration for the patch is an homage to their logo from 1961 to 1969,
which is also honored in the WCF memorial logo and the 60th commemorative
season logo.[26] On June 21, 2023, the Lions unveiled an alternate blue helmet. The
helmet, which features the 1960s logo, was paired with the grey uniform. This was
the first time the Lions wore a blue helmet since 1955. [27][28]

On April 18, 2024, the Lions unveiled a new jersey set. The home jersey, referred to
as "One Pride", features a redefined Honolulu blue with white block numbers
trimmed in silver and sleeves striped in silver with white accents. The home jersey
will be paired with silver pants with Honolulu blue stripes with white accents or solid
Honolulu blue pants. The road white jersey, referred to as "the 313", features
Honolulu blue block numbers, stripes trimmed in silver, and a Honolulu blue "Detroit"
wordmark on the front. The road jersey will be paired with solid Honolulu blue or
solid white pants. The primary silver helmet with a Honolulu blue face mask and
Honolulu blue stripes with white accents will be worn with the home and road
jerseys. The black alternate jersey, referred to as "Motor City Muscle", features
Honolulu blue numbers and stripes trimmed in silver along with a "Lions" wordmark
on the front. It will be worn with the alternate Honolulu blue helmet featuring black
stripes with silver accents and the leaping lion logo in black with silver accents. The
black jersey will be paired with solid black or solid Honolulu blue pants. [2][29] The black
jersey was a favorite of head coach Dan Campbell, who wore the original version
during his playing days. According to Lions team president Rod Wood, it was
Campbell who lobbied for the black jersey to return, which happened after the Lions
won the NFC North division title in 2023.[30] The throwback jersey was retained and
updated with the refreshed Honolulu blue. The throwback jersey will be retained with
a silver helmet that will be worn with a silver or a Honolulu blue face mask. The
William Clay Ford (WCF) memorial decal has been placed on the back of the primary
and alternate helmets.[2][29]

Thanksgiving Day tradition

The Lions, seen here during the 2007 Thanksgiving game against
their division rival Green Bay Packers, have played on Thanksgiving since 1934 with the
exception of the years during World War II.
In 1934, then team owner George A. Richards, who also was the owner of a major
radio affiliate of the NBC Blue Network, WJR in Detroit, the forerunner to
today's ABC, negotiated an agreement with NBC to carry his Thanksgiving game live