OT: A List of Obscure / Favorite Lions
i'm not one for creating board posts, but at the gym this morning i was thinking about how long i've been a fan (a.k.a. "victim") of this team, and how much fun i'm having with this team right now.
then i was remembering that greg landry was my first favorite football player. then charlie sanders, and altie taylor, and lem barney (i got his autograph, once), and mike lucci (oh, man i LOVED mike lucci), and steve owens, and...
okay, old farts and less-scarred younguns. your list of lions. no barry sanders, no calvin, no stafford, just your list of Guys.
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:14 AM ^
Alex Karras was a monster in a Lions uniform.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:20 AM ^
He was my childhood favorite (got his autograph) along with Charlie Sanders, Lem Barney and Mel Farr.
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:20 AM ^
Don’t forget the punters:
Tom Skladany (OK he’s a buckeye but so was speilman)
Jim Arnold
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:21 AM ^
Germaine Crowell, Bryant Westbrook, Terry Fair. and Aaron Gibson because of his giant helmet. Man, those days sucked...
January 23rd, 2024 at 12:39 PM ^
That is a difficult time. They did beat a great St Louis team around that time, with Germaine Crowell leading the way
January 23rd, 2024 at 2:16 PM ^
Came here to say Germaine Crowell. Some friends and I went to this game back when I was in high school, the Silverdome was LOUD!
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:21 AM ^
Growing up a Jints fan, my two favorite lions were Simba and Scar.
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:21 AM ^
Chris Spielman was the epitome of what this team is today. He was all about grit.
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:24 AM ^
Eddie Murray
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:24 AM ^
Mark Royals
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:26 AM ^
Greg Landry used to go to my church.
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:27 AM ^
Horace King. Billy Sims replaced him as RB#1 in 1980. Lived on my street in Rochester and was on my Detroit News paper route.
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:28 AM ^
As a kid I grep up rooting for Spielman, my favorite NFL player ever.
Only later, when I became a crazy college football fan and devoted Wolverine, did I realize where he went to college.
Oh well, he's still my favorite!
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:29 AM ^
Robert Porche and Herman Moore are both great calls. Probably too obvious but Jason Hanson.
January 23rd, 2024 at 3:19 PM ^
Herman Moore is a real nice guy. His wife has to play bad cop sometimes because Herman is so nice.
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:29 AM ^
Eddie Drummond was my favorite ever Lion and I have his and Jeff Backus's autographs at an open practice ca. 2003
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:34 AM ^
Slats or Jackie. I always have a place for the legacy's. However, whatever they are feeding Leo, give me some of that, because that dood is old!
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:40 AM ^
Running back Joe Don Looney. The ultimate head case - read the article below.
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:41 AM ^
- Charlie Ane
- Dorne Dibble
- Bobby Lane
- Tobin Rote
- Nick Pietrosante
- Dick "Night Train" Lane
- Joe Schmidt
- Yale Lary
- John Henry Johnson
- Lou Creekmur
- Terry Barr
- Howard "Hop Along" Cassidy
- Leon Hart
- Darris McCord
- Tom "The Bomb" Tracy
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:51 AM ^
- Jason MF Hanson
- Herman Moore
- Mel Gray
- Brett Perriman
- Chris Spielman
- Luther Ellis
- Robert Porcher
- Bennie Blades
January 23rd, 2024 at 3:17 PM ^
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:55 AM ^
I've discovered Reddit in the last year and the Michigan/Lions posts migrate from Reddit to here on the regular. This was posted yesterday on either a Michigan or Lions reddit. That said:
Rob Rubick from GVSU--I went to some one day camp at GVSU and he talked to us right after he was drafted.
Erik Hipple--guy had a beard after and before they were cool.
Gary Danielson from Purdue.
Charlie Batch from EMU--he wasn't the best QB in the world, but it was cool to see an EMU guy make it in the pro for a few years.
Chris Spielman was pretty great though he played on some lousy teams.
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:55 AM ^
90's kid so Luther Ellis, Johnnie Morton, Robert Porcher, Corey Schlesinger, Chris Spielman, Bennie Blades etc...
January 23rd, 2024 at 10:59 AM ^
As I see other people's lists, there are so many players that were fun to cheer for. My top two are
- "Touchdown" Willie Green
- Jerry Ball
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:07 AM ^
Tween/early-teen me always chuckled at the name "William Gay." One of the members of the Silver Rush!
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:11 AM ^
Jimmy "Spiderman" Allen. I was 5 years old when "Another One Bites the Dust" blew the doors off the Metro Detroit area. I still have the 45 in my closet.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:12 AM ^
Two personal favorites:
Terry Barr - Grand Rapids kid and Michigan Wolverine. Got his autograph as a kid. (Yes I’m old).
Milt Plum - a distant relative and one in a long line of mediocre QBs between Bobby Layne and Matthew Stafford.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:12 AM ^
Ernie Sims. I thought he was gonna be the best LB in the NFL. Plus he owned alligators and shit.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:17 AM ^
Got to meet Charlie Sanders in the late sixties. Super nice and friendly. Late winter, early spring the Lions would do charity basketball games and they came to my highschool.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:20 AM ^
How about a little love for good ol' Eddie "Money" Murray?
He led the Lions in scoring for 10 consecutive seasons, and in 1983, made the longest field goal in Lions history (54 yards) in the NFC Divisional Playoff at San Francisco, but... with the Lions trailing 24-23 with 11 seconds left in the game, Murray, having earlier made that 54-yard field goal (an NFL playoff record at the time), narrowly missed a 43-yard attempt that sealed a 23-24 loss.
January 23rd, 2024 at 3:13 PM ^
Pretty sure Wide Right was from 42 yards.
Truthfully we didn’t deserve to win that game. Danielson threw *5* picks.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:28 AM ^
My wife's great uncle though he only did exhibition games in 1951.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^
The Lions I grew up on where headlined by the following:
Barry, OF COURSE,
Lomas Brown
Bennie Blades
Chris Spielman
Brett Perriman
Mel Gray
Rodney Peete
Erik Kramer
Robert Porcher
Herman Moore
Johnny Morton
I feel like I'm missing a nose tackle from that era that I'm blanking on.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:30 PM ^
Jerry Ball.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:38 AM ^
I am not going to scan and post, but do you all remember the Shell gas station football prints - I want to say 1982? Billy Sims, Bubba Baker, Tom Skladany, freddie solomon, Gary Danielson (my least favorite Lion ever) - they were graphite pencil sketch prints. I had relatives in Ohio I had all the Bengals and Browns too - Brian Sipe, both Pruitts, Pete Johnson, the big buckeye RB that got stuffed 4x by Hacksaw Reynolds in the 82 SIverdome Super Bowl. I still have them my kids will dig them out when i am dead and be like wtf?
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:39 AM ^
Corey Schlesinger, Johnnie Morton, Mark Carrier, James Hall, Terry Fair, and David Sloan. Schlesinger cracked his helmet at least once and just seemed built to play FB in that era.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:42 AM ^
Jeff Chadwick.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:45 AM ^
Leonard Thompson was my favorite as a youth. And Spiderman.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:46 AM ^
Me and Jug Girard.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:49 AM ^
Mel Gray seemed to have like a 10-yard stride once he got up to speed. Gliding is how I used to describe his returns.
January 23rd, 2024 at 11:55 AM ^
Here's mah dude
January 23rd, 2024 at 12:02 PM ^
- Freddie Scott
- David Hill (Errol Flynn in the end zone)
- Leonard Thompson
- Mel Gray
- Joe Reed (country music singer, too)
- Doug English
- Larry Hand
and, of course
- Dan Campbell
January 23rd, 2024 at 12:08 PM ^
Not obscure, but my favorite Lions play of all time. Billy Sims leaps onto the back of the defender and karate kicks another for 10 yards:
January 23rd, 2024 at 12:08 PM ^
Got Wayne Walker's autograph when I was a kid he was at little league football game.For some reason I was a fan of Pat Studstill and Earl McCoullough can't ever remember seeing them play.Has Mike Lucci football card and Steve Owens jersey.Who was the lion that tore his knee up stepping off the train in Detroit?Could have/should have been a stud.
January 23rd, 2024 at 12:19 PM ^
Nick Eddy. Star HB at Notre Dame.
January 23rd, 2024 at 12:31 PM ^
Thanks
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:46 PM ^
I was surprised that the thread went this long until someone finally mentioned Pat Studstill.
Another from the mid/late 60s Lions that I haven't yet seen mentioned is IU Hoosier Tom Nowatzke from Michigan City IN.
Big bruising fullback/halfback, I think his playing weight was around 230-235 at a time that most DLs were around 240-250 and linebackers around 210-225.
January 23rd, 2024 at 12:13 PM ^
Have to include the two back-up singers on Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" - Lem Barney and Mel Farr - particularly on the intro. Also, they were instrumental in getting him a tryout with the Detroit Lions which was held at Michigan.
January 23rd, 2024 at 12:14 PM ^
What a lovely post, the names rain down on me like the tears of shattered season throughout my life. God bless Dan Campbell for this gift of a season and actual hope for more to come. I would recommend a book about those fleeting years in the ‘50s when the Lions ruled the NFL.
https://www.amazon.com/When-Lions-Were-Kings-Fabulous/dp/081433427X
[edit]. Apparently, the book itself is out of print, but a kindle version is available. Maybe winning the SB will stimulate a reprint.
January 23rd, 2024 at 1:18 PM ^
that book is FANTASTIC. i need to dig it out, stat.