Detroit welcomed the Lions in 1934, but it was not the area's first look at professional football. In 1920, the Detroit Heralds were a charter member of the American Professional Football Association, which was the original name of the present NFL, but the club folded after two years. The Detroit Panthers appeared in 1925, but also folded after two seasons. In 1928, the Detroit Wolverines were formed, but they failed after just one year.
In 1930, the then-10-year-old National Football League added a franchise from Portsmouth,
Ohio, called the Spartans. After four seasons, the team was purchased for $7,952.08
by a group headed by Detroit radio executive George A. Richards and moved to
the Motor City.
Playing in the University of Detroit Stadium before average crowds of 16,000
people, the new Detroit Lions won the NFL Championship in only their second
year (1935). Under the leadership of Coach "Potsy" Clark and stars like Hall
of Famer "Dutch" Clark, Ernie Caddel, George Christensen, "Ace" Gutowsky,
Glenn Presnell and "Ox" Emerson, the early Lions established pro football
in Detroit.
In 1940, Chicagoan Fred Mandel bought the club. Lions' stars of that era included Hall
of Famers Bill Dudley and Alex Wojciechowicz, John Green, Byron "Whizzer" White,
Frank Sinkwich and "Camp" Wilson. The team was sold eight years later to a group
of local businessmen under the leadership of Edwin J. Anderson. The Detroit
syndicate controlled the club until 1964, when William Clay Ford became sole
owner for a price of $4.5 million.
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