Lomas Brown played his first eleven seasons with the Detroit Lions, where his first six of seven Pro Bowls would take place.  The Left Tackle would appear in seven straight Pro Bowls and would start in 251 of his 263 career games.

This one might be a little tough to justify, but this is not exactly uncommon for players before World War II.

Byron “Whizzer” White was a hot commodity after being a consensus All-American at Colorado, and he was drafted 4^th Overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1938.  As a rookie, he would lead the NFL in Rushing, but the National Football League was not the only organization that sought his talents.  He would only play there for one year as he deferred his pro career to attend Oxford, but the Rhodes Scholar stayed only one year there as he returned to the United States after the outbreak of World War II.

A member of the 1930's All-Decade Team, George Christensen, was one of the better Tackles of the decade (obviously based on the above accolade).

From Rice University, Tobin Rote was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, but in '50 the Pack was not very good, and wouldn't be for years.  The ineptitude of Green Bay was no fault of Rote, who proved to be an excellent QB, but didn't have a lot of teammates around him at his level.  He was also a solid rusher, especially early in his career.  For those who dismissed Rote, in 1956 on what was still a mediocre Packers team, he would lead the NFL in Passing Yards and Completions and had a then-record 29 Touchdown Passes.  Despite that great season, the Packers traded him to Detroit, who began the season sharing Quarterbacking duties with Bobby Layne, but was clearly the main pivot on a team that would win the 1957 NFL Championship Team.

Ox Emerson was a member of the NFL All-Decade 1930's Team. He started his professional football career in 1931 with the Portsmouth Spartans. In his second season, he was selected to his first of five straight First Team All-Pros. Despite being ironically nicknamed due to his height of under six feet and weight of less than 200 pounds, Emerson used his skill and smaller size to his advantage, evading tacklers with his footwork and positioning.

After the Spartans relocated to Detroit, the team was renamed the Lions. Emerson played a crucial role in their Championship win in 1935. Throughout his career, his work in the trenches was a vital part of the team's rushing success, making him one of the best Linemen that Detroit ever had. Emerson has been a Centennial Slate Hall of Fame Finalist, indicating that he has a possible chance of gaining entry through a seniors committee in the future.

The 1944 2nd Overall Draft Pick from the University of Wisconsin, Pat Harder, lived up to the hype. He helped the Chicago Cardinals win the 1947 NFL Championship and was selected for the First Team All-Pro for three consecutive years.

Playing at fullback, and also serving as the Cardinal’s place kicker, Harder became the first player in NFL history to exceed 100 points in three straight years (1947-49). Blessed with power and speed, Harder had soft receiving hands and accumulated 3,880 yards from scrimmage over eight seasons, a decent number for his time. Harder was named the MVP by UPI in 1948, and his overall accomplishments earned him a spot on the 1940s All-Decade Team.

Harder's success continued into the 1950s, as he went to the Pro Bowl in 1950. He then joined the Detroit Lions for his final three years, where he helped them win the NFL Championship in both 1952 and 1953 and was a Pro Bowler in the first of those two years.

It is a long process isn’t it?

We here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly but surely working our way to give you the Top 50 of every major North American Franchise, and we are ready to present to you another one; this time the NFL’s Detroit Lions.

While many of you view the Lions as this sad sack team over the past few decades, this is a team that does have multiple NFL Championship appearances.

The complete list of our Top 50 Detroit Lions can be found here, but for those who want a preview of the top five, here you are!



1. Barry Sanders

2. Joe Schmidt

3. Bobby Layne

4. Lem Barney

5. Doak Walker



Take a look, give us your opinion and as always we thank you!

Up next, we will return to Motown with the Detroit Tigers. 

Spending twelve of his twenty-one seasons in Detroit, “Steady” Eddie Murray lived up to that moniker as one of the most dependable Place Kickers in NFL history.  Murray was a two time Pro Bowler and would twice lead the NFL in Field Goal Percentage.

From the state of Hawaii, Rocky Freitas was a Detroit Lion (1968-77) for all but his final season as a professional football player.  The Offensive Tackle played 121 Games for Detroit and was a Pro Bowl Selection in 1972 and he would lead the NFL in Approximate Value (20) that season.

Named the Detroit Lions Defensive MVP in 1969, 1970 and 1971, Mike Lucci was named to the Pro Bowl in 1971.  In a tough sport, Lucci was one of the toughest, playing through countless injuries.  He would record 21 Interceptions for Detroit.

Another career Detroit Lion, John Gordy was allegedly the inspiration for George Plimpton’s second book on football, “Mad Ducks and Bears”.  Gordy was far more than a literary muse as he was a three time Pro Bowler and a star lineman for Detroit for a decade.

The NFL Rookie of the Year in 1959, Nick Pietrosante came out of Notre Dame a star and continued that pattern in Detroit.  The Fullback would be a Pro Bowl Selection in both 1960 and 1961 and rushed for 3,933 Yards as a Lion, an excellent number for that position in that era.

A star at USC, Charlie Weaver may not have had the fame he did in Southern California, but he was a solid Linebacker for the Detroit Lions for a decade (1971-81).  Weaver would accumulate 15 Interceptions in his professional career.

At one time the Detroit Lions leading rusher, Altie Taylor was a Detroit Lion for seven of his eight seasons and was named the Offensive MVP by the team in 1973.  Taylor would have over 6,000 All-Purpose Yards as a Lion with 30 Touchdowns.

A Detroit Lion for the best six years of his eleven-year career, with the new return rules, it is safe for us to say that Mel Gray will go down in history as the best return specialist in Lions history.  Gray wasn’t used much in the offense, but he was such a star returner amassing nearly 7,000 Return Yards with 7 TDs that he earned a spot here.  He was a three-time First Team All-Pro because of it.

A four time Pro Bowler, Ed Flanagan anchored the Detroit Lions Offensive Line for a decade and despite his Pro Bowls was not the most well known player in the NFL.  Still, Ed Flanagan was one of the most respected players amongst defensive players in the NFC and helmed the Center position better than most of his day.  Flanagan started all of his 139 Games with Detroit.

A Detroit Lion for all but his final season in the NFL, Harley Sewell was a solidifying figure at the Left Guard position.  Sewell would make four Pro Bowls and was a big part of the Lions’ success in the 1950s, helping them win the 1953 and 1957 NFL Championship.

From the University of Georgia, Matthew Stafford was the Lions' Quarterback from 2009 to 2020, starting every game he appeared in.  

The Lions had Calvin Johnson for the first part of Stafford's Detroit run, but he did not have much more help, and the defense was generally poor.  Stafford was considered to be an above-average QB, but his record was 16 Games below .500.  Despite his won-loss record, Stafford broke the 40-year drought by making the Pro Bowl (2014) as a Lions Quarterback.  He threw for over 4,000 Yards annually from 2011 to 2017, and did so again in 2020, his last season with Detroit, as he was traded to the Rams, becoming a household name by winning the Super Bowl in his first year there.

Overall, he threw for 45,109 Yards with 282 Touchdowns, impressive numbers that should be celebrated more than it is.

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Gail Cogdill arrived in Detroit with a boom in 1960 as he was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year.  The Washington State alumni made three Pro Bowls as a Lion and caught over 5,000 Yards worth of passes, which was a very good number for the 1960s.

Somewhat forgotten in the lore of Detroit Lions Quarterbacks is Greg Landry, who was there for eleven years.  Coming out of the University of Massachusetts, Landry would set many passing records (since broken) for the franchise but he was known actually more for his scrambling ability than he was for his passing.  Landry was a Pro Bowl selection in 1971.