The 1954 Detroit Lions season marked the franchise's 25th year in the National Football League (NFL), including four initial seasons as the Portsmouth Spartans. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 10–2, winning only nine games.1954 Detroit Lions They qualified for the championship game for the third consecutive season.
Offseason NFL draft
The Lions drafted 32 players in the 1954 NFL draft. Their first-round pick was Dick Chapman, an All-American defensive tackle out of Rice. Chapman never played a snap for the Lions, electing to return to Rice and finish his degree in physics. Their second-round pick, Michigan State center Jim Neal, also never played a snap after "marrying a girl whose religion prohibited him to play football on Sundays."
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 vs. College All-Stars W 34–6 1–0 Soldier Field 93,740 2 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17–14 2–0 Connie Mack Stadium 45,600 3 Washington Redskins W 27–7 3–0 Briggs Stadium 34,380 4 vs. New York Giants W 28–13 4–0 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium 25,000 5 vs. Cleveland Browns W 56–31 5–0 Cotton Bowl 43,000 6 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers W 42–14 6–0 War Memorial Stadium 20,000
Regular season
According to the team, a total of 28,553 season tickets were sold by the Lions for the 1954 campaign.Edward M. "Bud" Erickson (ed.), Detroit Lions Facts Book 1963: Press, Radio, TV. Detroit, MI: Detroit Football Company, 1963, p. 4. The Lions played their home games in Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium), which had a regular listed seating capacity of 46,194, with an additional 7,000 bleacher seats for football to bring total capacity to 53,194.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 26 Chicago Bears W 48–23 1–0 Briggs Stadium 52,343 Recap —Postponement to December 19; (World Series) 2 October 10 Los Angeles Rams W 21–3 2–0 Briggs Stadium 56,523 Recap 3 Baltimore Colts W 35–0 3–0 Briggs Stadium 48,272 Recap 4 October 24 at San Francisco 49ers L 31–37 3–1 Kezar Stadium 60,500 Recap 5 October 31 at Los Angeles Rams W 27–24 4–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 74,342 Recap 6 at Baltimore Colts W 27–3 5–1 Memorial Stadium 25,287 Recap 7 November 14 San Francisco 49ers W 48–7 6–1 Briggs Stadium 58,431 Recap 8 November 21 at Green Bay Packers W 21–17 7–1 City Stadium 20,767 Recap 9 November 25 Green Bay Packers W 28–24 8–1 Briggs Stadium 55,532 Recap 10 December 5 Philadelphia Eagles T 13–13 8–1–1 Briggs Stadium 54,939 Recap 11 December 12 at Chicago Bears L 24–28 8–2–1 Wrigley Field 37,240 Recap 12 December 19 at Cleveland Browns W 14–10 9–2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 34,168 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. • Saturday night: October 16, November 6. Thanksgiving: November 25.
Standings
Postseason
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Sources NFL Championship December 26 at Cleveland Browns L 10–56 0–1 Cleveland Stadium 43,827
Roster
References
External links 1954 Detroit Lions at Pro Football Reference 1954 Detroit Lions at jt-sw.com