Why were the Lions so bad for so long? New book offers insights
The Ford family has owned the Lions for more than 60 years. A new generation is leading them in a new direction.
Detroit Lions fans during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Detroit.
The Detroit Lions kick off the 2024 NFL season in an unfamiliar role — Super Bowl contender.
The team has never played in one and hasn’t won a league championship since 1957. They came close last season, leading for most of the NFC title game before the San Francisco 49ers came back to win, 34 to 31.
Die-hard Lions fans have endured more than 60 years of dashed hopes and dismal play, during which one family has owned the franchise — the Fords.
Author Bill Morris has written a new book, “The Lions Finally Roar.” It focuses on the team’s history of failure and its more recent success.
A door closes, a window opens
William Clay Ford, a grandson of Henry Ford, bought a share of the team in the 1950s and became the sole owner in 1963.
Morris says frustration motivated Ford’s interest in the Lions.
“I think it was a sort of reaction to a rejection he suffered inside Ford Motor Company,” Morris said.
William Clay Ford designed the Continental Mark II in the 1950s. Morris says Ford was immensely proud of the car. But at $10,000, it was too expensive for most consumers.
“Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Liz Taylor all wanted to have one for themselves, which they bought, but not many other people did,” Morris said.
The author notes the company lost about $1,000 for every Mark II it made. William Clay Ford’s older brother, Henry Ford II, killed the project. Morris says that was a major blow to the younger Ford, and a big reason why he took an interest in the Lions.
“He saw that as a fallback and a way to make his mark, since he couldn’t do it inside the Ford Motor Company,” Morris said.
A dynasty of despair
William Clay Ford owned the Lions from 1963 until his death in 2014. During those 50-plus years, the team had 13 winning seasons and won a single playoff game.
Morris says Ford cared deeply about the Lions and wanted them to be successful.
“The players, for the most part, adored him,” Morris said. “He was, personally, a very likeable man, and people who knew him loved him.”
The problem, Morris says, was that Ford hired a string of executives — including Russ Thomas and Matt Millen — who were not good at their jobs.
“He had never really run a business,” Morris says. “He had a knack for choosing the wrong people and sticking with them for reasons that nobody really knows to this day.”
Read more: Why do the Detroit Lions wear “Honolulu” Blue?
New owner, new hope
After Ford died, his wife Martha became the sole owner, but the team fared no better on the field. Mrs. Ford relinquished control of the Lions and passed it on to her daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp, in 2020. The team won five games in Hamp’s first year. She fired head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn and brought in a new regime in 2021.
“Chris Spielman, a former Lions player came in,” Morris said. “Then they came up with a general manager, Brad Holmes, and a coach, Dan Campbell, who were really smart choices as it would turn out.”
At first, it didn’t look like it would work out. The Lions lost 10 of their first 11 games in 2021 and started 1-6 the following season.
Morris says, like her father, Hamp remained loyal to the people she hired despite the rough start.
“She walked into the practice facility in the middle of that season and said, ‘I understand it’s going to be tough, and we’re going to stick with these guys,'” Morris said.
After that, the team won eight of its last 10 games, finishing 9-8 in 2022. The next year, the Lions claimed their first division title since 1993 and won back-to-back home playoff games for the first time in franchise history.
A liability becomes an asset
Morris says while loyalty may have been her father’s weakness, it’s been Hamp’s strength so far.
“She stuck with the right people, unlike her father, who stuck with the wrong people,” Morris said.
The book arrived in stores on Sept. 3, 2024. The Lions open the 2024 season against former franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams at Ford Field on Sunday, Sept. 8. Detroit beat L.A. in last season’s playoffs.
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