December 15, 1935: The Detroit Lions' Quick Title

Dutch Clark

December 15, 1935: In only their 2nd season, the Detroit Lions win the NFL Championship, defeating the New York Giants, 26-7 at the University of Detroit Stadium, a.k.a. Titan Stadium.

Having bought the Portsmouth Spartans of southern Ohio, radio executive George Richards moved them to his adopted hometown of Detroit. In their 1st season, 1934, they went 10-3 under head coach George "Potsy" Clark.

Quarterback Earl "Dutch" Clark (no relation to Potsy) and running back Ernie Caddell led the way. They began the 1935 season with a 35-0 home win over the Philadelphia Eagles. They tied the Chicago Cardinals at home, lost away to the Brooklyn Dodgers, beat the Boston Redskins away, and lost to the Green Bay Packers away.

They beat the Redskins at home, beat the Cardinals away, lost away to the Packers, then beat the Packers at home. They tied the Bears away, then beat them at home on Thanksgiving, and beat the Brooklyn Dodgers at home, finishing the regular season 7-3-2, and atop the NFL's Western Division. They would play the New York Giants, winners of the Eastern Division for the 3rd season in a row, and the defending Champions.

At the time, the NFL alternated home-field advantage in the Championship Game between the Division winners. This meant that the Lions would be hosting the game at a stadium seating only 25,000 people -- and only 15,000 tickets were bought. Lions quarterback and kicker Glenn Presnell recalled, "I remember that it was a snowy day, very cold, and there were far less fans there than the '34 Thanksgiving Day game. In those days, people didn’t go very often when it wasn’t nice weather."

Titan Stadium

In the 1st quarter, Leroy "Ace" Gutowsky and Dutch Clark rushed for touchdowns, though Glenn Presnell only converted 1 of the 2 extra points. Ed Danowski threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Ken Strong in the 2nd quarter, to bring the Giants to within 13-7 at the half. But in the 4th quarter, Caddell and Raymond "Buddy" Parker each rushed for a touchdown, to give the Lions the 26-7 victory.

It had been just 2 months since the Detroit Tigers won the World Series. Four months later, the Detroit Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup. The year after that, they would do it again, and a Detroit-trained boxer, Joe Louis, would become the Heavyweight Champion of the World. Detroit had become, however briefly, the City of Champions.

Presnell was the last survivor of the 1935 Lions, living until 2004. He told an interviewer:

For winning the championship, we each received $300. We never got a championship ring like they do now, but it was certainly one of my proudest moments. Remember, professional football was not nearly as popular as college football and baseball. It was much more exciting to play college football at Nebraska in front of 40,000 people. It was a way to make a living during the Depression.

In 1938, Tigers owner Walter Briggs, having inherited the team from his late partner, Frank Navin, expanded their ballpark, Navin Field, enclosing it with two decks, and renaming it Briggs Stadium for himself. The Lions moved in.

In 1952 and 1953, Parker would coach the Lions to the NFL Championship. He was succeeded as head coach by George Wilson in 1957, and he led the Lions to another Championship. The 1953 and 1957 NFL Championship Games were played at Briggs Stadium, which was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961. Through the 2021 season, the Lions have still not won another title since 1957.

The University of Detroit canceled its football program after the 1964 season. University of Detroit Stadium was demolished in 1971. A new, smaller athletic complex and its parking lot are now on the site. In 1990, the all-male University of Detroit merged with the all-female Mercy College of Detroit. The single coeducational school was named the University of Detroit Mercy.

The Lions do not have a team Hall of Fame. But they did name an All-Time Team in 2019, in connection with the NFL's 100th Season. From their 1935 NFL Champions, they named quarterback Earl "Dutch" Clark and guard-linebacker Grover "Ox" Emerson. From between their 1935 and 1952 titles, they named center-linebacker Alex Wojciehowicz.

Dutch Clark (but not Potsy Clark), Buddy Parker, Gutowsky, Wojciehowicz, George Richards and Byron "Whizzer" White, later to be a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, have been elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

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December 15, 1935 was a Sunday. Baseball out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. There were 3 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2 at the Olympia Stadium.

* The New York Americans beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 3-0 at the (then relatively new) old Madison Square Garden.

* And the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 at the Boston Garden.