The Detroit Lions are a professional football team that plays in the NFC North division of the National Football League. The Lions began in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans in 1930. In 1934, radio executive George A. Richards bought the Spartans and moved the team to Detroit. The Lions captured four championships prior to the introduction of the Super Bowl in 1967, but have not made it to a championship since. The team placed at the top of their division in 1983, 1991 and 1993, and played in, but lost, the NFC championship in 1991.Pro Football Hall of Fame: Detroit Lions

After finishing the NFL's first-ever 0-16 season in 2008, the team looked to start fresh in 2009 by unveiling a new logo and new uniforms on April 20, 2009. According to Lions President Tom Lewand, the new logo features a tougher attitude, which the team hopes to take to the field.MLive.com: Photo Gallery: Lions Unveil New Logo and Uniforms

The Detroit Lions suffered through the 2009 season. This was a team rebuilding for the future, and their 2-14 record showed that it is not the current season that is most important to the team’s front office. There were not many positives, but a gutsy performance by rookie QB Matthew Stafford in a game against the Cleveland Browns is probably the highlight of the year. http://www.inquisitr.com/57190/2009-nfl-season-in-review-detroit-lions/

The lowlight was a pathetic effort in a late season game against the Baltimore Ravens were RB Kevin Smith suffered a season ending knee injury, and the defense played so bad that Head Coach Jim Schwartz had to call a timeout just to yell at them. http://www.upi.com/Related-News/Detroit-Lions-RB-Kevin-Smith-leaves-game-with-knee-injury/4b256463dacfe/

In the end the Detroit Lions had just the 27th best NFL Offense, the worst NFL defense, and the front office is left with a lot of work to do to rebuild the roster. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/2009.htm

On December 28, 2008, the Lions fell to the Green Bay Packers to become the first 0-16 team in NFL history.ESPN: Lions first NFL team to finish 0-16 Prior to the game, rookie Gosder Cherilus stated the game is, "our Super Bowl" and "I think we're going to shock a lot of people with a great game. I feel like we're going to win. Not to take anything away from Green Bay, but we're a great football team. I know the record doesn't show it, but I'm going to say it."ESPN.com: Winless Detroit Lions: It's our Super Bowl (December 27, 2008)

On January 15, 2009, the team announced that former Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had agreed to a four-year contract to become the team's new head coach.CBSSports.com: Lions to Name Titans' Schwartz New Coach

The Detroit Lions have retired seven numbers in their history: #7 Dutch Clark, #20 for Barry Sanders, #22 for Bobby Layne, #37 for Doak Walker, #56 for Joe Schmidt, #85 for Chuck Hughes, and #93 for Corey Smith.

It should be noted that the #20 was retired specifically for Sanders but was also worn by RB Billy Simms and DB Lem Barney who are among the all time great players in the team’s history.

Pat Swilling wore #56 with Schmidt’s permission when he was signed away for the New Orleans Saints. The number was unretired for Swilling has once again been retired.

Kevin Johnson wore the #85 during his stint with the Lions as he had worn that number throughout his football career. He received permission from the Hughes family to do so.

The #93 was retired after the tragic boating accident in which Smith went missing and was presumed dead on March 1, 2009. http://www.nflteamhistory.com/nfl_teams/detroit_lions/retired_numbers.html

• Dan Orlovsky
• Kevin Smith
• Rudi Johnson
• Calvin Johnson
• Shaun McDonald
• Bryant Johnson
• Jon Kitna
• Roy Williams
• Jack Christiansen
• Alonzo Spellman
• Joe Schmidt
• Barry Sanders
• Lem Barney
• Bobby Layne
• Billy Sims
• John Henry Johnson