1942 Detroit Lions season: Difference between revisions

1942 Detroit Lions season
1942 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Bill Edwards and Bull Karcis
Home field	Briggs Stadium
Results
Record	0–11
Division place	5th NFL Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1941; Lions seasons; 1943 →;

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The 1942 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 13th season in the National Football League. The Lions suffered the first winless season since Cincinnati went 0–8 in 1934.^[1] This was the first NFL season during U.S. involvement in World War II, which led to player shortages, and thus a depletion of talent. The Lions were hit especially hard by the loss of star halfback Byron “Whizzer” White and tackle Tony Furst.^[2] Head coach Bill Edwards was sacked after three games,^[2] but the decision had no effect on the Lions’ fortunes.

While there were talks of suspending play, it was ultimately decided to allow all professional sports to continue as morale boosters on the home front.^[3] It would remain the only winless season for the Lions until 2008.^[4]^[5]

Regular season

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 20	at Chicago Cardinals	L 0–13	0–1	Comiskey Park	18,698	Recap
2	September 27	Cleveland Rams	L 0–14	0–2	Briggs Stadium		Recap
3	October 4	Brooklyn Dodgers	L 7–28	0–3	Briggs Stadium		Recap
4	October 11	at Green Bay Packers	L 7–38	0–4	State Fair Park		Recap
5	October 18	Chicago Cardinals	L 0–7	0–5	Briggs Stadium		Recap
6	October 25	Green Bay Packers	L 7–28	0–6	Briggs Stadium		Recap
7	November 1	at Chicago Bears	L 0–16	0–7	Wrigley Field		Recap
8	November 8	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 7–35	0–8	Briggs Stadium		Recap
9	November 15	at Cleveland Rams	L 7–27	0–9	League Park		Recap
10	November 22	Chicago Bears	L 0–42	0–10	Briggs Stadium		Recap
11	November 29	Washington Redskins	L 3–15	0–11	Briggs Stadium		Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. September 20: Night game.

Standings

NFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	11	0	0	1.000	8–0	376	84	W11
Green Bay Packers	8	2	1	.800	6–2	300	215	W2
Cleveland Rams	5	6	0	.455	3–5	150	207	L1
Chicago Cardinals	3	8	0	.273	3–5	98	209	L6
Detroit Lions	0	11	0	.000	0–8	38	263	L11

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Washington Redskins	10	1	0	.909	7–1	227	102	W9
Pittsburgh Steelers	7	4	0	.636	5–3	167	119	L1
New York Giants	5	5	1	.500	4–4	155	139	W2
Brooklyn Dodgers	3	8	0	.273	2–6	100	168	L6
Philadelphia Eagles	2	9	0	.182	2–6	134	239	L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

Detroit Lions roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

currently vacant

rookies in italics

Awards and records

Most giveaways, single game: 12 (vs. Chicago Bears)^[6]

References

^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 301
^ ^a ^b Barnas, Jo-Ann; ‘Missing Their Engine Parts: War Machine Hampered the 1942 Lions, Who Went 0–11’; The Washington Post, December 9, 2001, p. D1A
^ "The 1942 Lions were a winless, toothless mess". Detroit Athletic. November 22, 2015. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
^ Haney, Jeff (November 20, 2008). "All-defeated or undefeated? Unlikely - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
^ Bak, Richard (November 22, 2015). "The 1942 Lions were a winless, toothless mess". Vintage Detroit Collection. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
^ "NFL Records". www.nfl.com. Retrieved November 2, 2018.

External links

[1] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 301

[Missing-2] Barnas, Jo-Ann; ‘Missing Their Engine Parts: War Machine Hampered the 1942 Lions, Who Went 0–11’; The Washington Post, December 9, 2001, p. D1A

[3] "The 1942 Lions were a winless, toothless mess". Detroit Athletic. November 22, 2015. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2017.

[4] Haney, Jeff (November 20, 2008). "All-defeated or undefeated? Unlikely - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Retrieved July 19, 2022.

[5] Bak, Richard (November 22, 2015). "The 1942 Lions were a winless, toothless mess". Vintage Detroit Collection. Retrieved July 19, 2022.

[NFL_Team_Records:_Turnovers-6] "NFL Records". www.nfl.com. Retrieved November 2, 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{short description|NFL team season}}
 {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
-{{Infobox NFL season
+{{Infobox NFL team season
 | logo =
 | team = Detroit Lions
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 | division_place = 5th [[Eastern and Western Conferences (NFL) 1933–69|NFL Western]]
 | coach = [[Bill Edwards (American football coach)|Bill Edwards]] and [[Bull Karcis]]
-| stadium =
+| stadium = [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Briggs Stadium]]
 | playoffs = ''Did not qualify''
 | shortnavlink = Lions seasons
 }}
-The '''1942 Detroit Lions season''' was the franchise's 13th season in the [[National Football League]]. The Lions suffered a winless season since Cincinnati went 0–8 in 1934.<ref>NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, {{ISBN|0-7611-2480-2}}, p. 301</ref>  This was the first NFL season during U.S. involvement in [[World War II]], which led to player shortages, and thus a depletion of talent. The Lions were hit especially hard by the loss of star halfback [[Byron White|Byron “Whizzer” White]] and tackle [[Tony Furst]].<ref name="Missing">Barnas, Jo-Ann; ‘Missing Their Engine Parts: War Machine Hampered the 1942 Lions, Who Went 0–11’; ''[[The Washington Post]]'', December 9, 2001, p. D1A</ref> Head coach Bill Edwards was sacked after three games,<ref name="Missing"/> but the decision had no effect on the Lions’ fortunes. They lost by 20 points or more 6 times.
+The '''1942 Detroit Lions season''' was the franchise's 13th season in the [[National Football League]]. The Lions suffered the first winless season since [[1934 Cincinnati Reds (NFL) season|Cincinnati went 0–8]] in [[1934 NFL season|1934]].<ref>NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, {{ISBN|0-7611-2480-2}}, p. 301</ref>  This was the first NFL season during U.S. involvement in [[World War II]], which led to player shortages, and thus a depletion of talent. The Lions were hit especially hard by the loss of star halfback [[Byron White|Byron “Whizzer” White]] and tackle [[Tony Furst]].<ref name="Missing">Barnas, Jo-Ann; ‘Missing Their Engine Parts: War Machine Hampered the 1942 Lions, Who Went 0–11’; ''[[The Washington Post]]'', December 9, 2001, p. D1A</ref> Head coach Bill Edwards was sacked after three games,<ref name="Missing"/> but the decision had no effect on the Lions’ fortunes.
-While there were talks of suspending play, it was ultimately decided to allow all professional sports to continue as morale boosters on the home front.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.detroitathletic.com/blog/2015/11/22/the-1942-lions-were-a-winless-toothless-mess/ |title=The 1942 Lions were a winless, toothless mess |access-date=2017-12-31 |publisher=[[Detroit Athletic]] |date=November 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101135448/https://www.detroitathletic.com/blog/2015/11/22/the-1942-lions-were-a-winless-toothless-mess/ |archive-date=January 1, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  It would remain the only [[winless season]] for the Lions until [[2008 Detroit Lions season|2008]].
+While there were talks of suspending play, it was ultimately decided to allow all professional sports to continue as morale boosters on the home front.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.detroitathletic.com/blog/2015/11/22/the-1942-lions-were-a-winless-toothless-mess/ |title=The 1942 Lions were a winless, toothless mess |access-date=2017-12-31 |publisher=[[Detroit Athletic]] |date=November 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101135448/https://www.detroitathletic.com/blog/2015/11/22/the-1942-lions-were-a-winless-toothless-mess/ |archive-date=January 1, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  It would remain the only [[winless season]] for the Lions until [[2008 Detroit Lions season|2008]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haney |first=Jeff |date=2008-11-20 |title=All-defeated or undefeated? Unlikely - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2008/nov/20/chances-are-no-one-goes-0-16-or-16-0/ |access-date=2022-07-19 |website=lasvegassun.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bak |first=Richard |date=2015-11-22 |title=The 1942 Lions were a winless, toothless mess |url=https://www.vintagedetroit.com/the-1942-lions-were-a-winless-toothless-mess/ |access-date=2022-07-19 |website=Vintage Detroit Collection |language=en-US}}</ref>
 ==Regular season==
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 |-
-!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Detroit Lions|year=1942|border=2}}"| Week
+!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Detroit Lions|year=1942|border=2}}"| Game
 !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Detroit Lions|year=1942|border=2}}"| Date
 !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Detroit Lions|year=1942|border=2}}"| Opponent
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Detroit Lions|year=1942|border=2}}"| Attendance
 !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Detroit Lions|year=1942|border=2}}"| Recap
+!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Detroit Lions|year=1942|border=2}}"| Sources
-|-
+|-style="background:#fcc"
 ! 1
-|colspan="6"| ''[[Bye (sports)|Bye]]''
-|-style="background:#fcc"
-! 2
 | September 20
 | at '''[[1942 Chicago Cardinals season|Chicago Cardinals]]'''
@@ Line 38: / Line 36: @@
 | 0–1
 | [[Comiskey Park]]
+| 18,698
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194209200crd.htm Recap]
+|
 |-style="background:#fcc"
-! 3
+! 2
 | September 27
 | '''[[1942 Cleveland Rams season|Cleveland Rams]]'''
 | '''L''' 0–14
 | 0–2
-| [[Tiger Stadium|Briggs Stadium]]
+| [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Briggs Stadium]]
+|
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194209270det.htm Recap]
+|
 |-style="background:#fcc"
-! 4
+! 3
 | October 4
 | [[1942 Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) season|Brooklyn Dodgers]]
@@ Line 54: / Line 56: @@
 | 0–3
 | Briggs Stadium
+|
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194210040det.htm Recap]
+|
 |-style="background:#fcc"
-! 5
+! 4
 | October 11
 | at '''[[1942 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]]'''
 | '''L''' 7–38
 | 0–4
-| [[Wisconsin State Fair Park]]
+| [[Wisconsin State Fair Park|State Fair Park]]
+|
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194210110gnb.htm Recap]
+|
 |-style="background:#fcc"
-! 6
+! 5
 | October 18
 | '''[[1942 Chicago Cardinals season|Chicago Cardinals]]'''
@@ Line 70: / Line 76: @@
 | 0–5
 | Briggs Stadium
+|
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194210180det.htm Recap]
+|
 |-style="background:#fcc"
-! 7
+! 6
 | October 25
 | '''[[1942 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]]'''
@@ Line 78: / Line 86: @@
 | 0–6
 | Briggs Stadium
+|
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194210250det.htm Recap]
+|
 |-style="background:#fcc"
-! 8
+! 7
 | November 1
 | at '''[[1942 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]]'''
@@ Line 86: / Line 96: @@
 | 0–7
 | [[Wrigley Field]]
+|
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194211010chi.htm Recap]
+|
 |-style="background:#fcc"
-! 9
+! 8
 | November 8
 | [[1942 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers]]
@@ Line 94: / Line 106: @@
 | 0–8
 | Briggs Stadium
+|
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194211080det.htm Recap]
+|
 |-style="background:#fcc"
-! 10
+! 9
 | November 15
 | at '''[[1942 Cleveland Rams season|Cleveland Rams]]'''
@@ Line 102: / Line 116: @@
 | 0–9
 | [[League Park]]
+|
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194211150ram.htm Recap]
+|
 |-style="background:#fcc"
-! 11
+! 10
 | November 22
 | '''[[1942 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]]'''
@@ Line 110: / Line 126: @@
 | 0–10
 | Briggs Stadium
+|
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194211220det.htm Recap]
+|
 |-style="background:#fcc"
-! 12
+! 11
 | November 29
 | [[1942 Washington Redskins season|Washington Redskins]]
@@ Line 118: / Line 136: @@
 | 0–11
 | Briggs Stadium
+|
 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194211290det.htm Recap]
+|
 |-
+|colspan="10"| '''Note:''' Intra-division opponents are in '''bold''' text. September 20: Night game.
-! 13
-|colspan="6"| ''[[Bye (sports)|Bye]]''
 |}
-'''Note:''' Intra-division opponents are in '''bold''' text.
 ===Standings===
 {{1942 NFL Western standings}}
+{{1942 NFL Eastern standings}}
 ===Roster===
@@ Line 135: / Line 154: @@
 | style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | '''Quarterbacks'''
-'''Running Backs'''
+'''Running backs'''
-'''Wide Receivers'''
+'''Wide receivers'''
-'''Tight Ends'''
+'''Tight ends'''
 | style="width: 25px;" |
-| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | '''Offensive Linemen'''
+| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | '''Offensive linemen'''
-'''Defensive Linemen'''
+'''Defensive linemen'''
 | style="width: 25px;" |
 | style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | '''Linebackers'''
-'''Defensive Backs'''
+'''Defensive backs'''
-'''Special Teams'''
+'''Special teams'''
 | style="width: 25px;" |
-| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | '''Reserve Lists'''
+| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | '''Reserve lists'''
-* ''Currently vacant''
+* ''currently vacant''
-<small>''Rookies in italics''</small><br />
+<small>''rookies in italics''</small><br />
 |-
 |}
@@ Line 163: / Line 182: @@
 ==References==
-{{Reflist}}
+{{Reflist|35em}}
+==External links==
 *[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/1942.htm?redir Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference]
 *[http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1942-det Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com]
-*[http://www.footballdb.com/teams/detroit-lions/results/1942 Detroit Lions on The Football Database]
+*[http://www.footballdb.com/teams/detroit-lions/results/1942 1942 Detroit Lions at The Football Database]
 {{Detroit Lions}}
 {{Detroit Lions seasons}}
@@ Line 175: / Line 197: @@
 [[Category:Detroit Lions seasons]]
 [[Category:1942 in sports in Michigan|Detroit Lions]]
+[[Category:1942 in Detroit]]
+[[Category:National Football League winless seasons]]

v t e Detroit Lions
Founded in 1928 Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1928–1933) Based in Detroit, Michigan Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan
Franchise	Ownership: William Clay Martha Firestone Ford Sheila Ford Hamp Franchise overview Team history in Portsmouth, Ohio
Records	All-time roster (A–Las, Lat–Z) Coaches Draft history First-round draft picks Picks from 1936 to 1969 Picks from 1970 to present Lists of players NFL All-Decade Team selections Pride of the Lions Pro Bowlers Pro Football Hall of Famers Retired numbers 7 20 20 20 22 37 56 85 Seasons Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Universal Stadium University of Detroit Stadium Tiger Stadium Pontiac Silverdome Ford Field
Culture	NFL on Thanksgiving Day Paper Lion (film) "What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye song) Home Improvement Beverly Hills Cop Axel Foley Cheerleaders
Lore	1932 NFL Playoff Game Curse of Bobby Layne 0–16 Miracle in Motown
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings
Division championships (10)	1935 1952 1953 1954 1957 1983 1991 1993 2023 2024
League championships (4)	1935 1952 1953 1957
Media	Broadcasters Radio: Radio network Dan Miller Lomas Brown WXYT-FM TV: Television network WJBK Bally Sports Detroit
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1930–present) Conference: National Football Conference (1970–present) Division: North Division (2002–present)

v t e Detroit Lions seasons
Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933)
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance