1942 Detroit Lions season

1942 Detroit Lions season
Head coachBill Edwards and Bull Karcis
Home fieldBriggs Stadium
Results
Record0–11
Division place5th NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

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

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 Bye
2 September 20 at Chicago Cardinals L 0–13 0–1 Comiskey Park Recap
3 September 27 Cleveland Rams L 0–14 0–2 Briggs Stadium Recap
4 October 4 Brooklyn Dodgers L 7–28 0–3 Briggs Stadium Recap
5 October 11 at Green Bay Packers L 7–38 0–4 Wisconsin State Fair Park Recap
6 October 18 Chicago Cardinals L 0–7 0–5 Briggs Stadium Recap
7 October 25 Green Bay Packers L 7–28 0–6 Briggs Stadium Recap
8 November 1 at Chicago Bears L 0–16 0–7 Wrigley Field Recap
9 November 8 Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–35 0–8 Briggs Stadium Recap
10 November 15 at Cleveland Rams L 7–27 0–9 League Park Recap
11 November 22 Chicago Bears L 0–42 0–10 Briggs Stadium Recap
12 November 29 Washington Redskins L 3–15 0–11 Briggs Stadium Recap
13 Bye

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Western Division
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.

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

References

  1. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 301
  2. ^ 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
  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.
  6. ^ "NFL Records". www.nfl.com. Retrieved November 2, 2018.