1964 Detroit Lions season

1964 Detroit Lions season
OwnerWilliam Clay Ford Sr.
Head coachGeorge Wilson
Home fieldTiger Stadium
Results
Record7–5–2
Division place4th NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1964 Detroit Lions season was the 31st in Detroit and the 35th in franchise history. They finished at 7–5–2, fourth in the Western conference.

Offseason

  • On January 21, William Clay Ford, Lions president since 1961, purchased the team.[1]
  • On March 16, Lions Defensive Tackle Alex Karras was reinstated by Pete Rozelle after being suspended for betting.[1]

NFL Draft

Round Pick Player Position School
1 5 Pete Beathard Quarterback USC
2 20 Matt Snorton Tight End Michigan State
3

[2]

Regular season

Main article: 1964 NFL season

For the first time since 1950, the Green Bay Packers were not the guest on Thanksgiving Day; they visited Tiger Stadium in late September for a rare Monday night game.[3][4]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 13 at San Francisco 49ers W 26–17 1–0–0
33,204
2 September 19 at Los Angeles Rams T 17–17 1–0–1
52,001
3 September 28 Green Bay Packers L 10–14 1–1–1
59,203
4 October 4 New York Giants W 26–3 2–1–1
54,836
5 October 11 at Minnesota Vikings W 24–20 3–1–1
40,840
6 October 18 at Chicago Bears W 10–0 4–1–1
47,567
7 October 25 Baltimore Colts L 0–34 4–2–1
57,814
8 November 1 Los Angeles Rams W 37–17 5–2–1
52,064
9 November 6 at Green Bay Packers L 7–30 5–3–1
42,327
10 November 15 at Cleveland Browns L 21–37 5–4–1
83,064
11 November 22 Minnesota Vikings T 23–23 5–4–2
48,291
12 November 26 Chicago Bears L 24–27 5–5–2
52,231
13 December 6 at Baltimore Colts W 31–14 6–5–2
60,213
14 December 13 San Francisco 49ers W 24–7 7–5–2
41,854

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
• Lions 3 1373 26
49ers 7 0100 17
Scoring summary
1DETWayne Walker 23 yard field goalDET 3–0
1SFBernie Casey 63 yard pass from John Brodie (Tommy Davis kick)SF 7–3
2DETWayne Walker 16 yard field goalSF 7–6
2DETNick Pietrosante 3 yard run (Wayne Walker kick)DET 13–7
2DETWayne Walker 31 yard field goalDET 16–7
3DETNick Pietrosante 1 yard run (Wayne Walker kick)DET 23–7
3SFTommy Davis 41 yard field goalDET 23–10
3SFBernie Casey 7 yard pass from John Brodie (Tommy Davis kick)DET 23–17
4DETWayne Walker 26 yard field goalDET 26–17

[7]

Week 10: at Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns 37, Detroit Lions 21
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lions 14 7 0021
Browns 7 13 71037

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

  • Date: November 15
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), relative humidity 60%, wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 83,064
  • TV announcers (CBS): Van Patrick (DET) (second half) and Ken Coleman (CLE) (first half) (play-by-play), Jim Morse (DET) (second half) and Warren Lahr (CLE) (first half) (color commentators)
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Lions
Browns

Standings

NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts 12 2 0 .857 10–2 428 225 W1
Green Bay Packers[a] 8 5 1 .615 6–5–1 342 245 T1
Minnesota Vikings 8 5 1 .615 6–5–1 355 296 W3
Detroit Lions 7 5 2 .583 6–4–2 280 260 W2
Los Angeles Rams 5 7 2 .417 3–7–2 283 339 T1
Chicago Bears 5 9 0 .357 5–7 260 379 L2
San Francisco 49ers 4 10 0 .286 3–9 236 330 L1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
  1. ^ Green Bay was awarded the Playoff Bowl berth from the Western Conference
    by outscoring Minnesota 65–37 in their two meetings.

Roster

1964 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

  • Terry Barr, Outstanding Lineman, Pro Bowl [8]

References

  1. ^ a b NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.282
  2. ^ "1964 Detroit Lions Draftees".
  3. ^ a b Lea, Bud (September 28, 1964). "54,000 to see Pack, Lions". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 3, part 2.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b Lea, Bud (September 29, 1964). "Packers whip stubborn Lions". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ "Lions rally to gain standoff with Rams". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 20, 1964. p. 2B.
  6. ^ "Bears shade Lions by 27-24". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 27, 1964. p. 3B.
  7. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  8. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 368