1963 Detroit Lions season

1963 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	George Wilson
Home field	Tiger Stadium
Results
Record	5–8–1
Division place	4th (tied) NFL Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 1963 Detroit Lions season was their thirtieth in Detroit and 34th overall. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle indefinitely suspended Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras and Packers' halfback Paul Hornung for placing bets on NFL teams. Five other Lions players were fined $2,000 each for betting on games that they did not play in. The Lions franchise was fined $2,000 each on two counts for failure to report information promptly and for lack of sideline supervision. The gambling controversy proved to be a big distraction on the field as well, as the Lions could not build on the success of the previous season, finishing 5–8–1.

On Thanksgiving Day in Detroit, the Lions met the Packers for the thirteenth consecutive season. The game ended in a tie, the first for the Packers in five years, and it was the end of the holiday series for Green Bay. Their visit to Tiger Stadium the following year was on a Monday night in late September, and the visiting opponent for Thanksgiving was rotated, starting with the Chicago Bears.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	12	Daryl Sanders	Offensive Tackle	Ohio State

Source:

Preseason

Paper Lion

Paper Lion, published in 1966, is a non-fiction book by prominent American writer George Plimpton. Plimpton pitched to a lineup of baseball stars in an All-Star exhibition, presumably to answer the question, "How would the average man off of the street fare in an attempt to compete with the stars of professional sports?" He chronicled this experience in his book, Out of My League. In Paper Lion, Plimpton joins the training camp of the 1963 Detroit Lions on the premise of trying out to be the team's third-string quarterback. (The coaches were aware of the deception; the players were not until it became apparent that Plimpton did not really know how to receive the snap from center.) Plimpton, then thirty-six, showed how unlikely it would be for an "average" person to succeed as a professional athlete. When finally inserted at quarterback for a series in a scrimmage conducted in Pontiac, Michigan, Plimpton managed to lose yardage on each play, convincing many in the crowd that he was a professional sports clown inserted for amusement purposes, not someone who was genuinely giving his best effort.

Regular season

Main article: 1963 NFL season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 14	at Los Angeles Rams	W 23–2	1–0	49,342
2	September 22	at Green Bay Packers	L 10–31	1–1	45,912
3	September 29	Chicago Bears	L 21–37	1–2	55,400
4	October 6	San Francisco 49ers	W 26–3	2–2	44,088
5	October 13	at Dallas Cowboys	L 14–17	2–3	27,264
6	October 20	Baltimore Colts	L 21–25	2–4	51,901
7	October 27	Minnesota Vikings	W 28–10	3–4	44,509
8	November 3	at San Francisco 49ers	W 45–7	4–4	33,511
9	November 10	at Baltimore Colts	L 21–24	4–5	59,758
10	November 17	Los Angeles Rams	L 21–28	4–6	44,951
11	November 24	at Minnesota Vikings	L 31–34	4–7	28,763
12	November 28	Green Bay Packers	T 13–13	4–7–1	54,016
13	December 8	Cleveland Browns	W 38–10	5–7–1	51,382
14	December 15	at Chicago Bears	L 14–24	5–8–1	45,317

• Saturday night (September 14), Thursday (November 28: Thanksgiving)

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Lions 10 10 0 3 23 Rams 0 0 2 0 2 Date: September 14 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Game start: Night Game attendance: 49,342 Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C); wind 10 mph (16 km/h)

Scoring summary Q1 DET Walker 46 yard field goal DET 3–0 Q1 DET Lewis 2 yard run (Walker kick) DET 10–0 Q2 DET Walker 12 yard field goal DET 13–0 Q2 DET LeBeau 70 yard interception return (Walker kick) DET 20–0 Q3 LA Safety, Ferguson tackled in end zone by Crow DET 20–2 Q4 DET Walker 34 yard field goal DET 23–2

Week 3 vs Bears

Week Three: Chicago Bears (2–0) at Detroit Lions (1–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	28	0	2	37
Lions	0	0	14	7	21

at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan

• Date: September 29, 1963
• Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C)
• Game attendance: 55,400
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter CHI – Angelo Coia 18-yard pass from Bill Wade (Bob Jencks kick). Bears 7–0. Second quarter CHI – Johnny Morris 16-yard pass from Bill Wade (Bob Jencks kick). Bears 14–0. CHI – Mike Ditka 13-yard pass from Bill Wade (Bob Jencks kick). Bears 21–0. CHI – Richie Petitbon 66-yard interception return (Bob Jencks kick). Bears 28–0. CHI – Bill Wade 1-yard run (Bob Jencks kick). Bears 35–0. Third quarter DET – Terry Barr 60-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Wayne Walker kick). Bears 35–7. DET – Gail Cogdill 67-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Wayne Walker kick). Bears 35–14. Fourth quarter CHI – Safety, Earl Morrall tackled by Doug Atkins in end zone. Bears 37–14. DET – Gail Cogdill 38-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Wayne Walker kick). Bears 37–21. Top passers CHI – Bill Wade – 18/34, 219 yards, 3 TD, INT DET – Earl Morrall – 8/21, 229 yards, 3 TD, INT Top rushers CHI – Joe Marconi – 9 rushes, 30 yards DET – Nick Pietrosante – 8 rushes, 12 yards Top receivers CHI – Johnny Morris – 6 receptions, 85 yards, TD DET – Gail Cogdill – 4 receptions, 119 yards, 2 TD

Standings

NFL Western Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	11	1	2	.917	10–1–1	301	144	W2
Green Bay Packers	11	2	1	.846	9–2–1	369	206	W2
Baltimore Colts	8	6	0	.571	7–5	316	285	W3
Detroit Lions	5	8	1	.385	4–7–1	326	265	L1
Minnesota Vikings	5	8	1	.385	4–7–1	309	390	W1
Los Angeles Rams	5	9	0	.357	5–7	210	350	L2
San Francisco 49ers	2	12	0	.143	1–11	198	391	L5

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

Notes and references

• Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference
• Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com