The franchise did have a great run in the ‘50s winning NFL championships in 1952, 1953, and 1957. That Lions team was led by quarterback Bobby Layne. Layne took the Lions to four championships games and won three of them. His team defeated the powerful Cleveland Browns each time.

Layne was a five-time Pro Bowler during that time and is a member of the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team. He was injured during the Lions last championship season and was traded the next season. He is said to have cursed the Lions by saying the club would not win for 50 years.

That prediction, even though it was in spite, has come true. The team has failed to even make another championship since the 1957 season, despite having NFL greats like Barry Sanders on the team. Sanders, a small elusive running back out of Oklahoma State, put on a show in the ‘90s. He would dart back and forth, often leaving defenders looking like fools on his way to the end zone. He was on the verge of breaking Walter Payton’s rushing record, but retired suddenly, some think out of respect for the NFL legend.

Fifty years have passed now, and the team looks poised to compete for the first time this century.