Paula Pasche - Game of My Life Detroit Lions: Memorable Stories of Lions Football

Copyright 2015 by Paula Pasche

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit: Associated Press/Fred Jewell

ISBN: 978-1-61321-812-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61321-860-0

For Detroit Lions fans everywhere

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, much appreciation for the former and current Lions players who shared their time, reached back in the recesses of their minds and told their stories. Without them, there would be no book.

Each chapter in this book is based on a one-on-one interview with the player. All of them were conducted in person or over the phone, except in the case of Barry Sanders who responded to email questions. For the chapter on Alex Karras, who died in 2012, his son, George Karras, and teammate Charlie Sanders, shared their memories of his most memorable game. Charlie Sanders was interviewed in March 2015, four months before his death on July 2.

The game statistics were all checked using Pro Football Reference and the NFLs Game Statistics and Information Systems. Background information came from stories in the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, the Oakland Press, the Grand Rapids Press and MLive.com from the clip books at the Lions facility. The quotes from players in the Calvin Johnson chapter are from the Oakland Press and the Associated Press. Other sources are noted.

A special thanks to all of those who helped me reach out to the players including Ryan Hackworth, the Lions community relations manager; Bill Keenist, Lions senior vice president for communications; Ben Manges, Lions director of corporate communications; Chrissie Wywrot, Risa Balayem, and Jennifer Hammond. Also thanks to Deanna Caldwell, the Lions manager of media services, for providing the photos.

Thanks to longtime Lions beat writer Mike OHara, who now writes for the team website, for sharing a few stories from on and off the field going way back.

I couldnt have finished this without my friends, who were always supportive even on the days that I struggledespecially Julie Jacobson Hines, Annemarie Schiavi Pedersen, and John Torchetti. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

INTRODUCTION

While the Detroit Lions cant look back on much playoff success in recent yearstheir last playoff win was after the 1991 seasonthe history of the franchise is rich in players of talent and character.

Cant count the Super Bowl wins, because the Lions have never reached that pinnacle. But in 1935 they won their first NFL championship and followed it up in the 1950s with three more.

These days a young core of players, including Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford, has taken them closer to a long playoff run.

In 2014 the Lions went to the playoffs for the second time in four years. It was all good, but they arent satisfied and wont be until theyre considered a legitimate playoff contender each season.

Former Lions players know exactly what the team has gone through in the past twenty or thirty or forty years.

Al Bubba Baker, who played for the Lions from 1978 to 1982, said Detroit was no place to be if you hated to lose, which he did. Did he ever.

Lem Barney, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played in just one playoff game in his eleven seasons with the Lions. One. Same with Hall of Famer Charlie Sanders.

Still, there are great stories from some of the best Lions players throughout the ages.

In different ways, playing for the Lions had a profound impact on their lives. That became more clear to me in every conversation, no matter the players age, his position, or the era in which he played.

When asked to name one memorable game from their careers in Honolulu blue and silver, so many of them found a Thanksgiving game that stood out.

Back in the days before Monday Night Football , ESPN and the NFL Network, often the Thanksgiving games would be the only time the Lions could be seen in nationally televised games. The national spotlight seemed to bring out the best in the players whose family and friends were watching from afar.

Defensive tackle Roger Brown sacked Green Bays Bart Starr seven times in a huge Thanksgiving win for the Lions in 1962. He and Starr have a relationship of sorts to this day. It was such a miserable experience for the Packers that coach Vince Lombardi refused to play the Lions on Thanksgiving again.

Doug English had a breakout game with four sacks in a win over the Denver Broncos on Thanksgiving in 1978.

Dre Blys first Thanksgiving game was in 2003 when, again, the Lions made Turkey Day miserable for the Green Bay Packers. Bly intercepted Brett Favre twice that day. (Somewhere, Vince Lombardi was shaking his head.)

If you never saw Brown or English or Baker in action, you will feel like you were in the front row when you read their words.

This book is rich in history.

It contains three Hall of Famers and at least one future Hall of Famer.

Youll discover three who went into the BBQ business in retirement and another who went to culinary school in New York to become a chef.

All three men who wore the Lions No. 20 tell their stories in these pages.

Two former players have made their mark in reality TV shows in recent years.

Most names you will recognize, a few you wont.

Lions fans are so passionate despite the disappointments over the years.

These players shared that passion for winning. Years later they remember details from their most memorable games like they were played yesterday.

Enjoy.

C HAPTER 1

BARRY SANDERS

Running back, 19891998

The Game: December 21, 1997 vs. the New York Jets at the Pontiac Silverdome

DETROIT LIONS 13, NEW YORK JETS 10

Barry Sanders didnt just have memorable games. All these years later, fans still remember certain plays like the time he nearly juked Tampa Bays John Lynch out of his cleats.

He could embarrass opposing defenders, and he did quite often.

He makes you miss so bad, you kind of look up in the stands and wonder if anybodys looking at you, Atlanta Falcons cornerback D.J. Johnson once said. Youve got 60,000 people in there and you wonder if anyone saw you miss that tackle.

Sanders, who was drafted by the Lions third overall in 1989 out of Oklahoma State, still remembers his first NFL game.

I held out for training camp during my rookie season, so I signed three days before our opener. I remember we were playing the Phoenix Cardinals and we were down, when Coach [Wayne] Fontes put me in late in the third quarter, Sanders said.

You would think the third overall pick would get the start, but no.

I was pretty nervous and I did not know many of the plays. They called my number on my first play in, Sanders said. The play was designed to go to the right, but I cut back to the other side and found a hole for about 20 yards. I scored three plays later.