The Lions franchise originated in Portsmouth, Ohio as the Spartans, which played as an independent before joining the NFL in 1930. In that early Era the quarterback position was not defined as it is today. The leader in passing yards in used until 1947, when the teams first true quarterback , Clyde LeForce, was added to the Roster. The acquired Football card image has his name misspelled as La Force. Bobby Layne lead the to Lions to NFL Championships in 1952, 1953, & 1957. After being injured in 1958 the Lions traded him to Pittsburgh, mid season. Since then the Lions have fell to the Curse of Bobby Layne for 50 years. The NFL instituted the draft in 1936. Six quarterbacks were drafted but never played for the Lions; Otto Graham, YA Tittle, Ed Mioduszewski, Paul Held, Jack Kemp, & Pete Beathard. 1930 Bill Glassgow (Iowa, Nebraska) 1931, 33 Glenn Presnell (Nebraska) 1932, 34-36 Earl Dutch Clark (Colorado College) 1937 Bill Shepherd (Western Maryland) 1938 Vern Huffman (Indiana) (Drafted 3rd Round) 1939 Dwight Sloan (Arkansas) 1940-41 Byron Whizzer White (Colorado) 1942 Harry Hopp (Nebraska) (Drafted 3rd Round) 1943-44 Frankie Sinkwich (Georgia) (Drafted 1st Round / 1st overall) *Otto Graham (Northwestern) (Drafted 1st Round / 4th overall in 1944, but* [Graham served in the Military, Played Pro Basketball 1945-46, then went to AAFCs Browns in 1946] 1945 Chuck Fenenbock (UCLA) 1946 Dave Ryan (Hardin-Simmons) Clyde LeForce (Tulsa) 1947-49 (Drafted 17th Round in 1945) [LeForce <b>...</b>
Share on del.icio.us
Share on digg
Share on Technorati
Share on reddit
Share on Yahoo!
Share on Furl
