Lets not forget the "Pride of the Lions"

Written by Al Beaton | 24 November 2009

Lost in all the Matthew Stafford craziness and the excitement of an shocking victory was the Lions introducing their charter "Pride of the Lions" class at halftime Sunday.

Here's the 12 inaugural honorees:

No.	Name	Pos.	Years
20	Barney, Lem	CB	1967-77
24	Christiansen, Jack*	S	1951-58
7	Clark, Dutch*	QB	1934-38
76	Creekmur, Lou*	OL	1950-59
81	Lane, Dick “Night Train”*	CB	1960-65
28	Lary, Yale	S	1952-53, 56-64
22	Layne, Bobby*	QB	1950-58
20	Sanders, Barry	RB	1989-98
88	Sanders, Charlie	TE	1968-77
56	Schmidt, Joe	LB	1953-65
37	Walker, Doak*	RB	1950-55
50	Wojciechowicz, Alex*	OL	1938-46

*Deceased

Turns out my educated guess was right on the money. Not that figuring out whom the Lions were going to honor took much detective work. They are all legitimate Hall of Famers, and spent a considerable amount of time, or their entire careers, with the Lions.

Schmidt, Sanders, Lary, Barney

Schmidt, C. Sanders, Lary and Barney. Great players, ugly jackets...

It's quite telling 11 of the "Pride" played from the 70s on back, showing how far this once great franchise has fallen. The incomparable Barry Sanders is the only member to have played in the NFL post 1977, when Lem Barney and Charlie Sanders finished their incomparable careers.

Pride of the Lions

I know said this smelled of desperation, as the Lions are having trouble selling tickets. But having thought about it since, I have to admit placing the names of great Detroit Lions in an area of honor is an awesome gesture, and one long overdue.

I only wish the Lions could have done this on a game day (the home opener!) where empty seats didn't outnumber fans in attendance.