1934When WJR Radio owner G.A. Richards bought the NFL’s Portsmouth Spartans 90 years ago and moved the fledgling franchise from Ohio to the Motor City, the newly named Detroit Lions were led by team captain and signal-calling triple-threat tailback Earl “Dutch” Clark, who quickly became the team’s first gridiron hero.
In the Lions’ inaugural season, Clark, along with fellow stars Ace Gutowsky, Glenn Presnell, and Ernie Caddel, led the Lions, coached by George “Potsy” Clark, to a 10-3 record and a second-place finish in the Western Division. The next year, in front of approximately 12,000 faithful fans braving sleet and rain at the University of Detroit football field on West McNichols, the Lions captured their first NFL championship when they defeated the New York Giants 26-7 in a game that featured Clark’s spectacular 40-yard touchdown run.
The NFL’s leading scorer in ’35 and ’36, Clark was named player coach in 1937, the year he was photographed standing majestically in all his glory atop an equipment trunk next to the Greek “Discus Thrower” statue at the Cranbrook School athletic field in Bloomfield Hills, where the Lions conducted their summer training camps from 1934 to 1941 and from 1957 to 1974.
The “Flying Dutchman” quit the Lions after the 1938 season to become the head coach for the Cleveland Rams. He later served as the head football coach and athletic director at the University of Detroit in 1951-53.
An All-Pro selection for six of his seven NFL seasons, Clark was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 as a charter member and was the first player to have his jersey number (7) retired by the Lions. Clark later pursued a sales career in the Detroit area before moving back to his native Colorado two years prior to passing away at age 71 from cancer in 1978.
This story originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our digital edition will be available on Oct. 7. Plus, find even more The Way It Was articles at hourdetroit.com.
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