1967 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season

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The 1967 Detroit Lions season was the 38th season in franchise history. On August 5, the Lions met the Denver Broncos in the first inter-league exhibition game. The Broncos beat the Lions 13–7 to become the first AFL team to beat an NFL team.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The Lions boasted both the NFL's Offensive and Defensive rookies of the year: running back Mel Farr and cornerback Lem Barney.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School
1	7	Mel Farr^[4]	Running Back	UCLA
2	34	Lem Barney	Defensive Back	Jackson State
3	60	Paul Naumoff	Linebacker	Tennessee
4	88	Lew Kamanu	Defensive End	Weber State
6	141	Tim Jones	Quarterback	Weber State

Source:^[5]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 17	at Green Bay Packers	T 17–17	0–0–1	50,861
2	September 24	Cleveland Browns	W 31–14	1–0–1	57,383
3	October 1	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 28–38	1–1–1	43,821
4	October 8	Green Bay Packers	L 17–27	1–2–1	57,877
5	October 15	at Chicago Bears	L 3–14	1–3–1	46,024
6	October 22	Atlanta Falcons	W 24–3	2–3–1	50,601
7	October 29	at San Francisco 49ers	W 45–3	3–3–1	37,990
8	November 5	Chicago Bears	L 13–27	3–4–1	55,606
9	November 12	at Minnesota Vikings	T 10–10	3–4–2	40,032
10	November 19	at Baltimore Colts	L 7–41	3–5–2	60,238
11	November 23	Los Angeles Rams	L 7–31	3–6–2	54,389
12	December 3	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 14–24	3–7–2	47,713
13	December 10	at New York Giants	W 30–7	4–7–2	63,011
14	December 17	Minnesota Vikings	W 14–3	5–7–2	44,874

Game summaries

Week 1

Detroit Lions (0–0) at Green Bay Packers (0–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	10	7	0	0	17
Packers	0	0	7	10	17

at Lambeau Field • Green Bay, Wisconsin

Date: September 17
Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C) • Wind 6 mph
Game attendance: 50,861
TV: CBS
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

Lions

Milt Plum
7/17, 41 Yds
Mel Farr
16 Rush, 95 Yds
Pat Studstill
3 Rec, 19 Yds

Packers

Bart Starr
14/23, 321 Yds, 4 INT
Jim Grabowski
10 Rush, 36 Yds
Carroll Dale
4 Rec, 109 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	DET	{{{HomeName}}}
1					Lions	Interception returned 24 yards for touchdown by Barney, Walker kick good	7	0
1					Lions	47-yard field goal by Walker	10	0
2					Lions	Marsh 3-yard touchdown run, Walker kick good	17	0
3					Packers	Pitts 3-yard touchdown run, Chandler kick good	17	7
4					Packers	Pitts 2-yard touchdown run, Chandler kick good	17	14
4					Packers	28-yard field goal by Chandler	17	17
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							17	17

Week 14

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	0	3	0	3
• Lions	0	14	0	0	14

Date: December 17
Location: Tiger Stadium

Standings

NFL Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	9	4	1	.692	4–1–1	6–3–1	332	209	L2
Chicago Bears	7	6	1	.538	3–2–1	5–4–1	239	218	W1
Detroit Lions	5	7	2	.417	1–3–2	3–5–2	260	259	W2
Minnesota Vikings	3	8	3	.273	1–3–2	1–6–3	233	294	L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

1967 Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks 16 Milt Plum 14 Karl Sweetan Running backs 31 Amos Marsh 24 Mel Farr FB 45 Bobby Felts 35 Tom Nowatzke 23 Tom Watkins Wide receivers 81 Bill Malinchak 87 John Henderson Tight ends 80 Jim Gibbons 88 Ron Kramer 85 Jerry Zawadzkas		Offensive linemen 75 John Gordy T 52 Bill Cottrell 79 Charlie Bradshaw T 54 Ed Flanagan C 68 Frank Gallagher G 66 Bob Kowalkowski G 70 Denis Moore T 73 Roger Shoals T 63 Chuck Walton G 77 Randy Winkler G Defensive linemen 85 Lew Kamanu DL 74 Larry Hand DT 71 Alex Karras DT 78 Darris McCord DE 82 Jerry Rush DT 86 John McCambridge DE 83 Mike Melinkovich DE		Linebackers 53 Mike Lucci MLB 50 Paul Naumoff 55 Wayne Walker OLB/K 57 Ron Goovert 59 Ernie Clark OLB Defensive backs 20 Lem Barney CB 26 Mike Bass 44 Dick LeBeau CB 47 Wayne Rasmussen FS 27 Bobby Thompson S 48 Tom Vaughn FS 28 Mike Weger SS Special teams 25 Pat Studstill P/DB/WR/KR 1 Garo Yepremian K		Reserve lists None - vacant Practice/Taxi squad None - vacant Note: rookies in italics

1967 Detroit Lions roster

Quarterbacks

16 Milt Plum
14 Karl Sweetan

Running backs

31 Amos Marsh
24 Mel Farr FB
45 Bobby Felts
35 Tom Nowatzke
23 Tom Watkins

Wide receivers

81 Bill Malinchak
87 John Henderson

Tight ends

80 Jim Gibbons
88 Ron Kramer
85 Jerry Zawadzkas

Offensive linemen

75 John Gordy T
52 Bill Cottrell
79 Charlie Bradshaw T
54 Ed Flanagan C
68 Frank Gallagher G
66 Bob Kowalkowski G
70 Denis Moore T
73 Roger Shoals T
63 Chuck Walton G
77 Randy Winkler G

Defensive linemen

85 Lew Kamanu DL
74 Larry Hand DT
71 Alex Karras DT
78 Darris McCord DE
82 Jerry Rush DT
86 John McCambridge DE
83 Mike Melinkovich DE

Linebackers

53 Mike Lucci MLB
50 Paul Naumoff
55 Wayne Walker OLB/K
57 Ron Goovert
59 Ernie Clark OLB

Defensive backs

20 Lem Barney CB
26 Mike Bass
44 Dick LeBeau CB
47 Wayne Rasmussen FS
27 Bobby Thompson S
48 Tom Vaughn FS
28 Mike Weger SS

Special teams

25 Pat Studstill P/DB/WR/KR
1 Garo Yepremian K

Reserve lists

None - vacant

Practice/Taxi squad

None - vacant

Note: rookies in italics

Playoffs

Awards and records

References

^ "Broncs stun NFL's Lions in exhibition". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). August 6, 1967. p. 2, sports.
^ "AFL's Broncos shock Lions, 13-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. August 6, 1967. p. 2B.
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.283
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 395
^ "1967 Detroit Lions Draftees".

Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference
Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com
Detroit Lions on The Football Database

v t e Detroit Lions
Founded in 1928 Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1928–1933) Based in Detroit, Michigan Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan
Franchise	Ownership: William Clay Martha Firestone Ford Sheila Ford Hamp Franchise overview Team history in Portsmouth, Ohio
Records	Coaches First-round draft picks Players Pride of the Lions Pro Football Hall of Famers Retired numbers 7 20 20 20 22 37 56 85 Seasons Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Universal Stadium University of Detroit Stadium Tiger Stadium Pontiac Silverdome Ford Field
Culture	NFL on Thanksgiving Day Paper Lion (film) "What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye song) Home Improvement Beverly Hills Cop Cheerleaders
Lore	1932 NFL Playoff Game Curse of Bobby Layne 0–16 Miracle in Motown
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings
Division championships (9)	1935 1952 1953 1954 1957 1983 1991 1993 2023
League championships (4)	1935 1952 1953 1957
Media	Broadcasters Radio: Radio network Dan Miller Lomas Brown WXYT-FM TV: Television network WJBK Bally Sports Detroit
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1930–present) Conference: National Football Conference (1970–present) Division: North Division (2002–present)

v t e Detroit Lions seasons
Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933)
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1967 NFL season

Capitol	Century	Coastal	Central
Dallas	Cleveland	Atlanta	Chicago
New Orleans	New York	Baltimore	Detroit
Philadelphia	Pittsburgh	Los Angeles	Green Bay
Washington	St. Louis	San Francisco	Minnesota