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 In celebration of the Detroit Lions' 75th season, JackandTom.net will bring you some of the greatest players, teams, games and memories in Lions' history.
Today we go back twenty-eight years, when a Heisman Trophy Winner from Oklahoma gave Lions' fans a reason to cheer again.
As all Lions fans know, the #20 has now been taken out of
service. From 1967-thru-1998, three players, Lem Barney, Barry Sanders and
Billy Sims, wore that number. All of them are now Motown immortals; and two of
the three, Barney and Sanders, are now in the Hall of Fame.
If not for a career-ending knee injury versus the Minnesota
Vikings mid-way through his fifth NFL season (1984); Billy Sims might have
earned a bust in Canton by now too.
Those Lions fans old enough to remember his in his prime remember an ultra-fast,
6-foot, 212 pound, big play performer, who always seemed to step up when the
stakes were the highest.
The game that most Lions fans of the era bring up when
Billy’s name is mentioned was his debut performance versus the then-Los Angeles
Rams. Below is a recap of Billy’s arrival in Motown as well as his historic
Honolulu Blue and Silver debut.
September 7, 1980
Detroit 41
Los Angeles 20
Attendance 64,892
@ Anaheim
It was one hell-of-a-debut by
one-hell-of-a-halfback. A premiere that Lions’ fans had been waiting a decade
for. The 1970’s had not been kind to the Motor City Leos. After their 10-4
playoff season in 1970, Detroit compiled a record of 56-71-3 for the rest of the decade. During
that time the Lions also had five different head coaches and starting
quarterbacks. They had also moved out of the Detroit
proper, from Tiger Stadium to the Pontiac Silverdome in 1975. Needless to say,
the Seventies stunk all over for Lions’ rooters, and after the low-water mark
2-14 record in 1979, folks were simply praying things wouldn’t get any worse.
In that same 1979 season, the San Francisco 49ers and their first-year head coach Bill Walsh had also gone
2-14. The 49ers, like the Lions, also coveted Sims. Billy had just completed a
dazzling career in Norman, Oklahoma. He had won the Heisman Trophy as a junior in 1978 and had also
led Barry Switzer’s Sooner squad to Orange Bowl Championships in 1979 and 1980.
It would come down to a coin-flip to decide
who would get the opportunity to select Sims. Of course history shows that it
was the Lions who won the toss, and they laid claim to the high-stepping
6-foot, 212 pound Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Oklahoma.
The Sims pick was a no-brainer for the
Lions, just as it would have been for the 49ers. In his 1990 book, “Building A
Champion: On Football and the Making of the 49ers,” Bill Walsh wrote: “the
Lions won the coin flip and selected Billy Sims . . . We would have done the
same. It would have been impossible to pass up Sims. He was a great runner and
probably would have been in the Hall of Fame if he hadn’t injured his knee late
in his career.”
Once in Detroit, after
a lengthy and very public holdout, Sims signed a three-year deal with Detroit for a
reported $2 million. Billy didn’t take long to make a positive impression. “I’m
Billy Sims from the University of Oklahoma, and I am the reason most of you guys haven’t gotten raises.”
Those words caused an eruption of laughter at the team’s “Meet the Lions
Banquet.” It also showed his teammates that he had a sense of humor and
understood the pressure that was being placed on him. “He’s a super person to
get along with. . . . He’s just one of the guys,” said veteran linebacker
Charlie Weaver. In practice, he quickly solidified his place among the squad
with an unparalleled work ethic. “Billy has great work habits, and he has great
pride,” said Lion head coach Monte Clark. “He’s very alert and always aware of
what’s going on, and he doesn’t hold back with anything.”
The Sims era began with the Lions facing
off against the defending NFC Champion Los Angeles Rams on the road in Anaheim. It
was the Rams first game in their new home, as they had made the offseason move
to the suburbs after their 33-year stay at the LA Coliseum. The Rams christened
their new pad quickly when Drew Hill returned the opening kickoff 98-yards for
a touchdown. Frank Corral’s PAT was blocked by William Gay, giving the Rams a
6-0 edge.
The Lions answered later in the opening
period with a 52-yard field goal off the foot of another Leo rookie named Eddie
Murray. Then after a LA punt, Detroit
marched 91-yards to Billy Sims first NFL touchdown, a 10 yarder, putting the
Lions up 10-6. The Rams responded in the second stanza with dual one-yard TD
blasts from Cullen Bryant and Elvis Peacock, respectively. With LA now leading
20-10, Detroit, with the help of three costly Ram penalties, rode Billy’s back
to another score. Sims’ second touchdown came from a yard out, and cut the Ram
lead to 20-17 at the break. Billy finished his first NFL half with 14 carries
for 82 yards and two scores. . . . He was just getting started.
The Lions tied the game early in the third
period on a 38-yard Murray boot, and then took the lead when Dexter Bussey carried the
pigskin 15-yards to paydirt. Dexter’s score capped an 84-yard Lion drive that
was highlighted by a Gary Danielson pass to Sims that covered 60 yards. It was
Billy’s first NFL reception. Murray’s PAT
put Detroit on top to stay, 27-20. The Lions rounded out the memorable day
with Billy scoring on a 41-yard off-tackle sprint, and a Horace King 4-yard
with 29 seconds to play.
The Lions ground game was devastating. They
rolled up a combined 46 carries, for 330 yards and 5 touchdowns. Sims carried
the ball 22 times, for 153 yards and three scores. Dexter Bussey also went over
the century mark, gaining 111 yards on 14 carries and a TD. The Lion defense
held the Rams to 16 first downs and only 255 yards in total offense. They also
picked off three Pat Haden passes, with two grabbed by Jimmy Allen and the
other by James Hunter.
The Lions' postgame lockeroom celebration
was rocking with their newly adopted theme-song “Another One Bites the Dust,”
as their quarterback Gary Danielson talked about his new backfield mate. “If
you think he’s good now, wait until you see him in our eighth game. I said in
preseason how he was holding back. What I’ve said all fall is that he’ll make
everybody else better.”
It was clear that the Lions were a
different team with their new running back. The Billy Sims era in Motown was a
debut smash, and Lions’ fans everywhere began to wonder just how far they could
go with their new superstar in 1980.
Detroit 10 7 10 14 - 41
Los Angeles 6 14 0 0 - 20
Los Angeles - Hill 98-yard kickoff return (kick blocked)
Detroit - FG Murray 52
Detroit - Sims 10-yard run (Murray kick)
Los Angeles - Bryant 1-yard run (Corral kick)
Los Angeles - Peacock 1-yard run (Corral kick)
Detroit - Sims 1-yard run (Murray kick)
Detroit - FG Murray 38
Detroit - Bussey 15-yard run (Murray kick)
Detroit - Sims 41-yard run (Murray kick)
Detroit - King 4-yard run (Murray kick)
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