The Detroit Lions are one of the NFL's oldest teams, dating back to the 1930 creation of the Portsmouth Spartans (whose inaugural season resulted in an odd record of 5-6-3).
After four solid years in the Ohio River town, the team moved north to Detroit and became the Lions. Since then, the team's fortunes have waxed and waned alongside the fortunes of the city itself, peaking in the heady post-World War II economic boom and bottoming out in the economic collapse of 2008.
