Tag: Pride of the Lions

Watch: Calvin Johnson fights back tears upon learning his Pride of the Lions honor

Lions legend Calvin Johnson fights back tears upon learning his Pride of the Lions honor

Calvin Johnson will be the newest member of the Pride of the Lions, an honorary elite for Detroit greats. Johnson learned of his pending induction into the Pride of the Lions in a special way.

The Hall of Fame wide receiver was out at the Detroit Golf Club hosting his celebrity golf outing when Lions COO Mike Disner and Lomas Brown, the most recent inductee into the Pride of the Lions, let Johnson know he was next.

A beaming Johnson is clearly quite proud and happy when learning he’s headed for the Pride of the Lions.

Johnson was clearly taken aback by the honor. He fought off tears to get through a speech.

Congrats to Johnson for earning his rightful place in the pantheon of Detroit Lions football.

Special thanks to Jeanna Trotman for capturing it all on video.

Calvin Johnson will be inducted into Pride of the Lions

Johnson was a first-ballot Hall of Famer and now he’ll receive the Lions franchise’s highest honor

Calvin Johnson has been one of the greatest players in Detroit Lions history almost from the moment he took the field as the team’s first-round pick back in 2007. Already a first-ballot member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Johnson will now be formally honored by the Lions with induction into the Pride of the Lions.

Johnson, the Lions’ all-time leader in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, will join the elite group during a ceremony at halftime of the Monday Night Football matchup in Ford Field on September 30th against the Seattle Seahawks.

The team began the Pride of the Lions program in 2009 to honor the franchise’s greatest players. Johnson will be the 20th addition to the Pride. Lomas Brown was the last addition, coming in 2023.

“We are thrilled to add Calvin Johnson Jr. to the Pride of the Lions,” said Detroit Lions President and CEO, Rod Wood in a statement. “His commitment on the field and to the city of Detroit are legendary and this is a well-deserved honor. We are proud that he will be forever memorialized inside Ford Field and as a Detroit Lion.”

Congrats to Johnson, arguably the greatest Lions player of the Super Bowl era. It also shows the issues between Johnson and the team are thankfully now a thing of the past.

Lomas Brown to be inducted into the Pride of the Lions

Brown is the team’s radio color analyst and was surprised with the news during Detroit’s preseason opener

On a night when the Detroit Lions opened the 2023 preseason with an exciting victory over the New York Giants, the best moment in Ford Field came up in the Lions’ radio broadcast booth.

Team president Rod Wood surprised color analyst Lomas Brown with a beautiful montage of Brown’s stellar playing career. At the end, Wood revealed that Brown will be this year’s inductee into the Pride of the Lions.

The gregarious Brown was clearly overcome with all the adoration. Fellow Pride of the Lions member and longtime teammate Chris Spielman gave Brown a lengthy hug, as did play-by-play partner Dan Miller. He received a huge ovation from the 48,000-plus fans in Ford Field and also from the press box.

Brown, who played in Detroit from 1985-1995, will have his name enshrined at halftime of the Lions home date with the Las Vegas Raiders on October 30th.

Watch Brown’s special moment here, courtesy of the Lions:

Watch: Chris Spielman gets inducted into the Pride of the Lions

Barry Sanders presented Lions teammate Chris Spielman into the Pride of the Lions during halftime of Detroit’s Week 8 game

There was one bright spot to the Detroit Lions in their Week 8 humiliating loss to the Eagles. At halftime, the team proudly and gracefully inducted linebacker Chris Spielman into the Pride of the Lions.

Spielman is the 19th member of the Lions’ version of the ring of honor. He is the team’s all-time leading tackler, leading the entire NFL over the eight-year span he spent in Detroit (1988-1995) and earning four Pro Bowl nods and one first-team All-Pro (1991).

Now a special assistant to owner Sheila Ford Hamp, Spielman got a warm reception from the otherwise frustrated crowd. The Lions were kind enough to post the video of the presentation, which featured Spielman’s teammate Barry Sanders doing the induction honor.

 

Lions to induct Chris Spielman into Pride of the Lions

Spielman is the franchise’s all-time leader in tackles and earned 4 Pro Bowl berths in eight seasons in Detroit

Chris Spielman has long been regarded as one of the all-time greats in Detroit Lions franchise history. And now Spielman will be honored as such.

The Lions announced on Thursday that Spielman, who played linebacker for the team from 1988-1995, will be inducted into the team’s Pride of the Lions ring of honor. The ceremony will take place at halftime of the Week 8 game in Ford Field against the Philadelphia Eagles on Halloween.

The Pride of the Lions is a prominent display inside Ford Field that honors the legends of the franchise. And Spielman is certainly worthy of that status.

“The Detroit Lions could not be prouder of Chris Spielman’s accomplishments on the field and in the community. He was pivotal to the success the team enjoyed during his time as a player and his induction into the Pride of the Lions cements his place in our history,” said Detroit Lions Team President and CEO Rod Wood in a statement. “We are thrilled Chris has rejoined the organization as a key member to build the future and we are proud to present him with the highest individual honor we can give to a Lions Legend.”

Spielman was a 4-time Pro Bowler who led the Lions in tackles in each of his eight seasons in Detroit. He is the all-time franchise leader in tackles. Spielman’s hard-nosed style of play was a perfect fit for Detroit during the most successful era of Lions football in the Super Bowl era. He will be the 19th member of the Pride of the Lions, a group that also includes Barry Sanders, Lem Barney, Dick Lane, Jack Christiansen, Dick Lebeau and Jason Hanson.

He rejoined the Lions in 2020 as a special advisor to ownership, and Spielman is a fixture on the practice fields with GM Brad Holmes and coach Campbell, often paying extra attention to the linebackers.