The Portsmouth Spartans were a professional American football team that played in Portsmouth, Ohio, from their founding in 1928 to their relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct independent professional and semi-professional teams, they joined the fledgling National Football League (NFL) in 1930. Their home stadium was Universal Stadium, known today as Spartan Municipal Stadium.
The team was sold to a new ownership group in 1934 and relocated to Detroit, where they became the Detroit Lions — a team which remains part of the NFL today.
History
right|thumb|The Spartans' home field in 2008, now known as [[Spartan Municipal Stadium.]]
The Spartans formed in 1928 when the team began importing players from defunct independent professional and semi-professional teams. The following year, Portsmouth residents agreed to fund the construction of a football stadium that was comparable to those in neighboring communities along the Ohio River. That approval prompted the National Football League to grant the city a franchise on July 12, 1930.
The Spartans played their first NFL game at Universal Stadium on September 14.
An early highlight of the 1932 season was the "iron man" game against the Green Bay Packers. In that game, Spartans coach Potsy Clark refused to make even a single substitution against the defending NFL champion Packers. Portsmouth won 19–0 and used only 11 players all game. At the end of the season, the Spartans were tied for first place in the league with the Chicago Bears. That prompted what in retrospect became known as the first NFL playoff game. Blizzard conditions in Chicago meant the game was moved from Wrigley Field's outdoor field to the indoor field at Chicago Stadium, which allowed for only an 80-yard field. The Bears won the game 9–0, with a touchdown pass from Bronko Nagurski to Red Grange being the key play. Despite their success on the gridiron, the Spartans were fighting to survive off the field. The team was in so much debt that the players received shares in the team in lieu of their salaries.
List of seasons
{| class="wikitable"
|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|<small>One-Game Playoff Berth</small>
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"
!rowspan="2"|Season
!rowspan="2"|Team's season
!rowspan="2"|League
!rowspan="2"|Conference
!rowspan="2"|Division
!colspan="4"|Regular season
!rowspan="2"|Postseason results
!rowspan="2"|Awards
|-
!Finish
!Wins
!Losses
!Ties
|-
| colspan="11" style=";" align="center"|Portsmouth Spartans
|-
!align="center"|1928
|align="center"|1928
|align="center"|Independent
|align="center"| –
|align="center"| –
|align="center"| –
|align="center"|9
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|2
|bgcolor="lightgray" rowspan="2"|The Spartans did not compete in a professional league until 1930.
|
|-
!align="center"|1929
|align="center"|1929
|align="center"|Independent
|align="center"| –
|align="center"| –
|align="center"| –
|align="center"|12
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|1
|
|-
!align="center"|
|align="center"|1930
|align="center"|NFL
|align="center"| –
|align="center"| –
|align="center"|T-7th
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|6
|align="center"|3
|bgcolor="lightgray" rowspan="2"|The NFL did not hold playoff games until 1932.
|
|-
!align="center"|
|align="center"|1931
|align="center"|NFL
|align="center"| –
|align="center"| –
|align="center"|2nd
|align="center"|11
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|0
|
|-
!align="center"|
|align="center"|1932
|align="center"|NFL
|align="center"| –
|align="center"| –
|align="center" bgcolor="#96CDCD"|3rd
|align="center"|6
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|4
| Lost Playoff Game<sup>12</sup> (Bears) (9–0)
|
|-
!align="center"|
|align="center"|1933
|align="center"|NFL
|align="center"| –
|align="center"|Western
|align="center"|2nd
|align="center"|6
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|0
|
|
|-
!align="center"|
| colspan="12" align="center" | Relocated to become the Detroit Lions
|-
! colspan="6" align="center" | Totals
!align="center"| 28
!align="center"| 16
!align="center"| 7
|colspan="2"| (1930–1933)
|}
<sup>1</sup> <small>The result of the 1932 NFL Playoff Game to determine the NFL champion between the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans counted in the standings.</small><br />
<sup>2</sup> <small>Prior to the 1972 season, ties did not count in the NFL standings. Therefore, the Bears (6–1–6) and the Spartans (6–1–4) were considered to be tied atop the standings ahead of the Packers (10–3–1).</small>