A01=Bill Morris
afl
aidan hutchinson
Author_Bill Morris
barry sanders
Category=NHK
Category=SCBT
Category=SCX
Category=SFBD
dallas cowbos
dan campbell
defense
detroit
detroit lions
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eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_sports-fitness
football
football history
ford
ford family
ford field
jared goff
lions football
los angeles rams
michigan
michigan football
motor city
national football league
nfc north
NFL
offense
raiders
sports curses
sports history
superbowl
tackle
the detroit lions
Product details
- ISBN 9781639369461
- Weight: 408g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 26 Mar 2026
- Publisher: Pegasus Books
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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The epic and tumultuous story of the Lions and the city of Detroit—and how the team and the city have come together on the cusp of a new era.
Revised and updated edition
*A Michigan Notable Book*
On Nov. 22, 1963, William Clay Ford, the youngest grandson of auto pioneer Henry Ford, made a successful bid to buy the Detroit Lions of the National Football League for the unheard-of sum of $6 million. As Ford and his entourage settled down to a celebratory luncheon, the news broke that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.
“Born under a bad sign” is how Bill Ford’s ownership of the Lions began. After a decade of supremacy, the team embarked on a half-century slog of mediocrity. The Lions Finally Roar is bursting with the colorful ruffians who have made the team one of America’s most beloved sports franchises despite its years of futility. Readers meet the hell-raising quarterback Bobby Layne, who is said to have put a curse on the team after he was traded; the rock-solid linebacker and future coach Joe Schmidt; the stars Charlie Sanders, Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and, most spectacularly, Barry Sanders.
Deeply researched and briskly written, The Lions Finally Roar expands beyond football, from the linked histories of Detroit and its auto and music industries to the city’s social and racial dynamics and the rising power of television. Building to an exciting crescendo, The Lions Finally Roar culminates with the team’s recent turnaround and playoff run under the stewardship of Bill Ford’s daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp, savvy general manager Brad Holmes, and charismatic coach Dan Campbell.
Revised and updated edition
*A Michigan Notable Book*
On Nov. 22, 1963, William Clay Ford, the youngest grandson of auto pioneer Henry Ford, made a successful bid to buy the Detroit Lions of the National Football League for the unheard-of sum of $6 million. As Ford and his entourage settled down to a celebratory luncheon, the news broke that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.
“Born under a bad sign” is how Bill Ford’s ownership of the Lions began. After a decade of supremacy, the team embarked on a half-century slog of mediocrity. The Lions Finally Roar is bursting with the colorful ruffians who have made the team one of America’s most beloved sports franchises despite its years of futility. Readers meet the hell-raising quarterback Bobby Layne, who is said to have put a curse on the team after he was traded; the rock-solid linebacker and future coach Joe Schmidt; the stars Charlie Sanders, Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and, most spectacularly, Barry Sanders.
Deeply researched and briskly written, The Lions Finally Roar expands beyond football, from the linked histories of Detroit and its auto and music industries to the city’s social and racial dynamics and the rising power of television. Building to an exciting crescendo, The Lions Finally Roar culminates with the team’s recent turnaround and playoff run under the stewardship of Bill Ford’s daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp, savvy general manager Brad Holmes, and charismatic coach Dan Campbell.
Bill Morris is the author of the novels Motor City and Motor City Burning, along with the family memoir The Age of Astonishment, available from Pegasus Books. He is currently a staff writer with the online literary magazine the Millions, and his writing has appeared in Granta, the New York Times, the Washington Post Magazine, LA Weekly, Popular Mechanics, The Daily Beast, and numerous other newspapers and magazines. Bill grew up in Detroit and now lives in New York City.
