Here is a wonderful artifact from the inaugural season of the Detroit Lions franchise. It’s a schedule for the team’s original incarnation, the Portsmouth Spartans. Led by head coach Hal Griffen, the Spartans finished 8th in the NFL in 1930 with a 5-6-3 record. A previous owner of this schedule has thoughtfully included the results of the team’s first 12 games (including non-league matchups).
Here is the schedule for the 1930 Spartans, sponsored by Norfolk and Western Railway.
That’s very thoughtful of the schedule sponsor to include a schedule of train service to and from Portsmouth, Ohio, don’t you think?
