Calvin Has Officially Retired

[inkfreq]

I think why some feel it is a story is both of these guys left with plenty of gas left in the tank. iIrc, Barry was in a feud with the Lions for years before making up. Didn't he want to be released but the Lions forced his hand? I don't remember the details....it was a long time ago.

Don't get me wrong...I am 100% behind both of these guys having the right to leave while they still have their health. I wish more players would make their money and GTFO while they can still walk. It just adds to the Lions legacy of being a joke of a franchise when the two best players in franchise history leave they way those two left.

It's honestly hard to say. I remember Barry's retirement like it was yesterday.

Basically on the eve of training camp, he called it quits by faxing his retirement statement over to his hometown paper. Needless to say, it didn't take long for people to wonder why a man on the verge of breaking Payton's record, was calling it quits with many good years left in him.

Pretty soon the national media began to speculate that it was because he wanted out of Detroit. Barry said nothing, it was all speculation, but there was enough of it that the Lions brass finally issued a statement saying he would not be released or his rights traded. If he were ever to play again, it was going to be as a Lion.

From there sources like ESPN, TSN, and so on took that as confirmation that if the Lions would trade or release him, he would come back, and that the Lions were playing hard ball.

In his book "Now You See Him" Barry talked about his father being a big portion of the reason he retired. He said his dad, no matter what happened on the field, would always tell him he was never going to be Jim Brown. Knowing he could never make his dad as proud of him wore on him. The firing of Wayne Fonts, the hiring of Bobby Ross who Barry didn't get along with... it was all the icing on the cake.

He said in the book that he didn't want out of Detroit, he wanted out of football period. He said he was in him home the night before camp, and thinking "Tonight I either fly to Detroit, or I retire"... and when he realized that he had been thinking this for hours and never took a step closer to the door, he knew his love for the game was gone.

Lots of people have said Barry wanted out of Detroit years earlier, or that he would have come back if he had been traded, but the reality is, his book in his own words paints a much different picture... a picture of a kid who just feels like he's never going to make his dad proud no matter how long and hard he runs, or how many records he breaks. That everything else he could have put up with, but that just made it all too much.

I remember reading that, and really feeling sorry for the man. To this day, it's hard for me to imagine ever feeling sorry for someone as amazing as Barry, but that's what it made me feel.

 

[kdp1980]

calvin is jealous they made the playoffs without him and don't miss him

I miss his red zone ability

 

[kalinecountry]

My five top lions: Lane, Layne, Sanders, Sanders, Barney.

Top 11 Lions:
Bobby Layne
Yale Lary
Joe Schmidt
Jack Christiansen
Doak Walker
Lou Creekmur
Barry Sanders
Charlie Sanders
Lem Barney
Dick 'Night Train' Lane
Calvin Johnson

 

[Mitchrapp]

Top 11 Lions:
Bobby Layne
Yale Lary
Joe Schmidt
Jack Christiansen
Doak Walker
Lou Creekmur
Barry Sanders
Charlie Sanders
Lem Barney
Dick 'Night Train' Lane
Calvin Johnson

Good list as well though only 5 years here I'd add Bubba Baker.. Not a kept stat at the time but 23 sacks as a rook. Next two years 16 and 18. That's a beast.

 

[Tonyballs2]

That's the company explanation. He actually wanted to quit the Lions three years earlier than he actually did.

Who did? lol

 

[Tonyballs2]

It's honestly hard to say. I remember Barry's retirement like it was yesterday.

Basically on the eve of training camp, he called it quits by faxing his retirement statement over to his hometown paper. Needless to say, it didn't take long for people to wonder why a man on the verge of breaking Payton's record, was calling it quits with many good years left in him.

Pretty soon the national media began to speculate that it was because he wanted out of Detroit. Barry said nothing, it was all speculation, but there was enough of it that the Lions brass finally issued a statement saying he would not be released or his rights traded. If he were ever to play again, it was going to be as a Lion.

From there sources like ESPN, TSN, and so on took that as confirmation that if the Lions would trade or release him, he would come back, and that the Lions were playing hard ball.

In his book "Now You See Him" Barry talked about his father being a big portion of the reason he retired. He said his dad, no matter what happened on the field, would always tell him he was never going to be Jim Brown. Knowing he could never make his dad as proud of him wore on him. The firing of Wayne Fonts, the hiring of Bobby Ross who Barry didn't get along with... it was all the icing on the cake.

He said in the book that he didn't want out of Detroit, he wanted out of football period. He said he was in him home the night before camp, and thinking "Tonight I either fly to Detroit, or I retire"... and when he realized that he had been thinking this for hours and never took a step closer to the door, he knew his love for the game was gone.

Lots of people have said Barry wanted out of Detroit years earlier, or that he would have come back if he had been traded, but the reality is, his book in his own words paints a much different picture... a picture of a kid who just feels like he's never going to make his dad proud no matter how long and hard he runs, or how many records he breaks. That everything else he could have put up with, but that just made it all too much.

I remember reading that, and really feeling sorry for the man. To this day, it's hard for me to imagine ever feeling sorry for someone as amazing as Barry, but that's what it made me feel.

Well said....

There were also rumors that there was a trade between Detroit and Miami for Barry. Barry completely denied it, but who knows. Bottom line...he wanted out of football. He wanted to stay healthy for his kids and he didn't like the direction the team was going.

 

[kalinecountry]

Good list as well though only 5 years here I'd add Bubba Baker.. Not a kept stat at the time but 23 sacks as a rook. Next two years 16 and 18. That's a beast.

This list came out late 2008. Is there anyone other than Calvin that need to be added?

The Lions unveiled their 75th anniversary All-Time Team, which featured some recent favorites like running back Barry Sanders and kicker Jason Hanson, as well as players from bygone eras like cornerback Lem Barney, quarterback Dutch Clark, defensive lineman Alex Karras and tight end Charlie Sanders .
The 36 players on the team were chosen by fans’ online voting, a media panel and longtime Lions staff members. Hanson is the only active player on the team, which will be introduced at halftime of the Nov. 9 2008 game.
Barney and Charlie Sanders joined kicker Eddie Murray and defensive lineman Robert Porcher for the announcement at the team’s headquarters in Allen Park. Barney and Sanders are among 12 players on the team in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“To be placed on this team ... it’s the same feeling as I had when they told me I was going to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Sanders said. “It’s special.”

Sanders, who played in 1968-77, gave players who preceded him, like Barney, Karras and Doak Walker, some special praise.
“These are guys that helped put the nails in the house that I had the opportunity to play in,” he said. “And I respect them tremendously.”

In announcing the team, executive vice president Tom Lewand noted that 1,381 men have played for the Lions in 1,046 games since they relocated from Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1934.

Here is the full roster of the All-Time Team:
QUARTERBACK
Dutch Clark* (1934-38)
Bobby Layne* (1950-58)

RUNNING BACK
Doak Walker* (1950-55)
Billy Sims (1980-84)
Barry Sanders (1989-98)

FULLBACK
Cory Schlesinger (1995-2006)

WIDE RECEIVER
Gail Cogdill (1960-68)
Herman Moore (1991-2001)
Calvin Johnson (2007-2015)

TIGHT END
Charlie Sanders (1968-77)

OFFENSIVE LINE
Lou Creekmur (1950-59)
Lomas Brown (1985-95)
Harley Sewell (1953-62)
John Gordy (1957, 59-67)
Alex Wojciechowicz* (1938-46)
Ed Flanagan (1965-74)
Kevin Glover (1985-97)

DEFENSIVE LINE
Alex Karras (1958-62, 64-70)
Roger Brown (1960-66)
Doug English (1975-79, 81-85)
Al Baker (1978-82)
Robert Porcher (1992-2004)

LINEBACKER
Joe Schmidt (1953-65)
Wayne Walker (1958-72)
Chris Spielman (1988-95)

CORNERBACK
Jim David* (1952-59)
Dick LeBeau (1959-72)
Dick Lane* (1960-65)
Lem Barney (1967-77)

SAFETY
Don Doll (1949-52)
Jack Christiansen* (1951-58)
Yale Lary (1952-53, 56-64)
Bennie Blades (1988-96)

KICKER
Eddie Murray (1980-91)
Jason Hanson (1992-2012)

PUNTER
Yale Lary (1952-53, 56-64)
Jim Arnold (1986-93)

RETURNER Mel Gray (1989-94)

 

[byco42]

Good list. Joe Schmidt..

It is somewhat refreshing to reflect on the fact that there is room for debate and some great players have worn the Honolulu Blue and Silver.

 

[byco42]

Who did? lol

Barry did. Per a conversation I had with his then-fiancee. Or perhaps she was lying. That must be it.

 

[mhughes0021]

We haven't had a good cb since the 60s... awesome.

 

[LKP]

Slay is good

 

[inkfreq]

I am really not sure how anyone can put Bobby Layne among the five greatest Lions ever when he spent 6 years here and he's been surpassed in every category (except championships won in a much smaller league) by Stafford... but not even consider Stafford.

Honestly, I am not going to argue that Stafford should be considered top 5 on this team, but no QB has done more for the Lions, or really, even come close.

Layne played in a day when the primary job of the QB was to hand off to the RB. Those teams were built around defense, and offense barely mattered. Doak Walker had more to do with those championships than Layne did.

 

[tomdalton22]

I am really not sure how anyone can put Bobby Layne among the five greatest Lions ever when he spent 6 years here and he's been surpassed in every category (except championships won in a much smaller league) by Stafford... but not even consider Stafford.

Honestly, I am not going to argue that Stafford should be considered top 5 on this team, but no QB has done more for the Lions, or really, even come close.

Layne played in a day when the primary job of the QB was to hand off to the RB. Those teams were built around defense, and offense barely mattered. Doak Walker had more to do with those championships than Layne did.

According to what I read he was in Detroit from 1950-1957 (8 seasons)

As far as Stafford doing something for the Lions...what has he done?

 

[kalinecountry]

I am really not sure how anyone can put Bobby Layne among the five greatest Lions ever when he spent 6 years here and he's been surpassed in every category (except championships won in a much smaller league) by Stafford... but not even consider Stafford.

Honestly, I am not going to argue that Stafford should be considered top 5 on this team, but no QB has done more for the Lions, or really, even come close.

Layne played in a day when the primary job of the QB was to hand off to the RB. Those teams were built around defense, and offense barely mattered. Doak Walker had more to do with those championships than Layne did.

The game has certainly changed. In that era, the two big teams were the Lions and the Brown with Otto Graham.
When Layne retired, iirc he held most all Passing records including TD passes and Passing Yards.
If and when Stafford signs and finishes his career with the team, I would not hesitate to put him as one of the greatest Lions players.

 

[Tonyballs2]

Barry did. Per a conversation I had with his then-fiancee. Or perhaps she was lying. That must be it.

His fiancee...lmao.Ya, that is it!! He has never came out publicy and said that he wanted out 3 yrs before his retirement. He never would have signed any deals to stay in Detroit if this is true. What total bullshit lol

 

[byco42]

His fiancee...lmao.Ya, that is it!! He has never came out publicy and said that he wanted out 3 yrs before his retirement. He never would have signed any deals to stay in Detroit if this is true. What total bullshit lol

It's not. I'm not lying. The conversation took place on a sound stage in 1999, after he'd retired. Wanting out and getting out are two different things, obviously. Why would I even conjure up such a tale out of thin air? Why would she?

 

[Mitchrapp]

QB, and WR are two positions that are hard to compare 50-60 years ago. The game has changed so much offensively. Even in the 70's, Lynn Swann's top year was less than 900 yards. I would not put Matt ahead of Layne. One day maybe but not now.

 

[Tonyballs2]

It's not. I'm not lying. The conversation took place on a sound stage in 1999, after he'd retired. Wanting out and getting out are two different things, obviously. Why would I even conjure up such a tale out of thin air? Why would she?

Never said you were lying, but I don't believe a fucking thing that would come out of his women's mouth. That's for sure lol.

 

[inkfreq]

I'm not going to say you're lying, but to ask "Why would I make that up?"... why would Glover have made up his girlfriend working for the Lions office and all the free agent/draft stuff he did.

Sometimes people just crave attention.

Didn't we used to have a guy back on the ESPN board that claimed to be the cap expert for the Browns or Chiefs or something. Grehsmaga or some such shit? And he eventually got exposed for being a liar.

I have no idea why people make up the shit they do... but they do... so it's not exactly a valid defense.

Again, not saying you are lying, but Barry himself has told a different story.

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2017/06/actually_the_lions_made_calvin.html#incart_river_index
Actually, the Lions made Calvin Johnson pay back more than $1 million.
Mlive

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2017/06/07/detroit-lions-calvin-johnson/377151001/
Calvin Johnson paid back the Lions at least $1 million.
Freep