You Are Here > Pro-Football-Reference.com > Teams > Detroit Lions > 1980 Starters, Roster, & Players

1980 Detroit Lions

Franchise IndexPrevious Season / Next Season

Record: 9-7-0, Finished 1st in NFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 334 points (20.9/g), 11th of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 272 points (17.0/g), 5th.
 Differential of 62 points (3.9/g), 7th.
 Expected W-L: 9.9-6.1.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +3 (0.2/g), 11th.

Coached by Monte Clark (9-7-0)

1980 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Starters

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE · Hide Non-primary Starters
Pos Age Yrs GS Summary of Player Stats Drafted (tm/rnd/yr)
 Offensive Starters Complete Team Stats
QB Gary Danielson 29 4 16 244 for 417, 3,223 yards, 13 td, 11 int, & 48 rushes for 232 yards and 2 td
RB Billy Sims* 25 Rook 16 313 rushes for 1,303 yards, 13 td, & 51 catches for 621 yards and 3 td

Detroit Lions / 1st / 1st pick / 1980

FB Dexter Bussey 28 6 16 145 rushes for 720 yards, 3 td, & 39 catches for 364 yards and 0 td

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 65th pick / 1974

WR Freddie Scott 28 6 16 53 catches for 834 yards, 4 td, & 5 rushes for 86 yards and 1 td

Baltimore Colts / 7th / 174th pick / 1974

WR Leonard Thompson 28 5 12 19 catches for 511 yards, 3 td, & 6 rushes for 61 yards and 0 td

Detroit Lions / 8th / 194th pick / 1975

TE David Hill 26 4 16 39 catches for 424 yards, 1 td

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 46th pick / 1976

LT Karl Baldischwiler 24 2 16

Miami Dolphins / 7th / 178th pick / 1978

LG Homer Elias 25 2 13

Detroit Lions / 4th / 107th pick / 1978

LG Burton Lawless 27 5 5

Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 44th pick / 1975

C Amos Fowler 24 2 12 1 fumble recovered

Detroit Lions / 5th / 121st pick / 1978

C Tommie Ginn 22 Rook 5

Detroit Lions / 5th / 120th pick / 1980

RG Russ Bolinger 26 4 15 1 fumble recovered

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 68th pick / 1976

RT Keith Dorney 23 1 8

Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1979

RT Homer Elias 25 2 13

Detroit Lions / 4th / 107th pick / 1978

 Defensive Starters
LDE Dave Pureifory 31 8 16

Green Bay Packers / 6th / 142nd pick / 1972

LDT William Gay 25 2 9

Denver Broncos / 2nd / 55th pick / 1978

LDT John Woodcock 26 4 8 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 76th pick / 1976

RDT John Mendenhall 32 8 12

New York Giants / 3rd / 55th pick / 1972

RDE Al Baker* 24 2 15 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 40th pick / 1978

LLB Charlie Weaver 31 9 16 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 48th pick / 1971

MLB Ken Fantetti 23 1 16 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 37th pick / 1979

RLB Stan White 31 8 16 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered

Baltimore Colts / 17th / 438th pick / 1972

LCB Wayne Smith 23 Rook 8 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered

Detroit Lions / 11th / 278th pick / 1980

LCB Walt Williams 26 3 8 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1977

RCB James Hunter 26 4 16 6 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered

Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1976

SS Jimmy Allen 28 6 15 6 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered

Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 100th pick / 1974

FS Ray Oldham 29 7 12 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered

Baltimore Colts / 8th / 189th pick / 1973

 Special Teams Starters
K Eddie Murray*+ 24 Rook 0 27 of 42 field goals & 35 of 36 extra points

Detroit Lions / 7th / 166th pick / 1980

P Tom Skladany 25 2 0 72 punts for a 42.2 average, 1 blocked

Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 46th pick / 1977

PR John Arnold 25 1 0 28 punt returns for a 7.3 average and 0 td
KR Rick Kane 26 3 0 23 kick returns for a 21.5 average and 0 td

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 69th pick / 1977

Roster

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS Wt Ht College/Univ BirthDate Yrs Drafted (tm/rnd/yr)
Jimmy Allen 28 DB 15 15 194 6-2 Pierce College (CA),UCLA 3/6/1952 6

Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 100th pick / 1974

John Arnold 25 WR 10 0 175 5-10 Wyoming 10/5/1955 1
Al Baker* 24 DE 15 15 265 6-6 Colorado State 12/9/1956 2

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 40th pick / 1978

Karl Baldischwiler 24 T 16 16 265 6-5 Oklahoma 1/19/1956 2

Miami Dolphins / 7th / 178th pick / 1978

Russ Bolinger 26 G-T 16 15 255 6-5 California-Riverside,Long Beach State 9/10/1954 4

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 68th pick / 1976

Luther Bradley 25 DB 8 4 195 6-2 Notre Dame 5/7/1955 2

Detroit Lions / 1st / 11th pick / 1978

Dexter Bussey 28 RB 16 16 195 6-1 Oklahoma,Texas-Arlington 3/11/1952 6

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 65th pick / 1974

Ken Callicutt 25 RB 13 0 190 6-0 Clemson 8/20/1955 2
Garry Cobb 23 LB 16 0 227 6-2 USC 3/16/1957 1

Dallas Cowboys / 9th / 247th pick / 1979

Eddie Cole 24 LB 13 0 235 6-2 Mississippi 12/16/1956 1

Detroit Lions / 11th / 302nd pick / 1979

Curley Culp 34 DT-NT-G 3 2 265 6-2 Arizona State 3/10/1946 12

Denver Broncos / 2nd / 31st pick / 1968

Gary Danielson 29 QB 16 16 195 6-2 Purdue 9/10/1951 4
Chris Dieterich 22 T-G 16 3 262 6-3 North Carolina State 7/27/1958 Rook

Detroit Lions / 6th / 140th pick / 1980

Keith Dorney 23 T-G 9 8 268 6-5 Penn State 12/3/1957 1

Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1979

Homer Elias 25 G-T 14 13 255 6-3 Tennessee State 5/1/1955 2

Detroit Lions / 4th / 107th pick / 1978

Ken Fantetti 23 LB 16 16 230 6-2 Wyoming 4/7/1957 1

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 37th pick / 1979

Amos Fowler 24 C-G 13 12 250 6-3 Southern Miss 2/11/1956 2

Detroit Lions / 5th / 121st pick / 1978

Mike Friede 23 WR 4 0 205 6-3 Indiana 9/22/1957 Rook

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 62nd pick / 1980

William Gay 25 DE-DT-TE 16 9 250 6-5 USC 5/28/1955 2

Denver Broncos / 2nd / 55th pick / 1978

Tommie Ginn 22 C-G 14 5 253 6-3 Arkansas 1/25/1958 Rook

Detroit Lions / 5th / 120th pick / 1980

James Harrell 23 LB 5 0 224 6-1 Florida 7/19/1957 1
David Hill 26 TE 16 16 229 6-2 Texas A&M-Kingsville 1/1/1954 4

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 46th pick / 1976

Eric Hipple 23 QB 15 0 196 6-2 Utah State 9/16/1957 Rook

Detroit Lions / 4th / 85th pick / 1980

Vern Holland 32 T 2 0 268 6-5 Tennessee State 6/27/1948 9

Cincinnati Bengals / 1st / 15th pick / 1971

James Hunter 26 DB 16 16 195 6-3 Grambling State 3/8/1954 4

Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1976

Rick Kane 26 RB 16 0 200 5-11 Oregon,San Jose State 11/12/1954 3

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 69th pick / 1977

Horace King 27 RB 16 0 208 5-10 Georgia 3/5/1953 5

Detroit Lions / 6th / 141st pick / 1975

Jeff Komlo 24 QB 4 0 200 6-2 Delaware 7/30/1956 1

Detroit Lions / 9th / 231st pick / 1979

Burton Lawless 27 G 9 5 253 6-4 Florida 11/1/1953 5

Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 44th pick / 1975

Eddie Lewis 27 DB 14 1 177 6-0 Kansas 12/15/1953 4

San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 57th pick / 1976

Alva Liles 24 NT-DT 1 0 255 6-3 Boise State 3/6/1956 Rook
Derrel Luce 28 LB 9 0 226 6-3 Baylor 9/29/1952 5

Baltimore Colts / 7th / 168th pick / 1975

Mike McCoy 32 DT-NT 4 0 284 6-5 Notre Dame 9/6/1948 10

Green Bay Packers / 1st / 2nd pick / 1970

Prentice McCray 29 DB 7 0 188 6-1 Arizona State 3/1/1951 6

Detroit Lions / 8th / 200th pick / 1973

John Mendenhall 32 DT-NT 15 12 255 6-1 Grambling State 12/3/1948 8

New York Giants / 3rd / 55th pick / 1972

John Mohring 24 LB 1 0 240 6-3 C.W. Post 11/14/1956 Rook

Detroit Lions / 8th / 213th pick / 1979

Eddie Murray*+ 24 K 16 0 177 5-10 Tulane 8/29/1956 Rook

Detroit Lions / 7th / 166th pick / 1980

Ulysses Norris 23 TE 16 1 230 6-4 Georgia 1/15/1957 1

Detroit Lions / 4th / 88th pick / 1979

Ray Oldham 29 DB 16 12 200 6-0 Middle Tenn. State 2/23/1951 7

Baltimore Colts / 8th / 189th pick / 1973

Willie Parker 32 C-G 4 1 245 6-3 North Texas 12/28/1948 7

San Francisco 49ers / 3rd / 75th pick / 1971

Wally Pesuit 26 G-C-T-DE 1 0 252 6-4 Kentucky 3/4/1954 4

Dallas Cowboys / 5th / 151st pick / 1976

Dave Pureifory 31 DE-DT 16 16 260 6-1 Eastern Michigan 7/12/1949 8

Green Bay Packers / 6th / 142nd pick / 1972

Bo Robinson 24 RB-TE 14 0 228 6-2 West Texas A&M 5/27/1956 1

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 67th pick / 1979

Freddie Scott 28 WR 16 16 180 6-2 Amherst 8/5/1952 6

Baltimore Colts / 7th / 174th pick / 1974

Dave Simmons 23 LB 1 0 221 6-4 North Carolina 1/19/1957 1

Green Bay Packers / 6th / 153rd pick / 1979

Billy Sims* 25 RB 16 16 212 6-0 Oklahoma 9/18/1955 Rook

Detroit Lions / 1st / 1st pick / 1980

Tom Skladany 25 P 16 0 192 6-0 Ohio State 6/29/1955 2

Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 46th pick / 1977

Wayne Smith 23 DB 16 8 171 6-0 Purdue,Wisconsin-LaCrosse 5/9/1957 Rook

Detroit Lions / 11th / 278th pick / 1980

Ken Talton 24 RB 2 0 208 6-0 Cornell 6/25/1956 Rook
Jesse Thompson 24 WR 11 2 185 6-1 California 3/12/1956 2

Detroit Lions / 6th / 165th pick / 1978

Leonard Thompson 28 WR-HB 16 12 192 5-11 Oklahoma State 7/28/1952 5

Detroit Lions / 8th / 194th pick / 1975

Tom Tuinei 22 DT 12 2 250 6-4 Hawaii 2/21/1958 Rook

Detroit Lions / 9th / 223rd pick / 1980

Tom Turnure 23 C-G 3 0 250 6-4 Washington 7/9/1957 Rook

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 57th pick / 1980

Rod Walters 26 G-T 2 0 258 6-3 Iowa 2/27/1954 4

Kansas City Chiefs / 1st / 14th pick / 1976

Charlie Weaver 31 LB 16 16 220 6-2 USC 7/12/1949 9

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 48th pick / 1971

Stan White 31 LB 16 16 225 6-1 Ohio State 10/24/1949 8

Baltimore Colts / 17th / 438th pick / 1972

Mike Whited 22 T 16 2 250 6-4 Pacific 3/30/1958 Rook
Ray Williams 22 RB 6 1 170 5-9 Washington State 9/22/1958 Rook

Detroit Lions / 12th / 307th pick / 1980

Walt Williams 26 DB 16 8 185 6-1 Ashland,New Mexico State 7/10/1954 3

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1977

John Woodcock 26 DT-DE 8 8 246 6-3 Hawaii,New Mexico 3/19/1954 4

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 76th pick / 1976

Team Total 25.8 16 223.9 6-2.1 3.1