Detroit Lions: Gridiron Heroes

August 24, 2024–August 24, 2025

NOW OPEN on the second level in the City of Champions Gallery

Before 1934, several professional football teams had tried and failed to gain a foothold in the city of Detroit. But the Lions endeared themselves to football fans immediately that year, logging ten wins in the team’s first ten games in their trademark blue and silver uniforms. The excitement of that first campaign was capped off the following season, when the Lions won their first NFL Championship and cemented themselves as a Detroit institution for the next 90 years and counting. 

In partnership with the Detroit Lions and showcasing artifacts from both the team’s collection and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, this exhibition will explore the franchise’s roots and the NFL of the 1930s, period of dominance in the 1950s, Hall of Fame-level star power players, and the Dan Campbell-led gritty Lions of today.  

Exhibition presented in partnership with the Detroit Lions, Gilbert Family Foundation, and Visit Detroit