The Lions have a long line of tailbacks who made an immediate impact: Kevin Smith, Kevin Jones, Barry Sanders, Billy Sims, etc. Thousands of yards rushing, many touchdowns, and awards aplenty have been bestowed upon young Lions runners. But none of them, not even Barry, made the impact that Byron "Whizzer" White did. Besides leading the NFL in rushing twice, including his rookie year, and being named All-Pro in all three of his seasons in the NFL, Byron White was a Rhodes Scholar, a Yale Law graduate, and was named by President John F. Kennedy to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he served for 31 years.

Whizzer White, like Dutch Clark, hailed from the state of Colorado--and White, like, Clark, was an All-American. White's 1937 campaign led the UC-Boulder Buffaloes to the second Annual Cotton Bowl; the first time the Buffaloes had ever earned a postseason berth. Amazingly, his 1937 academic campaign won him a Rhodes Scholarship offer. He wasn't done, though; he turned right around and took the hardwood. He and shooting guard Jim Schwartz (!) were a formidable backcourt pair. The Buffaloes made the NIT--then the premier college basketball tournament--and made a run to the championship game, where they lost to Temple on the Madison Square Garden floor.

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Ty from the always great The Lions In Winter stops by for a history lesson on Lions great Dutch Clark.

With his rocket arm, aw-shucks grin, competitiveness, surprising athleticism, and #1 overall NFL draft pick status, Matthew Stafford has often drawn comparisons to John Elway.  Stafford modeled his game after John Elway in high school and wore Elway’s #7 at Highland Park and Georgia. There’s even a Facebook group called "Matthew Stafford Looks Like John Elway." So, how come Stafford doesn’t sport #7 as a Detroit Lion? That jersey belongs to someone else: Hall of Famer Dutch Clark.

In 1934, George Richards, then the owner of WJR, purchased the physically-excellent, fiscally-struggling Portsmouth Spartans for $7,952.08. He moved them to Detroit and rechristened them the Lions, echoing Detroit’s baseball Tigers. Richards lured Earl "Dutch" Clark, a former Spartan, out of early retirement to be the centerpiece of his team.

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