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Courtesy: Pro Football Hall of Fame

There was an Ohio team in this year’s NFL Playoffs (sort of) – the Portsmouth Spartans aka the Detroit Lions


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WOUB’s Foothill Features to digitally release short documentary on Spartans in February

ATHENS, OH – Did you know there was an Ohio team in this year’s NFL playoffs? Well, kind of. Before you knew them as the Detroit Lions, the NFL franchise’s home was in Portsmouth, Ohio and the team was known as the Portsmouth Spartans. WOUB’s Foothill Features is getting ready to tell their little-known, trailblazing story in short documentary called The Iron Men: Portsmouth, Ohio’s NFL Legacy.

“The primary goal of Foothill Features is to highlight the stories of the region and encourage people to take greater ownership and curiosity of their community,” said WOUB Producer/Director Chris Flanery. “While the present-day Lions are making a run to become NFL champions, there couldn’t be a better time to tell the story of the team’s humble beginnings in Scioto County, Ohio.” 

From 1930 to 1933, four short seasons, the Portsmouth Spartans found themselves in some of the most defining moments of early NFL history. From the infamous Iron Man Game to playing in the first championship game, the first indoor game and the game that made the hash mark a permanent fixture of the league, the Spartans were a critical piece to establishing the NFL we know today.

“The team went on to become the Detroit Lions in 1934, but their legacy lives on in Portsmouth within the walls of Spartan Municipal Stadium, which is still standing,” said Flanery. “The Foothill Features short documentary will tell the story of the team and its impact on the NFL, along with what is being done today to preserve its history.”

WOUB has released a video to promote The Iron Men: Portsmouth, Ohio’s NFL Legacy and plans to digitally release the full-length short documentary in mid-February. You can find the promo here.

Watch other Foothill Features content here: woub.org/foothillfeatures

 

About Foothill Features

Foothill Features showcases an eclectic mix of narratives that showcase the sights, sounds and stories of our region. Individual digital short documentaries will be released online first and then compiled into a one-hour, magazine-style TV program that will be produced twice a year. Each TV episode will feature five to seven stories from various locations across the region.