Press release from the Detroit Lions:
The Detroit Lions will unveil the team’s Pride of the Lions, a permanent stadium display honoring the greatest players in team history, during a celebration at halftime of the Lions’ November 22 home game at Ford Field against the Cleveland Browns. The Pride of the Lions includes a 12-member charter class.
"The players who will be honored represent the very best of the best to ever play for the Lions," said Lions President Tom Lewand. "It is an honor to induct them as our Pride of the Lions charter class. The names of other Lions’ greats will be added to the Pride in the future but we could select no better representatives for our first class than these 12 standouts."
The Pride of the Lions will be a very visible feature on the old Hudson’s warehouse of Ford Field (south suite levels) that will include the players’ jersey number, name and years played with the Lions.
The charter class is a collection of the most outstanding Lions’ of all-time. All 12 players are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and they represent virtually every generation of Detroit Lions Football.
During the halftime ceremony, members of the Pride of the Lions charter class will be announced accompanied by photos and highlights of their careers. Upon the conclusion of the introduction, the names of the charter class will be simultaneously unveiled.
The Lions have 13 Hall of Famers to choose from for the 12 spots, so I wonder who will be part of the first "Pride of the Lions" class. The 13 Hall of Famers are Charlie Sanders, Barry Sanders, Lou Creekmur, Lem Barney, Doak Walker, Yale Larry, Dick Lane, Joe Schmidt, Jack Christiansen, Alex Wojciechowicz, Bobby Layne, Bill Dudley, and Earl Clark.