1983 Detroit Lions Roster
National Football League (NFL)
Team Record: 9-7
Finishing 1st in the NFL's Central Division of the National Football Conference
Postseason: 0-1 Lost Division Playoff
Coach: Monte Clark (9-7)
Location: Detroit, Michigan
1983 Detroit Lions StatisticsTeam Record: 9-7
Finishing 1st in the NFL's Central Division of the National Football Conference
Postseason: 0-1 Lost Division Playoff
Coach: Monte Clark (9-7)
Location: Detroit, Michigan
1983 Detroit Lions Results
The Detroit Lions of the National Football League ended the 1983 season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, finishing first in the NFL's Central Division of the National Football Conference. The team compiled a postseason mark of 0-1.
The Lions racked up 347 points, and the rigid defensive squad yielded 286. Eric Hipple threw for 2,577 yards. James Jones hauled in 46 balls, while Leonard Thompson added 752 receiving yards. Billy Sims and Jeff Chadwick contributed to the receiving game as well.
Billy Sims rushed for a team-leading 1,040 yards for Detroit.
Bruce McNorton intercepted 7 opponent throws. William Gay topped pass rushers with 13.5 quarterback sacks.
Monte Clark coached the team. The 1983 Detroit Lions lost in the Division Playoff.
Click on column headings to sort.
| # | Player | Pos. | Birth Date | Height | Weight | College | Hometown | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Roosevelt Barnes | LB | August 3, 1958 | 6'2" | 226 | Purdue | Fort Wayne, IN USA | 16 | 1 |
| 11 | Mike Black | P | January 18, 1961 | 6'1" | 197 | Arizona St. | Glendale, CA USA | 16 | 0 |
| 24 | Dexter Bussey | RB | March 11, 1952 | 6'1" | 195 | Oklahoma | Dallas, TX USA | 15 | 3 |
| 41 | Jim Caver | DB | September 28, 1960 | 5'9" | 175 | Missouri | Birmingham, AL USA | 2 | 0 |
| 89 | Jeff Chadwick | WR | December 16, 1960 | 6'3" | 190 | Grand Valley St. | Detroit, MI USA | 16 | 4 |
| 53 | Garry Cobb | LLB | March 16, 1957 | 6'2" | 227 | USC | Carthage, NC USA | 15 | 15 |
| 66 | Mike Cofer | RDE | April 7, 1960 | 6'5" | 245 | Tennessee | Knoxville, TN USA | 16 | 6 |
| 50 | August Curley | LB | January 24, 1960 | 6'3" | 226 | USC | Little Rock, AR USA | 10 | 0 |
| 16 | Gary Danielson | QB | September 10, 1951 | 6'2" | 195 | Purdue | Detroit, MI USA | 10 | 0 |
| 73 | Mike Dawson | LDT | October 16, 1953 | 6'4" | 270 | Arizona | Dorking, England | 16 | 7 |
| 72 | Chris Dieterich | LT | July 27, 1958 | 6'3" | 262 | North Carolina St. | Freeport, NY USA | 16 | 16 |
| 58 | Steve Doig | LB | March 28, 1960 | 6'2" | 240 | New Hampshire | Melrose, MA USA | 9 | 0 |
| 70 | Keith Dorney | RT | December 3, 1957 | 6'5" | 268 | Penn St. | Allentown, PA USA | 13 | 12 |
| 61 | Homer Elias | LG | May 1, 1955 | 6'3" | 255 | Tennessee St. | Fort Benning, GA USA | 14 | 14 |
| 78 | Doug English | RDT | August 25, 1953 | 6'5" | 255 | Texas | Dallas, TX USA | 15 | 15 |
| 74 | Mike Fanning | LDT | February 2, 1953 | 6'6" | 255 | Notre Dame | Mount Clemens, MI USA | 14 | 5 |
| 57 | Ken Fantetti | MLB | April 7, 1957 | 6'2" | 230 | Wyoming | Toledo, OR USA | 16 | 16 |
| 65 | Amos Fowler | C | February 11, 1956 | 6'3" | 250 | Southern Miss | Pensacola, FL USA | 16 | 4 |
| 79 | William Gay | LDT | May 28, 1955 | 6'5" | 250 | USC | San Francisco, CA USA | 15 | 15 |
| 33 | William Graham | FS | September 27, 1959 | 5'11" | 191 | Texas | Silsbee, TX USA | 14 | 14 |
| 26 | Hector Gray | DB | January 2, 1957 | 6'1" | 192 | Florida St. | Miami, FL USA | 1 | 0 |
| 67 | Don Greco | RG | April 1, 1959 | 6'3" | 260 | West. Illinois | St. Louis, MO USA | 12 | 12 |
| 62 | Curtis Green | LDE | June 3, 1957 | 6'3" | 256 | Alabama St. | Quincy, FL USA | 16 | 16 |
| 35 | Alvin Hall | KR | August 12, 1958 | 5'10" | 193 | Miami (OH) | Dayton, OH USA | 16 | 16 |
| 51 | James Harrell | LB | July 19, 1957 | 6'1" | 224 | Florida | Tampa, FL USA | 16 | 0 |
| 23 | Maurice Harvey | DB | January 14, 1956 | 5'10" | 190 | Ball St. | Cincinnati, OH USA | 9 | 0 |
| 17 | Eric Hipple | QB | September 16, 1957 | 6'2" | 196 | Utah St. | Lubbock, TX USA | 16 | 16 |
| 31 | Ken Jenkins | PR | May 8, 1959 | 5'8" | 183 | Bucknell | Washington, DC USA | 12 | 0 |
| 21 | Demetrious Johnson | DB | July 21, 1961 | 5'11" | 190 | Missouri | St. Louis, MO USA | 14 | 2 |
| 30 | James Jones | FB | March 21, 1961 | 6'2" | 229 | Florida | Pompano Beach, FL USA | 14 | 14 |
| 32 | Rick Kane | RB | November 12, 1954 | 5'11" | 200 | Oregon | Lincoln, NE USA | 14 | 0 |
| 25 | Horace King | RB | March 5, 1953 | 5'10" | 208 | Georgia | Athens, GA USA | 16 | 1 |
| 43 | Al Latimer | RCB | October 14, 1957 | 5'11" | 176 | Ferrum | Winter Park, FL USA | 8 | 8 |
| 64 | Larry Lee | RG | September 10, 1959 | 6'2" | 265 | UCLA | Dayton, OH USA | 16 | 6 |
| 83 | Robbie Martin | WR | December 3, 1958 | 5'8" | 179 | Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo | Los Angeles, CA USA | 10 | 0 |
| 81 | Reese McCall | TE | June 16, 1956 | 6'6" | 239 | Auburn | Bessemer, AL USA | 16 | 5 |
| 29 | Bruce McNorton | RCB | February 28, 1959 | 5'11" | 175 | Georgetown (KY) | Daytona Beach, FL USA | 16 | 8 |
| 63 | Martin Moss | DE | December 16, 1958 | 6'4" | 250 | UCLA | San Diego, CA USA | 15 | 0 |
| 52 | Steve Mott | C | March 24, 1961 | 6'3" | 266 | Alabama | New Orleans, LA USA | 13 | 12 |
| 3 | Eddie Murray | K | August 29, 1956 | 5'10" | 177 | Tulane | Halifax, NS Canada | 16 | 0 |
| 86 | Mark Nichols | WR | October 29, 1959 | 6'2" | 210 | San Jose St. | Bakersfield, CA USA | 16 | 11 |
| 80 | Ulysses Norris | TE | January 15, 1957 | 6'4" | 230 | Georgia | Monticello, GA USA | 15 | 15 |
| 84 | Rob Rubick | TE | September 27, 1960 | 6'3" | 232 | Grand Valley St. | Newberry, MI USA | 16 | 1 |
| 87 | Freddie Scott | WR | August 5, 1952 | 6'2" | 180 | Amherst | Grady, AR USA | 15 | 0 |
| 20 | Billy Sims | RB | September 18, 1955 | 6'0" | 212 | Oklahoma | St. Louis, MO USA | 13 | 12 |
| 71 | Rich Strenger | T | March 10, 1960 | 6'7" | 280 | Michigan | Port Washington, WI USA | 16 | 4 |
| 39 | Leonard Thompson | WR | July 28, 1952 | 5'11" | 192 | Oklahoma St. | Oklahoma City, OK USA | 13 | 12 |
| 38 | Vince Thompson | RB | February 21, 1957 | 6'0" | 230 | Villanova | Trenton, NJ USA | 10 | 2 |
| 55 | Tom Turnure | C-G | July 9, 1957 | 6'4" | 250 | Washington | Seattle, WA USA | 16 | 0 |
| 34 | Danny Wagoner | DB | December 12, 1959 | 5'10" | 180 | Kansas | High Point, NC USA | 14 | 0 |
| 27 | Bobby Watkins | LCB | May 31, 1960 | 5'10" | 184 | Texas St. | Cottonwood, ID USA | 16 | 16 |
| 59 | Jimmy Williams | RLB | November 15, 1960 | 6'3" | 228 | Nebraska | Washington, DC USA | 16 | 16 |
