During the greatest of times for the Detroit Lions franchise, middle linebacker Joe Schmidt was most often at the core of the team’s success.
A versatile talent who revolutionized his position, Schmidt led the Lions to two NFL Championships, garnered 10 Pro Bowl selections, made eight All-Pro teams and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Schmidt died on Wednesday, his family announced. He was 92 years old.
“Joe Schmidt played in a golden era of middle linebackers in the NFL, and many of his peers considered him the toughest opponent they faced,” Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said Thursday in a statement. “When Joe Schmidt got to the ball carrier, that was the end of the play. And yet, he never sought out attention. He let his play do the talking.”
For 13 seasons, Schmidt starred for the Lions and was later the team’s head coach from 1967-1972, posting a 43-34-7 record that included four winning campaigns and one playoff berth. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1973 member’s career boasts a slot on the Hall of Fame’s All-1950s team and a spot on the NFL All-Time 100th Anniversary Team.
"We are saddened to hear of the passing of Joe Schmidt. Joe was a Lion through and through, having spent his entire career in Detroit," the Lions said in a statement. "Joe was an enduring link to our Championship era and one of the proudest Lions you will ever meet."
A seventh-round selection of Detroit out of Pittsburgh in the 1953 NFL Draft, Schmidt, who is also a member of the College Hall of Fame, joined a Lions squad that won the NFL Championship in 1952. The rookie, who slipped in the draft due to myriad college injuries, quickly erased any doubts that he could hold down a starting spot on the NFL’s best team.
Schmidt was a starter on the 1953 Lions championship squad and a season later made the first of an astounding 10 consecutive Pro Bowls.
In addition to his faculty on the field, Schmidt was a model of consistency and leadership. He started every game over his initial seven seasons and was a team captain for nine of his 13 years.
In the autumns of yesteryear, running backs ruled Sundays and middle linebackers were their fiercest rivals. For all the Gale Sayerses, Jim Browns and Paul Hornungs, there were the Dick Butkuses and Ray Nitschkes to oppose them.
Schmidt, along with the Chicago Bears’ Bill George and New York Giants’ Sam Huff, was one of the first to bring a spotlight to the middle backer position as the 4-3 defense became a hallmark for squads. However, as the position was often lauded for its toughness and hard-hitting nature, Schmidt was remarkably versatile as a three-down player and very much a ballhawk. He was a sure and physical tackler but had the speed to roam in coverage and the mind to excel in any situation.
In 155 career games (151 starts), Schmidt racked up 24 interceptions and 17 fumble recoveries. Schmidt, who scored three defensive touchdowns, led the NFL with eight fumbles recovered in 1955 (second-most in a single season in league history) and had six interceptions in 1958 and four picks in two seasons.
Season after season, Schmidt piled up accolades as one the league’s best.
All told, Schmidt’s eight first-team All-Pro selections are the most ever for a linebacker. Schmidt’s 10 Pro Bowls are fourth all time, trailing Ray Lewis (12) and Junior Seau (12), Derrick Brooks (11) and tied with Mike Singletary (10). Those 10 Pro Bowls are also tied for the most in Lions history with franchise icon Barry Sanders.
"Joe Schmidt had the heart of a Lion, which made it appropriate that he was also the heart of our team," Lions owner/chair emeritus Martha Firestone Ford said in a statement. "Joe was a key part of our Championship seasons and continued to be an important part of our organization until his passing. Joe made his home in Detroit and carried his success from the field into our community. I am saddened to hear of his passing, but I have nothing but fond memories of the person he was."
The 1965 season marked Schmidt’s last on the field. He started all 14 games and had four interceptions and an unofficial 4.5 sacks as evidence that his playmaking abilities remained.
Over his career, Schmidt helped the Lions to eight winning seasons and three NFL title game appearances. As a rookie, Schmidt aided in the Lions winning back-to-back championships, having defeated the Cleveland Browns for a second year in a row. The ensuing 1954 season saw the Lions set their sights on a three-peat, but Bobby Layne, Doak Walker, Schmidt and Co. were walloped by Brown and Cleveland. Three seasons later with a cast of Hall of Famers in Schmidt, Layne, John Henry Johnson, Frank Gatski, Lou Creekmur, Jack Christiansen and Yale Lary, Detroit returned to the championship to play the Browns for a fourth time and won again. The Lions’ 59-14 win over the Browns in the 1957 NFL Championship Game stands as the franchise’s last title victory and championship appearance.
Retired as a player at 33, Schmidt was back with the club the next season as a 34-year-old linebackers coach. A season after that, Schmidt began his six-year run as Lions head coach at just 35.
For 20 straight autumns, Lions seasons began with Schmidt as a starting linebacker or coaching on the sidelines. He was one of the greatest Lions there ever was and one of the finest middle linebackers in league chronicle.