Glenn Presnell Glenn Emery " Press " Presnell ( July 28 , 1905 – September 13 , 2004 ) was an American football player , coach , and college athletics administrator . He set the NFL single - season scoring record in 1933 and led the league in total offense . He was the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions inaugural 1934 team and helped lead the team to its first NFL championship in 1935 . He also set an NFL record with a 54 - yard field goal in 1934 , a record which was not broken for 19 years . Early years . Born in Gilead , Nebraska , Presnell attended DeWitt High School and the University of Nebraska – Lincoln . He played college football as a halfback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team from 1925 to 1927 . In 1925 , Presnell led Nebraska to a 14 - 0 victory over an Illini team that included the " Galloping Ghost " , Red Grange . As one writer put it , " all the galloping was done by Presnell this day . " Presnell was selected as a first - team player on the 1927 College Football All - America Team . Professional football . After leaving Nebraska , Presnell played football for the Ironton Tanks in Ironton , Ohio . He was a player - coach for the team and also taught science at Ironton High School . Presnell was a halfback in Ironton ' s single wing offense and also played on defense at what would later be considered the safety position . Although not officially part of the National Football League , the Tanks played against teams in the league . In 1930 , Presnell led Ironton to victories over both the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears . Against the Giants , the Tanks trailed 12 - 6 with three seconds left . Presnell threw a touchdown pass to Gene Alford and then kicked the extra point to give Ironton a 13 - 12 victory over a Giants team that finished in second place in the NFL . He also scored two touchdowns against the Bears , including an 88 - yard run . After the 1930 season , the Tanks folded . In 1931 , Presnell joined the Portsmouth Spartans in the NFL . He remained with Portsmouth from 1931 to 1933 . He had his best season in 1933 , when he led the NFL in total offense with 1 , 296 yards . He also broke the single - season NFL scoring record with 64 points . ( Ken Strong tied with Presnell with the same point total in 1933 . ) During the 1933 NFL season , Presnell completed 50 of 125 passes for 774 passing yards and added 522 rushing yards on 118 carries for an average of 4 . 4 yards per carry . He also kicked five field goals and 13 extra points . He led the NFL with six rushing touchdowns and 13 successful extra point conversions . He also finished second in the league ( behind Harry Newman ) in passing touchdowns , passes completed , pass attempts , and passing yards . Following the 1933 season , Presnell was selected as a first - team All - NFL player by the NFL , the United Press , and Collyers Eye Magazine . In 1934 , the owner of the Portsmouth Spartans sold the team . The team was moved from Portsmouth , Ohio to Detroit , Michigan , and became the Detroit Lions . When Presnell visited Detroit to sign his first contract with the Lions in 1934 , team owner George A . Richards allowed Presnell to pick the team ' s colors . Presnell later recalled : " Mr . Richards , the owner , the day I was up there and signed my contract , he said : ' There ' s a table out there in the next office covered with uniforms . Why don ' t you pick out the colors you like ? ' I went out . My wife was with me . We saw this Honolulu blue and silver and we fell in love with it . " Presnell remained with the Lions from 1934 to 1936 . He combined with Dutch Clark , Ace Gutowsky , and Ernie Caddel to lead the Lions to a second place finish in 1934 . And in 1935 , the same group led the Lions to their first NFL championship , culminating with a 26 - 7 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1935 NFL Championship Game . Presnell also set an NFL record with a 54 - yard field goal in 1934 , a mark that was not broken until 1953 . Coaching and later years . Presnell retired as a player after the 1936 season at age 31 . He worked as an assistant football coach at the University of Kansas in 1937 and then as the backfield coach at Nebraska from 1938 to 1941 . In February 1942 , he became the head football coach and athletic director at Nebraska . The Cornhusers , compiled a record of 3 - 7 in Presnell ' s one season as head coach . In December 1942 , Presnell enlisted in the United States Navy . In May 1943 , he as commissioned as a lieutenant ans assigned to the Navy ' s physical education training program . In 1944 Presnell served as backs coach at the North Carolina Pre - Flight School . He spent three years in the Navy . In 1954 , Presnell returned to coaching as the head football coach for Eastern Kentucky University . He held that position from 1954 to 1963 . He was then athletic director at Eastern Kentucky until his retirement in 1971 . Presnell died in September 2004 in Ironton , Ohio at the age of 99 . He had been the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions ' inaugural 1934 team .