Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years by Wayne Stewart
Author:Wayne Stewart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2012-12-06T05:00:00+00:00
It’s obvious that the majority of the toughest players of the time period were linebackers or defensive linemen. Few defensive backs of the era are worthy of mention alongside men like Jones, Marchetti, and Butkus, but Dick “Night Train” Lane is. If asked to select the top ten most-feared defenders, some fans might cram ten linebackers on their list. When the TV show Top Ten made their list, Lane, who hit with the impact of a blitzing linebacker, ranked second behind only Butkus.
Just watching Lane savagely take down ball carriers made opponents who were riding the bench wince—and it made receivers think twice about wanting to catch a ball on Lane’s turf.
Not merely a brute, the proficient Lane set a record in 1952 by intercepting fourteen passes, doing that over a twelve-game schedule and as a rookie! Not only that, the total is still the best ever. Toss in the fact that his sixty-eight lifetime picks have only been surpassed by three men. Furthermore, Lane never played a game of college football (although he spent some time as a defensive back in junior college). After serving in two wars, he became a sort of pro “walk-on,” showing up in Los Angeles asking for a chance to play for the Rams. They gave him a job at a cornerback spot even though he had never played there before. They had to like what they saw—at about six foot one and 195–200 pounds, he was as big as some NFL linemen of the day and much faster.
He made the All-Decade Team for the 1950s, touted as the best cornerback ever at that point. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1974, and he was on the NFL All-Time Team selected in 1994.
Raymond Berry said he seldom came into contact with Lane, and he was grateful for that. Berry commented, “He covered the other side of the field, on Lenny Moore, when we played against him. They were two super athletes. I used to say to myself jokingly, ‘It’s good they’re up against each other. They deserve each other.’”
Marchetti observed, “Night Train was ideal for a defensive back, a guy that could come in and, if you don’t catch the pass, he’ll hit you to make sure that the next time you come in his area, you’re going to be looking out for him and not the ball.”
Face it, nobody wanted to cope with Lane’s wrath. His two most famous and most feared tactics were the pain- and injury-inducing clothesline tackle and the tackling of ball carriers around their necks and heads. He often shot a forearm out, aimed at lifting the player off the ground. He twisted necks and wrestled opponents to the ground. Other times his tackles were head to head, under a ball carrier’s jaw, like magnified shots from the Rock ’Em Sock ’Em toy. In street vernacular, Lane had an “I’m gonna jack your jaw” mentality, but the devastation he doled out was eventually too much for the NFL.
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