Dick Lane

Richard Lane, better known as Dick "Night Train" Lane (April 16, 1928 - January 29, 2002) was a football player, best known as a defensive back for the Detroit Lions.

He was born in Austin, Texas, and raised by Ella Lane, a woman who found him as an infant in a dumpster. After graduating high school, he spent just one year in junior college before dropping out and spending the next four years serving in the United States Army.

In 1952, the 24-yeard old Lane showed up at the Los Angeles Rams training camp looking for a job because he disliked his current occupation at an aircraft factory. While with the Rams, he acquired the nickname "Night Train" from a hit record by Buddy Morrow frequently played by his teammate Tom Fears. He initially didn't like the nickname but it grew on him after it gained national attention. It first appeared in print describing a tackle in a Rams exhibition game: Dick "Night Train" Lane derails Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice. He wore number 81, unusual for a defensive back, because he was initially projected as an end. The ends playing in front of him on the Rams, Tom Fears and Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, were stars, so Coach Joe Stydahar tried Lane at defensive back, and a legend was born.

In his rookie season he set an NFL single season record for interceptions with 14, which stands to this day. He was traded to the Chicago Cardinals in 1954 and to the Detroit Lions in 1960, where he played through the end of his career in 1965. From 1954 to 1963, Lane made the All-pro first or second team each season and was selected to 7 pro bowls. He recorded 3 interceptions in all but 4 of his 14 NFL seasons.

He was particularly noted as a hard hitter, who liked to tackle by the head and neck (a technique outlawed today). This tackle was sometimes called a "Night Train Necktie."

Lane was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974. In 1969 he was named the best cornerback of the first fifty years of pro football. In his 15 NFL seasons, Lane recorded 68 interceptions, 1,207 interception return yards, 5 touchdowns, 11 fumble recoveries, 57 fumble return yards, 1 touchdown, 8 receptions, 253 receiving yards, 1 touchdown catch, and 4 punt returns for 14 yards.

He was married three times, including his best known marriage to jazz singer Dinah Washington. He was the last of her seven husbands when she died on December 14, 1963.

External links

Pro Football Hall of Fame: [Member profile]
[Official website]
[Obituary]
[Detroit Lions page on Lane]

National Football League | NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team

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