Willie Lanier
Willie Lanier was born in Clover, Virginia, United States on August 21st, 1945 and is the Football Player. At the age of 78, Willie Lanier biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 78 years old, Willie Lanier has this physical status:
Willie Edward Lanier (born August 21, 1945) is a former American football middle-linebacker who played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1967 to 1977.
He has been in for eight years, making the American Football League All-Star team in 1968 and 1969 before being named to the Pro Bowl in 1970 and 1975.
In 1986 and 2000, Lanier was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Hall of Fame.
Early life
Lanier was born in Clover, Virginia, and attended Maggie L. Walker High School. He descended, mainly from Jola people of Guinea-Bissau, according to a DNA test.
College career
Lanier played college football for Morgan State University under head coach Earl Banks, who was twice named to the Little-College Football All-America team and was also named MVP of the Tangerine Bowl.
Willie Lanier is a member of The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., and is part of the National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.
Professional career
The Chiefs lost Super Bowl I to Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers by a 35-10 score on January 15, 1967, causing head coach Hank Stram to look for defensive players in the upcoming draft. Stram picked the 6' 1" 245 lb. After another linebacker, Jim Lynch of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Lanier made the 50th overall pick and three picks.
Lynch had been chosen to play in the annual College All-Star Game, causing him to miss the first two weeks of Chiefs' training. Lanier had already established himself as the team's middle linebacker by the time Lynch made it to camp. He joined the Houston Oilers' Garland Boyette as the first black middle linebackers in professional American football history. Lanier sustained an injury and missed the first four games of the year in the midst of a good first season.
Lanier had four interceptions the first year and then matched that total figure in 1969 as he helped the Chiefs win Super Bowl IV with a 23-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. He made a good job in the Super Bowl, with 7 tackles and an interception. Later, he talked about the increased motivation among Chiefs players as a result of wearing an AFL patch to commemorate the league's final year.
There were many memorable moments in Lanier's career, but no one exemplifies his passion and ardency more than the Chiefs' goal line stand against the New York Jets in the 1969 divisional playoff game. After a pass interference call on Kansas City, New York had a first-and-goal at the Chiefs' one-yard line in the fourth quarter, trailing 6-3. It was then that Lanier made an emotional appeal to the Chiefs' defense, yelling, "They're not going to score."They're not going to score!"
On three plays straight, the Chiefs shut down the Jets and held them to a field goal. Kansas City won the game and secured a spot in the Super Bowl thanks to a touchdown on its next possession.During Lanier's career, the Chiefs reached the NFL playoffs just one more time, winning the AFC Western Division championship in 1971. The Chiefs' season came to an end against the Miami Dolphins on Christmas Day, in the last game at Municipal Stadium. The game was the longest game in NFL history, with clocks in at more than 82 minutes.
The Chiefs made their way to Arrowhead Stadium in 1972. The team's abilities were depleted by age and injuries by 1974. Stram was fired after 15 years at the helm following the conclusion of that season.
Bobby Bell, the linebacking trio of Lanier, Lynch, and a fellow Hall of Famer, is regarded as one of the best in professional football, dating back to the arrival of new head coach Paul Wiggin in 1975.
Lanier was traded to the Baltimore Colts in April 1978, but he announced his retirement as an active player three months later on July 20, 1978.
Contact was a mark used by Chiefs' teammate Jerry Mays in 1967, who coined the phrase Contact. "Since I regretfully followed the method of tackling that we were taught at the time," Lanier explained, it was to use your head first of hitting players in the middle of their body. It was carried out in a rather confrontational way."
However, Lanier's uncontrolled tackling resulted in Chiefs' equipment manager Bobby Yarborough outfitting Lanier's helmet with extra padding. The padding was not on the inside of the helmet to shield Lanier, but rather on the outside of the helmet to shield the player he was attacking, as some photographs of him in uniform showed.
Lanier, who is best known for his hitting skills, was also a fast, agile, and disciplined guy, who made his career with 27 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries throughout his career.