Richard Burton Lawless (born November 1, 1953) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and earned All-American honors. He was drafted in the second round of the

1975 NFL Draft The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartko ...

Early years

Lawless was born in

Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...

in 1953, before his family moved to Florida. He attended Charlotte High School in

Punta Gorda, Florida , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = , image_skyline = Punta Gorda City Hall.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Punta Gorda City Hall , image_fla ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players
Burton Lawless
. Retrieved July 8, 2010. where he first drew recognition as an all-state

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the Charlotte Fighting Tarpons high school football team. In 2007, thirty-six years after he graduated from high school, the

Florida High School Athletic Association The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is an organization whose purpose is to organize sports competition for high schools in Florida. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Florida uses ...

(FHSAA) recognized Lawless as one of the "100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years" of Florida high school football. In 2001, he was inducted into the Charlotte High School Hall of Fame.

College career

Lawless accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach

Doug Dickey Douglas Adair Dickey (born June 24, 1932) is an American former college football player and coach and college athletics administrator. Dickey is a South Dakota native who was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida, where ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

team from

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 87, 91, 96, 183 (2011). Retrieved August 30, 2011. As a freshman, he broke his shoulder on his first practice and was moved to

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

when he returned to the team, and eventually to

, where he arguably became the best pulling

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

in Gators history. He was a three-year starter, a second-team All-

Southeastern conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) selection in 1973 and 1974, and a first-team All-American during his senior season in 1974. He also played in the 1975

Chicago College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the C ...

. Lawless returned to the university during the NFL off-season to finish his bachelor's degree in exercise and sport sciences in 1977, and he was inducted into the

University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...

as a "Gator Great" in 1978. In one of a series of articles published by ''The Gainesville Sun'' in 2006, he was recognized as one of the top 100 Gators (No. 42) of the first 100 years of Florida football.

Professional career

Lawless was selected by the

in the second round (forty-fourth pick overall) of the

, also known as the Dirty Dozen draft.

Mitch Hoopes Mitchell Kent Hoopes (July 8, 1953 – August 11, 2020) was an American football punter in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Houston Oilers, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles. He also was a memb ...

and him were the only rookies to earn starting jobs, with Lawless replacing the traded

John Niland John Rodney Niland (born 10 September 1940) is an Australians, Australian academic and board director. Niland obtained a Bachelor and Master of Commerce from UNSW and his PhD is from the University of Illinois. He has held academic positions at ...

left guard In gridiron football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right g ...

and becoming the first-team rookie to start in the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

(including

Super Bowl X Super Bowl X was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for t ...

) since . At the end of the season, he was named to the NFL All-Rookie team. In , the improved play of

Herbert Scott Herbert Carnell Scott (born January 18, 1953) is a former American football guard and offensive tackle in the National Football League. He attended Floyd E. Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, and went on to star at the Virginia Union Unive ...

forced him into a platoon role. In , he was moved to

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...

but lost the starting job to

Tom Rafferty Thomas Michael Rafferty (born August 2, 1954) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for head coach Joe Paterno at Penn State University. Early years ...

. Injuries to Scott and John Fitzgerald allowed him to start 6 games (4 at left guard and 2 at right guard). The next year, he was back to serving as a messenger

, alternating mainly with Rafferty. After requesting to be traded, he retired in during training camp and was subsequently traded to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

for a draft choice (not exercised) on August 19. During his time with the Cowboys, he was a part of three

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

teams, winning

Super Bowl XII Super Bowl XII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

. The

released him on September 1, . On October 23, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

, where he played in nine games. He was released on August 31, . On November 17, he was signed by the

to be a backup behind

Bob Kuechenberg Robert John Kuechenberg (October 14, 1947 – January 12, 2019) was a National Football League guard for the Miami Dolphins for 14 seasons between 1970 and 1983, spending the 1984 season on injured reserve. He was a mainstay in a line that inclu ...

for the last five games of the 1981 season. In April , Lawless signed a contract with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. In May, during the off-season, a 12-foot, 5,000-pound plow-arm fell on his head and neck, causing him to be paralyzed from the neck down for 17 days and ending his professional career. During his seven-season NFL career, Lawless played in eighty-two games, and started in twenty-three of them.

Personal life

Lawless attended the Cowboys alumni reunion and closing ceremony at

Texas Stadium Texas Stadium was an American football stadium located in Irving, Texas, a suburb west of Dallas. Opened on October 24, 1971, it was known for its distinctive hole in the roof, the result of abandoned plans to construct a retractable roof (Cowboy ...

in Dallas on December 20, 2008.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). .

External links

This Gator would not go down
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawless, Burton 1953 births Living people People from Punta Gorda, Florida Players of American football from Florida All-American college football players American football offensive linemen Florida Gators football players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players Charlotte High School (Punta Gorda, Florida) alumni Miami Dolphins players