Richard D. Lyons, Sr. (born August 11, 1947) is a former American football

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

of the National Football League (NFL).

Football career

Lyons attended high school at St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and 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 Kentucky. He was drafted by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

in the fourth round of the

1969 NFL/AFL draft The 1969 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and American Football League (AFL) held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969. The draft beg ...

, and he played four games for the New Orleans Saints in 1970. Lyons also played for the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

's Birmingham Americans. He is the father of former Kentucky wide receiver,

Dicky Lyons, Jr. Dicky, Dickey, Dickie, or plurals thereof may refer to: Clothing: * Dickey (garment), a type of false shirt-front * Dickies, a brand of clothing People: * Dicky (name), a list of persons with the given name or nickname * Dickey (name), a list of ...

References

1947 births Living people Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky American football return specialists American football defensive backs Kentucky Wildcats football players Atlanta Falcons players New Orleans Saints players Birmingham Americans players {{Louisville-stub