Lonnie Preston Warwick (born February 26, 1942) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. He played 10 seasons 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 ...

, with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

and

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 ...

. He started in Super Bowl IV.

College career

Lonnie attended Mount Hope High School in

Mount Hope, West Virginia Mount Hope is a city in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,414 at the 2010 census. History The community took its name from the local Mount Hope School. The Mount Hope Historic District and New River Company Ge ...

where he participated in the 1959 state championship game, was named all-state in both football and basketball, and graduated in 1960. In 2013, Warwick was inducted to the West Virginia North-South Football Hall of Fame. He attended at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

for a year. Transferring within a year, Warwick and 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 ...

for

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

, where he is a member of the Tennessee Tech Hall of Fame.

NFL career

Warwick ended up working for the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

in Arizona for a year, before signing a free agent contract with the

in 1964. He became the starting

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

of the legendary

Purple People Eaters Purple People Eaters were the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. The term is a reference to Purple People Eater, a popular song from 1958, the efficiency of the defense, and the color of their uniforms. T ...

Vikings defense of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was named the "meanest man" in football by former teammate

Joe Kapp Joseph Robert Kapp (born March 19, 1938) is an American former football player, coach, and executive. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of California, Berkeley. Kapp played professionally in the Canadian Football Lea ...

. Warwick led the Vikings in tackles for four years, and returned a blocked

punt (gridiron football) In gridiron football, a punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground. The most common use of this tactic is to punt the ball downfield to the opposing team, usually on the final d ...

for a touchdown in 1965. He had four

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s and recovered two fumbles during the 1969 season, and caught three interceptions in 1970. He was the starting linebacker in Super Bowl IV, where the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

upset the heavily favored Vikings. Warwick played despite spraining his left ankle during the National Football League Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns the previous week. He was injured with knee problems for most of 1971, where he played four games, and 1972, playing just six games. The 1972 injury led the Vikings to insert rookie

Jeff Siemon Jeffrey Glenn Siemon (born June 2, 1950) is a former professional American football player and an inductee in the College Football Hall of Fame. A middle linebacker, he played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL), all with the M ...

into the lineup at middle linebacker, and Siemon held the position through

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. He became a member of the

in 1973, after being unable to reach a contract agreement with the Vikings. He played for the Falcons in all fourteen games in both 1973 and 1974 before retiring. In 1975, Warwick came out of retirement to play for the San Antonio Wings of the World Football League, which folded before the end of season.

After football

He became a coach for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

for several years, where he also occasionally suited up as a player. He coached semi-professional teams in West Virginia, and with the

Denver Gold The Denver Gold was a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second major professional football league in the United States, playing a springtime season, from 1983 to 1985. The Gold played their home games at Mi ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. He currently resides in Mount Hope in

Fayette County, West Virginia Fayette County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,488. Its county seat is Fayetteville. It is part of the Beckley, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area in Southern West Virginia. Histor ...

where he helps out local high school football teams.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warwick, Lonnie 1942 births Living people People from Raleigh County, West Virginia People from Mount Hope, West Virginia Players of American football from West Virginia American football linebackers Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football players Minnesota Vikings players Atlanta Falcons players