Willie Edward Lanier (born August 21, 1945) is an American former professional
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 ...
player who was a
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, ...
for 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 ...
from 1967 through 1977. He won postseason honors for eight consecutive years, making the
American Football League All-Star team in 1968 and 1969 before being selected to the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
from 1970 through 1975.
A
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 ...
champion, Lanier won the
NFL Man of the Year in 1972. He was selected to both the NFL’s
75th
and
100th Anniversary All-Time Teams, and inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
in 1986 and the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
in 2000.
Early life
Lanier was born in
Clover
Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...
and attended
Maggie L. Walker High School in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
. According to a DNA analysis, he descended, mainly, from
Jola people
The Jola or Diola ( endonym: Ajamat) are an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Most Jola live in small villages scattered throughout Senegal, especially in the Lower Casamance region. The main dialect of the Jola lan ...
of
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...
.
College career
Lanier 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
Morgan State University
Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...
under head coach
Earl Banks
Earl C. Banks (June 11, 1924 – October 27, 1993) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at Morgan State College—now known as Morgan State University—from 1960 to 1973, compili ...
where he was twice selected to the small-college
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term ''All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Football ...
and was also chosen
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
of the
Tangerine Bowl.
Willie Lanier is a member of
The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.
Professional career
On January 15, 1967, the Chiefs lost
Super Bowl I
The first AFL–NFL World Championship Game (known retroactively as Super BowlI and referred to in contemporaneous reports, including the game's radio broadcast, as the Super Bowl) was an American football game played on January 15, 1967, at the ...
to
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...
's
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
by a 35-10 score, forcing
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Hank Stram
Henry Louis Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (N ...
to look for defensive players in the upcoming draft. Stram picked the 6’ 1”, 245 lb. Lanier with the 50th overall pick, three picks after another linebacker,
Jim Lynch
James Robert Lynch (August 28, 1945 – July 21, 2022) was an American football linebacker. Lynch played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he was named an All-American and won the Maxwell Award in 1966. Lynch is a memb ...
of the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...
.
Lynch had been chosen to play in the annual
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 ...
, causing him to miss the first two weeks of ''Chiefs'' practice. By the time Lynch made it to camp, Lanier had already established himself as the team's middle linebacker. He joined
Garland Boyette
Garland Dean Boyette (March 22, 1940 – April 19, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played for the Houston Oilers and St. Loui ...
of the AFL's Houston Oilers as the first black middle linebackers in 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 ...
history. In the midst of a solid first season, Lanier suffered an injury and missed the last four games of the year.
The following year, Lanier collected 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, then matched that total in 1969 as he helped the Chiefs capture
Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV was an American football game played on January 11, 1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the fourth and final AFL–NFL World Championship Game in professional football prior to the AFL–NFL merger taking eff ...
with a 23-7 upset of 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 ...
. He was stellar in the Super Bowl, recording 7
tackles
Tackle may refer to:
* In football:
** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football
** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football
** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...
and an interception. He later commented on the increase
motivationthat Chiefs players felt because of wearing an
AFL patch to honor the league's final year.
There were numerous great moments throughout Lanier’s career, but none exemplifies his heart and desire as much as the Chiefs'
goal line stand against the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
in the 1969 divisional playoff game. Trailing 6-3 in the fourth quarter, New York had a first-and-goal at the Chiefs' one-yard line after a
pass interference
In American and Canadian gridiron football, pass interference (PI) is a foul that occurs when a player interferes with an eligible receiver's ability to make a fair attempt to catch a forward pass. Pass interference may include tripping, pushing, ...
call on Kansas City. It was then that Lanier made an emotional appeal to the rest of the Chiefs defense, yelling: "They're not going to score...! They're not going to score!" The Chiefs shut down the Jets on three straight plays and held them to a
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
. Kansas City scored a
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
on its next possession, winning the game, and winning a place in the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs reached the
NFL playoffs
The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Currently, seven teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A tie-breaki ...
only one more time during Lanier's career, in 1971, winning the
AFC Western Division title. On
Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
, in the final contest at
Municipal Stadium, the Chiefs' season came to an end against 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 ...
in a double
overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
*by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...
classic. The contest was the longest game in NFL history, clocking in at more than 82 minutes.
In 1972, the Chiefs moved to
Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...
. By 1974 the team's talent was depleted by age and injuries. After the conclusion of that season, Stram was fired after 15 years at the helm.
The linebacking trio of Lanier, Lynch and fellow Hall of Famer
Bobby Bell
Bobby Lee Bell Sr. (born June 17, 1940) is an American former professional football player who played as an outside linebacker and defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football ...
is recognized as one of the most talented in professional football history, lasting until the arrival of new head coach
Paul Wiggin
Paul David Wiggin (born November 18, 1934) is a former American football player and coach who currently serves as the senior consultant for pro personnel with the Minnesota Vikings.
After graduating from Stanford University in 1957, in 1975.
Lanier was traded in April 1978 to the
Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
, but announced his retirement as an active player three months later on July 20, 1978.
Miller, Jim. "Colts Trade Chester To Oakland For Siani," ''The Baltimore Evening Sun'', Friday, July 21, 1978.
Retrieved October 28, 2020
"Contact"
Lanier was known as ''Contact'', a name coined by Chiefs' teammate Jerry Mays in 1967. As Lanier remembered: "Since I unfortunately followed the style of tackling that we were taught at that time – that was to use your head first of hitting players in the middle of their body. It was done in a rather aggressive manner".
But Lanier's uncontrolled tackling resulted in Chiefs' equipment manager Bobby Yarborough outfitting Lanier's helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
with extra padding. The padding was not on the inside of the helmet to protect Lanier but rather, as some photos of him in uniform show, on the ''outside'' of the helmet to protect the player he was tackling.
While renowned for his hitting ability, Lanier was also fast, agile and disciplined, finishing his career with 27 interceptions and 15 fumble
A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...
recoveries.
Honors
Willie Lanier received ''All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
'' (''AFL ALL-Star
The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...
'' or ''All-AFC'') mention every year, appearing in all-star games from 1968 to 1975 (his first two in the ''AFL'' and his last six in the ''AFC''). In 1986, he achieved ''Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
'' status.
*1968. Elected to ''AFL All-Star Game
The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...
''.
*1969. Elected to ''AFL All-Star Game
The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...
''.
*1970. Elected to ''NFL''s ''AFC-NFC'' ''Pro Bowl Game''.
*1971. Elected to ''NFL''s ''AFC-NFC'' ''Pro Bowl Game''. Defensive ''MVP'' of the league (co-winner).
*1972. Elected to ''NFL''s ''AFC-NFC'' ''Pro Bowl Game'' (''MVP''-defense of the match). ''NFL''s ''Walter Payton Man of the Year Award
The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award is presented annually by the National Football League (NFL) honoring a player's commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as his excellence on the field. Prior to 1999, it was called s ...
'' (charitable work as ''player-citizen'').
*1973. Elected to ''NFL''s ''AFC-NFC'' ''Pro Bowl Game''.
*1974. Elected to ''NFL''s ''AFC-NFC'' ''Pro Bowl Game''.
*1975. Elected to ''NFL''s ''AFC-NFC'' ''Pro Bowl Game''.
*1985. ''Chiefs'' ' ''Hall of Fame''.
*1986. Second ''Chiefs'' ' player inducted into ''Pro Football Hall of Fame'' by 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 ...
'' for the class of this year, at Canton, Ohio
Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...
. Also in 1986, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...
.
*1994. ''NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
The National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team was chosen by a selection committee of media and league personnel in 1994 to honor the greatest players of the first 75 years of the National Football League (NFL). Five players on the li ...
''.
* In 1999, he was ranked number 42 on ''The Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Chief.
After the NFL
After Lanier's retirement, the Chiefs retired both Lanier's and Bell's numbers.
Lanier returned to school, taking graduate courses at the University of Missouri–Kansas City
The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...
. He then returned to Virginia as a stockbroker
A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...
, at First Union Securities, where he served as vice-chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
. He is the former CEO of TDS/US, the minority venture partner of TDS Logistics (now Syncreon).
In 2006, Lanier was interviewed for the NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL ...
documentary '' America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions'' chronicling the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season was the team's tenth, their seventh in Kansas City, and the final season of the American Football League (AFL). It resulted in an 11–3 regular season record and three postseason road victories, includi ...
.
Filmography
*1974. ''The Black Six
''The Black Six'' is a 1974 American blaxploitation and outlaw biker film written by George Theakos and directed by Matt Cimber. It starred several National Football League stars in the title roles. It was one of the first all-black biker films.
...
''. As Tommy Bunka. Directed by Matt Cimber
Matt Cimber (born Thomas Vitale Ottaviano; 1936) is an American Film producer, producer, Film director, director, Screenwriter, writer, and occasional actor in films, television, and theatre. He is known for directing Film genre, genre films in ...
(Matteo Ottaviano). Drama about racism in a southern town, with six black bikers (''The Black Six'') avenging the death of a friend. Lanier teamed with other greatest stars of the 1970s (Joe Greene
Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1 ...
, Carl Eller
Carl Eller (born January 25, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 through 1979. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and played college football ...
, Gene Washington, Mercury Morris
Eugene Edward "Mercury" Morris (born January 5, 1947) is a former American football running back and kick returner. He played for seven years, primarily for the Miami Dolphins, in the American Football League (AFL) as a rookie in 1969, then ...
).
*2000. ''Super Bowl XXXIV'' (TV). As '' coin-tosser''.
See also
* Other American Football League players
References
External links
*
*
Morgan State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanier, Willie
1945 births
Living people
American football middle linebackers
Kansas City Chiefs players
Morgan State Bears football players
American Football League All-Star players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
National Football League players with retired numbers
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Stockbrokers
People from Clover, Virginia
Players of American football from Richmond, Virginia
American people of Bissau-Guinean descent
American Football League players
Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies alumni