Monday, 02 June 2025

Dick “Night Train” Lane

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Athletes 2025
Embed from Getty Images
Sport(s): Football
Statistics: 7 First Team All-Pro Selections (1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962 & 1963)
7 Pro Bowls (1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961 & 1962)
2-Time Interceptions Leader (1952 & 1954)
68 Interceptions
Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Member of the Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor
Member of the Pride of the Lions
Named to the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
Named to the NFL 50th Anniversary Team
Named to the NFL 75th Anniversary Team
Named to the NFL 100th Anniversary Team
Abandoned in a dumpster at three months old, Dick “Night Train” Lane’s gridiron success is one of the greatest stories in sports.

A natural athlete, Lane only played one year of college football at Scottsbluff Junior College, where he starred on the defense. He enlisted in the Army afterward, and after his discharge, he worked at an aircraft plant in Los Angeles, but he still felt the lure of football.

Armed with his college press clippings, Lane secured a tryout with the Los Angeles Rams and impressed the coaches so much that he won a starting job as a Defensive Back. As a rookie, Lane set a still-standing record of 14 Interceptions, which is even more impressive considering it was achieved in just 12 games.

He later played for the Chicago Cardinals and Detroit Lions, and everywhere he went, offensive skill players were fearful of a Night Train tackle. Nobody was more ferocious than Lane, and it was because of him that tackling rules were changed (no grabbing of the facemask or clotheslines).

Lane retired with 68 Interceptions and a legendary career that is the envy of anyone who played defense.

We are proud to nominate Dick “Night Train” Lane for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

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