Willie Lanier played for the Kansas City Chiefs 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 from 1970 through 1975. Lanier was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
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 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 recoveries.
Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday spotlights…Willie Lanier.
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