Willie Lanier
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | August 21, 1945 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Clover, Virginia | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Morgan State | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1967 / Round: 2 / Pick: 50 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Interceptions: | 27 |
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| Sacks: | 2 |
| Defensive touchdowns: | 2 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Willie Edward Lanier (born August 21, 1945) is a former American football middle-linebacker who 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. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986.
Lanier was born in Clover and attended Maggie L. Walker High School in Richmond, Virginia. According to a DNA analysis, he descended, mainly, from Jola people of Guinea-Bissau.
Lanier played college football at Morgan State University under head coach Earl Banks where he was twice selected to the small-college College Football All-America Team and was also chosen MVP 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.
On January 15, 1967, the Chiefs lost Super Bowl I to Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers by a 35-10 score, forcing head coach Hank Stram to look for defensive players in the upcoming draft. Stram picked Lanier in the second round, after the team had selected another linebacker, Jim Lynch of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
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