# Willie Lanier

Willie Edward Lanier (born August 21, 1945), is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) from 1967 through 1977. He won postseason honors for eight consecutive years, making the AFL All-Star team in 1968 and 1969 before being selected to the Pro Bowl from 1970 through 1975.
A Super Bowl champion, Lanier won the NFL Man of the Year in 1972. He was selected to both the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams, and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

## Early life

Lanier was born on August 21, 1945 in Clover, Halifax County, Virginia, the son of Robert Lanier, who was the biggest influence in his son's life. He grew up in Richmond, Virginia. He attended high school in Richmond, at the Maggie L. Walker High School, named after the first black female bank president in America. He was a star football player in high school, graduating in 1963. According to a DNA analysis, he descended, mainly, from Jola people of Guinea-Bissau.

## College career

Lanier was offered a full scholarship to Virginia State University, but instead chose to attend Morgan State College (now Morgan State University) because (1) he wanted to escape segregation and (2) he saw more employment opportunity in business administration in the north. Lanier believed he would receive a quality education and support. He would go on to earn a bachelors degree in business administration from Morgan State in 1967.
Morgan State's football team was headed by future College Hall of Fame coach Earl Banks (1992), who emphasized academics and graduation to his players. Banks had not recruited Lanier. Rather, Lanier was a walk-on who made the team in 1963. The Bears played in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA).
In 1965, the Bears defeated Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic, which was the unofficial championship game for historically black colleges and universities. In 1966, Morgan State, led by Lanier as its most storied member, was invited to play in the Tangerine Bowl (now the Citrus Bowl) against the West Chester Rams of Pennsylvania. The Bears were on a 17-game winning streak going into the Tangerine Bowl, and merited inclusion on their quality of play. But this was a major social event, being the first time that a team from an historically black college was invited to play in the game in central Florida; and Orlando, where the game was played, had never hosted an integrated high school or college football game. The game's hosts made sure the two teams were treated equally, and mingled with each other at events before the game.
ABC covered the game on network television, which Morgan State won 14-6. Lanier was the game's most valuable player. One of Lanier's teammates, Bob Wade, would go on to play in the NFL and to become a legendary high school basketball coach at Baltimore's Dunbar High, and head coach of the University of Maryland's basketball team, the first black head coach of a major sport at that school. Other Bears teammates included future NFL players Mark Washington and Raymond Chester.
During his playing career at Morgan State, the football team only lost two games. Lanier was twice selected to the small-college College Football All-America Team. He was inducted into the Morgan State Hall of Fame in 1982. The Richmond Times-Dispatch Touchdown Club of Richmond gives an award for Virginia's best small college football player, named after Lanier.
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 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 the 6 ft 1 in 245 pound Lanier. Lanier had been scouted by Frank Barnes for the Chiefs, and was selected in the second round of the 1967 draft with the 50th overall pick, three picks after another linebacker, Jim Lynch of the high profile Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Lynch had won the Maxwell Award for best college player and was a unanimous All-American.
There are a number of descriptions as to how Lanier became the starting middle linebacker over Lynch. One is that he won the starting job against stiff opposition in his rookie season after the Chiefs' fourth game. Another, per Chiefs' owner Lamar Hunt, is that when Chiefs' coach Hank Stram saw both players in training camp, he realized both rookies should be playing, with Lanier at middle linebacker and Lynch moving to outside linebacker. In another explanation, Lynch had been chosen to play in the annual College All-Star Game, 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.Despite losing out to Lanier at middle linebacker, Lynch started every game from 1968 to 1977, was twice an All AFL player, and was part of a linebacking trio with Lanier and future hall of famer Bobby Bell, that would play together for years and be part of the Chiefs Super Bowl IV championship team.
Lanier joined Garland Boyette of the AFL's Houston Oilers as the first black middle linebackers in professional American football history. Before them, black players were not made middle linebackers.
In the midst of a solid first season in 1967, Lanier suffered an injury and missed the last four games of the year. The following year, Lanier collected four interceptions, then matched that total in 1969 as he helped the Chiefs capture Super Bowl IV with a 23–7 upset of the Minnesota Vikings. He was stellar in the Super Bowl, recording 8 tackles (4 solo and 4 combined) and an interception. He later commented on the increased motivation that Chiefs players felt because of wearing a ten-year AFL patch to honor the league's final year, and ten-year history, stating "'It lit us up. We knew what it meant.'" A total of six defensive players on the Chiefs Super Bowl IV championship team were selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Lanier, Bell, Buck Buchanan, Curly Culp, Emmitt Thomas and Johnny Robinson), and Lanier, Bell and Buchanan would be named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
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 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 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. Kansas City scored a touchdown on its next possession, winning the game, and winning a place in the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs reached the NFL playoffs only one more time during Lanier's career, in 1971, winning the AFC Western Division title. On Christmas Day, in the final contest at Municipal Stadium, the Chiefs' season came to an end against the Miami Dolphins in a double overtime 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. 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 is recognized as one of the most talented in professional football history, lasting until Bell’s retirement in December 1974 and the arrival of new head coach Paul Wiggin in 1975.
Lanier was traded in April 1978 to the Baltimore Colts, but announced his retirement as an active player three months later on July 20, 1978.
Lanier had 27 career interceptions, two returned for touchdowns, and 18 fumble recoveries. His nickname was "Contact", given by teammate Jerry Mays, because of the force with which Lanier hit opposing players. He later was nicknamed "Honey Bear" because of his bear-hug tackling style. Lanier missed the last four games of his rookie year with an injury. Over the next 10 seasons he only missed one game.
Lanier was All-Pro, All-AFL or All-AFC from 1968 through 1975. He was chosen for the last two AFL All-Star games at the end of the 1968 and 1969 seasons. He played in the first six AFC-NFC Pro Bowl games after the merger of the AFL and NFL, and was MVP in the 1971 game. He was named AFC Player of the Year in 1971. In 1972, he was named NFL Man of the Year (now the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year).
Lanier was selected to the Chiefs' Hall of Honor in 1985. He was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986, with his enshrinement speech given by hall of fame Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt. The Chiefs retired Lanier's number in August 1992. He was selected to both the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994 and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019. He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Also in 1999, he was ranked number 42 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, which also included his defensive teammates, Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan, and Emmitt Thomas (ranked 66-68). He was ranked as the 80th greatest player of all time by The Athletic in its 2021 list.
As a player, Lanier had great respect for hall of fame offensive tackle Bob Brown.

### Statistics
## Honors

Willie Lanier received All-Pro (AFL ALL-Star 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 status.
* 1968. Elected to AFL All-Star Game.
* 1969. Elected to AFL All-Star Game.
* 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 (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.
* 1982. Selected to Morgan State Hall of Fame in 1982.
* 1985. Chiefs ' Hall of Honor.
* 1986. Second Chiefs ' player inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame by the National Football League for the class of this year, at Canton, Ohio. Also in 1986, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
* 1994. NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.
* 1999, he was ranked number 42 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Chief. Also inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
* 2019. NFL 100th Anniversary All Time Team.
* 2021. Ranked as the 80th greatest player of all time by The Athletic.

## After the NFL

During the off seasons, Lanier became licensed in real estate and securities. In 1975, Lanier had been in the Executive Program at the University of Virginia.
After retiring, Lanier returned to school, taking graduate courses at the University of Missouri–Kansas City to receive an MBA. He eventually returned to Richmond, becoming a business executive. He became a stockbroker, at First Union Securities, where he served as vice-chairman. He is the former CEO of TDS/US, the minority venture partner of TDS Logistics, which became Syncreon, against which Lanier wound up in litigation. He was also a president of First Wheat Securities in Richmond. Lanier directs the Lanier Group LLC investment firm, and is active in charitable causes.
In 2006, Lanier was interviewed for the NFL Network documentary America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions chronicling the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season.

## Acting

In 1974, Lanier starred in The Black Six as Tommy Bunka. The movie, which was directed by Matt Cimber (Matteo Ottaviano), was about racism in a southern town, with six black bikers (The Black Six) avenging the death of a friend. Lanier teamed with other 1970s players including Joe Green, Carl Eller, Gene Washington, and Mercury Morris.