Dick Lane ( American football ) Richard " Dick " Lane ( April 16 , 1927 – January 29 , 2002 ) nicknamed " Night Train " , was an American football player , best known as a defensive back for the Los Angeles Rams , Chicago Cardinals and Detroit Lions . During his rookie season in 1952 , Lane established the record for most interception s in an NFL season ( 14 ) , a record that has stood for over 60 years , despite the fact that the regular season is 33 % longer today than it was in 1952 . Early life . He was born in Austin , Texas and raised by Ella Lane , a woman who found him abandoned as an infant . After graduation from high school , he spent one year at Scottsbluff Junior College , Nebraska , before dropping out and serving four years in the United States Army . NFL career . In 1952 , the 24 - year - old Lane showed up at the Los Angeles Rams training camp looking for a job because he disliked his occupation at an aircraft factory . He was originally trying out for wide receiver , but the Rams switched him to defensive back . It is commonly circulated that he acquired the nickname " Night Stick " from a hit record by Jimmy Forrest ( A # 1 R & B hit for 7 weeks in 1952 ) frequently played by teammate Tom Fears , but this is actually a complete misconception as Lane had gotten the nickname after taking the night trains to away games because of his fear of flying . He initially disliked the nickname , but it grew on him after it gained national attention , first appearing in print describing a tackle in a Rams exhibition game : " Dick " Night Train " Lane derails Charlie " Choo Choo " Justice . " He wore number 81 , unusual for a defensive back , because he was initially projected as a tight end . The receivers playing in front of him on the Rams , Fears and Elroy Hirsch , were stars and future Hall of Famers , so coach Joe Stydahar tried Lane at defensive back . In his rookie season he set an NFL single season record for interceptions with 14 , which stands to this day even though the length of the season at the time was only 12 games . ( It was expanded to 14 games in 1961 and 16 in 1978 ) . He was traded to the Chicago Cardinals in 1954 and to the Detroit Lions in 1960 . He played six seasons in Detroit ( 1960 – 65 ) and recorded 21 interceptions for 272 yards and one touchdown . He was All - NFL four times ( 1960 – 63 ) and was named to the Pro Bowl three times ( 1961 – 63 ) . All told , from 1954 to 1963 , Lane made the All - Pro team six times and was also selected to seven Pro Bowl s . He recorded three interceptions in all but four of his 14 NFL seasons . He was particularly noted as a hard hitter , who liked to tackle opponents about the head and neck , which was then a legal technique . This tackle was sometimes called a " Night Train Necktie " . Honors . In 1969 , Lane was named the best cornerback of the first fifty years of professional football , then enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974 . In his 14 NFL seasons , Lane recorded 68 interceptions , 1 , 207 interception return yards , five touchdowns , 11 fumble recoveries , 57 fumble return yards , one touchdown , eight receptions , 253 receiving yards , one touchdown reception , and four punt returns for 14 yards . In 1999 , he was ranked number 19 on " The Sporting News " ' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players , making him the highest - ranked defensive back , the Cardinals ' highest - ranked player and the Lions ' second highest - ranked player after Barry Sanders . He also placed number 2 on NFL Network ' s " Top 10 Greatest Undrafted Players " . Lane is part of the Cardinals ' Ring of Honor at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale , Arizona . Family . He was married three times , one of which was to jazz singer Dinah Washington , and was the last of her seven husbands at the time of her death on December 14 , 1963 . Lane is survived by two sons , Richard Andrew Walker of Detroit and Richard Ladimir Lane of St . Louis . Lane also allegedly had a third son named Larry Lane . Lane died of a heart attack on January 29 , 2002 . He had spent his last two years in an assisted living facility due to reduced mobility from diabetes and bad knees .