With the recent selection of Floyd Little to the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2010, and the considerable discussion about how soon Shannon Sharpe will earn his place as well-next year, in my opinion-the conversations turned my attention to the many players who are already in the Hall.
Just for the fun of it, I thought it might be interesting to run a few blogs about some of the greatest players in pro football history, incorporating some tidbits of information that might not be readily known.
I was driving in to the office the other day listening to some jazz on XM radio and they played a Dinah Washington song. Naturally, anything by Dinah Washington would capture my attention, but as usual, it reminded me of Dick “Night Train” Lane.
No connection, you say?
More than you could imagine.
He is so well known as Night Train that even his entry in Total Football, The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League, lists him simply as “Night Train Lane,” not by his given name of Richard.
He broke in with the Los Angeles Rams during the first Golden Age of Pro Football in the early 1950′s (1952, for Night Train), playing two for the Rams, six for the Chicago Cardinals and finally six more for the Detroit Lions.
One of the greatest cornerbacks of all-time, he finished with 68 interceptions, five returned for touchdowns, and had the astonishing total of 14 in his rookie season, despite the NFL at that time playing only a 12-game season.
A daring player, Night Train Lane had one of the most unconventional tactics in the game at that time. At a critical passing down he would sometimes abandon his coverage at the line of scrimmage and actually blitz the quarterback.
Not only did this have great shock value, but it was a devastating move at that time, made possible only by Lane’s quickness, allowing him to get to the passer before the pass could be made. All by himself, he invented the corner blitz, which shocked all defensive thinking in pro football at the time.
Now it is a routing part of any defensive concept, but it all began with Night Train Lane.
But how he got his nickname is where the connection with Dinah Washington comes in.
When Lane reported to training camp with the one year, he took with him, among the standard clothing and toiletries, several pair of khaki slacks (he really became attached to them as his favorite slacks while in the military), a record player for his room, and a number of “singles” (that’s what records used to be called, “singles” or “albums,” before CDs-way before CDs) made by a singer of whom he was particularly fond, Dinah Washington.
Dick Lane and Dinah Washington were married, eventually -he was the last of her six husbands-and she was a major star way before he had made any kind of a name for himself in football.
Dinah Washington is notable for many great contributions to American jazz, including “Unforgettable,” but a mostly forgotten song which she pressed was “Night Train.” I can only guess than Lane must have been crazy about that song, besides his feelings for Dinah herself.
After a long day of practice and meetings, after dinner when everyone was settled in, Lane would play “Night Train” on the record player in his room, over and over and over again.
After a few nights of this spillover sound blaring through the walls, down the halls, and into every room besides his own, one morning he went to practice and was dubbed “Night Train” by his teammates.
The moniker stuck and became one of the great nicknames in pro football history.
Dick and Dinah were married in 1963–the union lasted just one year as she died later that same year-and Night Train Lane entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974 with records and a nickname that would last forever.
Tags: Dick Night Train Lane, Dinah Washington, Floyd Little, Pro Football Hall of Fame
drafting a QB that is.
I think we all agree on one thing,Collinsworth shouldn’t call the olympics or football,I never like the man,every Bronco game he ever called,seemed like to me he was rooting for the other team…..BRONCO HATER?????
I read an article the other day that stated Brandstater was coming along fine,and may even get the nod to start,after giving Orton at least one more year,which I think is fair……..Baylin,quit pickin’ on Marshall Damnit…LOL
I for one am sick of hearing trade rumuors of us getting Brady Quinn,the guy hasn’t proven anything,so I don’t see wasting our time with him,when the draft is full of young,promising QB’s we can get in later rounds,with a lot cheaper price tag.
BFE92, I apologize, LOL, not really, anyway I was doing it under the cover of Woody so it wasn’t so bad, LOL.
AND as far as the people on here wanting to pick a QB with our 1st pick,you’re outta your mind,we gotta address defense 1st,plus there’s only 2 QB’s worthy of 1st round status,that’s Bradford and Clausen,and they both will be gone before we get on the damn board.
LOL,I guess I got a little 2 much caffiene in me this morning.LOL
And Bradford has got the messed up shoulder, not once but twice, could be a real gamble there, so it leaves Clausen, but I agree with you any QB pick before the third would make me vommit, LOL, (LeFevour and Pike should be available then).
We have way to many needs to address a QB in a high round this year,and there’s slim pickins’ in FA at the QB position,considering Orton is the highest rated QB in FA now.I just hope Simms is gone,I never liked the guy anyway,way overrated coming outta college.Never really did anything in college with one of the elite teams in college ball in Texas.
A lot of people like McCoy-Texas,but I’ve heard he’s undersized,and many are concerned about his arm strength,and if he is a pro style QB.
The only problem with Simms, he is under a hefty contact for another year, like about 2 mil I think, and as no one in their right mind would trade for him, Bowlen would be left with eating his contract just like Shanny’s. It’s an aweful situation, but I agree we should get rid of him just to open up a spot on the roster and bite the bullet on his contract.
Dan Williams keeps climbing the ladder,when he hits the combine he might climb higher,just hope he don’t climb so high we can’t reach him at 10 or 11,McD probably won’t pick him anyway,damn I wished they would let one of us do the draft picks,I’m afraid McD will f**k it all up.
I would rather see a walk on in place of Simms,at least he might have a shot in the future,Simms will never be a starting QB in the NFL,Hell I don’t even think he’s third string material,I say give him his money,and a pink slip.LOL
Being around Austin,I know more about Texas players than any others and I would agree with what you said, he doesn’t have the tough build required to take the NFL beating and he just about never played under center with the Longhorns, but I’ll say that, he has one of the most accurate arm in the business, some of his throws are a thing of beauty, but still not enough upside to draft him ,IMO.
Whats the word on Gerhart,a heisman candidate still available in the 3rd or 4th round?Does he have something holding him back or what?He sure did put up some sick #s last year,I figured a 1st rounder for sure.
If we still need a NT after FA, I think Williams will still be there, considering there are three other NT’s who should go before him, Suh, McCoy and Cody, I mean if they pick four NT’s before the 10th pick, that would be some kind of record, I guess.
This is the lowdown on Gerhart, and I do believe he should be there at third:
Scouting Report-If you enjoy old school head knocking football, Gerhart is your guy. He’s got thick legs, broad shoulders and low body fat. Gerhart is a pure power runner. Strong legs, never stops moving, always going forward looking to punish defenders. But he’ll trick you with his feet. He’s got quick feet and makes really nice cuts at the line. He’s got excellent vision, and can find creases in the line. He hits the hole with extreme prejudice. On the downside, Gerhart isn’t going to wow anyone with his athleticism, and he’s not a home run hitter, but he’s a touchdown machine and is a hard worker.
Hopefully McD has that scouting report on his desk, LOL.
Toby would be the perfect compliment to Moreno, they each can do what the other one can’t.
I agree 100%,well nice chattin with you Baylin,as always.gotta goo for now.GO BRONCS 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m not saying we need to draft a QB, I think Orton will do for now. I’m all in favor of upgrading our big uglies on both sides of the ball. I think that’ll definetly help with our running game and the ability to stop the run.
ive been cheering for Toby since day 1.
Here is my current first 4 picks for the Broncos:
1. Williams, NT Tennessee
2. Graham, DE/OLB Michigan (if available) if not Spikes, ILB Florida
3. Gerhart, RB Stanford
4. LeFevour, QB Central Michigan
I say we let Brett Favre retire and then we try to get him to come here to Denver. LOL!
Yeah, and that way we can help Brett attain his goals of 1) SB championship and 2) League MVP by the year 2020! LOL!
Then I would have to go into a hiatus until Brett retires, not a big fan here, talk about a soap opera, LOL.
Cody, I would be totally pleased with your list, Brandon Graham is the one who showed his heart at the Senior Bowl and I hope we can get him with our second, but he might go late first. Anyhow, we have to see what we address in FA first and of course we all well know from last year, McD doesn’t really draft at positions that make the most sense to us, the only pick he made that I thought was our best option last year was the 17th with Ayers, other than that he pretty much miffed me across the board. So I’m not too enthusiastic about the chances of him picking who I would like, rather I’m more or less expecting the unexpected, so it is kind of a bummer, but one can always hope…. hopefully this year he will draft as well as he performed in FA last year.
Well, it looks like we have a nut case who just flew his plane into one of the business buildings here near my neighborhood in NW Austin. I just drove by it yesterday late afternoon, madness is everywhere, specially hitting Texas lately, crazy people. At least here we just yell at eachother on the blog, we don’t take it to the streets, thank for that.
cody, thats a good and very reasonable list you got there….
Baylin and BFE
Since yall touched on Colt McCoy who is my personal favorite in the draft, i felt i should compare him to an elite QB in the league right now, and superbowl MVP. You guessed it, Drew Brees. Brees 6’0 (so he claims) 209 pounds. McCoy 6’2 210. Taller and about the same weight. They question McCooy alot, including his stature and arm strength at times, heres something wiki had to say about Brees.
“Brees’s college success led to projections that he would be a mid-to-late first round draft pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, but he slipped due to concerns about his relatively short stature for a professional quarterback (6’0″), a perceived lack of arm strength, and a sense that he had succeeded in college in a system designed for him. Ultimately, Brees was the second quarterback selected in the 2001 draft, chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the first pick of the second round.”
Sounds like a possible McCoy story. mid-late first round, slips to second. If history repeats itself and he slips to second I say we get him. He has very good accuracy as Baylin mentioned, and if he turns out to be like Drew Brees, I would hate to think we missed out on a QB of that caliber…
Its something to be hopeful for and look into. The combine will help let us know. Plus unlike the other top QBs, he isn’t suffering from a injury i believe.
TRB, the thing that associates those two most is Brees is from Austin and McCoy played for the Austinite Longhorns.
Also, due to the fact that there are more quality NTs in FA than LBs, depending on how FA goes, this is my wish list
1. ILB Rolando McClain/Dan Williams (Depending on FA and how draft goes)
2. QB Colt McCoy (if he is still around late 1st early second)
3. OG
4. RB
5. CB
I dont know much about college football so cant really speka past the first 2 picks lol, which i think would be awesome…i think lmao
I’ll give you this much for sure, he is probably 99% sure to be better in the NFL than Simms, another Longhorn QB. I wouldn’t be upset if we picked him since I have followed him for years, but I would always be concerned about him taking the hit that puts him out. In Texas, he didn’t get hit often playing behind a line of big Texas kids, but when he did you could tell he didn’t take it too well. And yes he did have some type of injury at season end, that’s why he turned down the Senior Bowl I believe.
Hahaha, thx for the info Baylin, I definitely didnt know that lol. Even more in common for Colt and Drew. Would be great if the kid turned out like brees. I also think if we get him we should start him ASAP unless he is definitely not even close to ready (coaches decision)…A man can dream tho…doubt it happens lol
Oh ok…i was wondering why he wasnt at the superbowl…i flicked in really late for about 10 minutes so i figured maybe i just missed his time on the field.
seniorbowl*
This is what McCoy had to say about his injury yesterday:
McCoy said Monday that the nerve injury in his right shoulder is “really coming along” and is close to being 100 percent.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to throw at the combine. That’s my goal, I love to compete, I want to go out and compete with those guys, go out there and throw and be myself,” he said. But obviously if the doctors don’t let me, I’m not going to be able to do that.”
It happened in the national championship against Bama and he wasn’t able to finish the game.
oh ok…yea i was actually reading up on it. based on the injury and the fact that he couldnt play at senior bowl along with his “stature” and “arm strength”….people are really starting to talk like he will definitely fall past 2nd round not unless he amazes at the combines.
I dont wanna say this but i hope he doesn’t prove too much so that he will definitely be around late for us to draft. Altho the arm injury worries me, i still like the kid. And I would rather pay a QB second round money than top 10 money…save our organization from taking a hit in the wallet…for kids who havent proven anything yet.
looks like someone beat me to the comparison Baylin, lol. Guess i shoulda known if i thought the same, someone else would lol
http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/02/colt-mccoy-throwing-could-he-be-next-dre.html
altho im sure u have prolly come across it already lol
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