Dick Night Train Lane, born Richard Lane, was an outstanding defensive corner back for 14 years in the National Football League (NFL). Lane was adopted when he was three months old. Lane had a rough upbringing. He earned the nickname “Cue Ball” after an incident in which teenager Lane won a pool match and the vanquished opponent tried to renege on a ten-cent bet. Lane threw a cue ball at the youth, hitting him on the back of the head. His mother, Ella Lane tried to keep her adoptive son on the straight and narrow. She assigned him such household chores as cleaning the chicken coops, washing clothes, and emptying washtubs.

Dick was a three-sport athlete at L.C. Anderson High School in Austin, TX. Although he enjoyed basketball the most, he was best in football. He helped Anderson High School, who played in an all-Black conference, win the state championship in 1944. Not anticipating a pro football career, Lane joined the Army at age 19 and served as a lieutenant colonel in World War II and then in the Korean War. He continued to play football recreationally.

In 1952, while working at the aircraft plant in Los Angeles, Lane passed the Los Angeles Rams offices on his bus ride to work. He walked into the office with a scrapbook of clippings from high school and asked for a tryout. He was recommended to the Rams by Gabby Sims and signed as a free agent. Lane initially tried out as a receiver, but was switched to a defensive back by the Rams head Coach Joe Stydahar. Stydahar put Lane at cornerback, a position that involved pass coverage. Not having played at a four-year college, Lane struggled with such concepts as pass patterns and defensive schemes.

In the Rams’ first scrimmage Lane drew praise as “the outstanding player in the scrimmage by a country mile” due to his “ferocious” approach to the game and his speed in chasing down Elroy Hirsch. After the scrimmage, Rams head coach Joe Stydahar said, “Lane came out here to make the ball club. Well, last night he got himself a job.” As a rookie in 1952, Lane had 14 interceptions in a 12-game season, a mark that still remains an NFL record. Lane combined speed, reflexes and work ethic to play regularly on a Rams team that won nine of 12 games.

They then lost a National Division tiebreaker playoff to the Detroit Lions, 31-21 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Lane proved adept at tackling as well as pass coverage. He was known as a ferocious tackler, and his style of play led to changes in the rules of the game. He was known as one of the hardest-hitting players in his day and really is still regarded as one of the hardest-hitting players of all time. Lane acquired the nickname “Night Train” during his first training camp with the Rams. Teammate Tom Fears had a record player in his room and frequently played the record, “Night Train”, by Jimmy Forre.

Dick “Night Train” Lane played two more seasons for the Rams before they traded him to the Chicago Cardinals in 1954. He spent six years in Chicago and six more years with the Detroit Lions, with whom he had his best years. He played in the Pro Bowl seven times and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player seven times between 1956 and 1963. Lane, despite playing mostly on losing teams, helped revolutionize defensive secondary play. During his 14 years in the NFL, Lane recorded 68 interceptions, 1,207 interception return yards, and five touchdowns on interception. He also recovered 11 fumbles, returning them for 57 yards and one touchdown.

From 1954 to 1963, he was selected as a first-team All-NFL player seven times and played in seven Pro Bowls. His single-season record of 14 interceptions still stands despite the lengthening of the NFL season. He retired in 1965. One of his biggest  accomplishments included intercepting passes in six consecutive games. He wanted to coach in the NFL, but the Lions did little to help him. Owner William Clay Ford instead hired him as special staff assistant, a position he held from 1966 to 1972. Lane was voted to the Hall of Fame in 1974. Former Lions defensive back and Hall of Famer, Lem Barney who replaced Lane at left cornerback in 1965 called him the “Godfather of the Cornerbacks“.