Willie Lanier

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. In his senior year, Walker defeated archrival Armstrong in their annual Thanksgiving Day game 27–13, before 23,000 fans, to give Walker a 10–0 record. 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 bachelor's degree in business administration from Morgan State in 1967. Lanier was originally an offensive guard, blocking for future Hall of Fame running back Leroy Kelly, and a nose tackle. Banks later moved Lanier to middle linebacker. 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. The Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Touchdown Club of Richmond renamed the annual award for Virginia's best small college football player 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, 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. 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. 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 had 27 career interceptions, two returned for touchdowns, and 18 fumble recoveries. His nickname was "Contact", given by teammate Jerry Mays, 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. He was selected to both the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994 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. While he was a player, Lanier spoke highly of hall of fame offensive tackle Bob Brown. Statistics ==Honors and awards==

Lanier played in eight consecutive AFL or NFL all-star games from 1968-75 (two AFL All-Star games in 1968-69, and six AFC-NFC Pro Bowl games, 1970-75). • Selected to Little All-American team (1966) • Selected C.I.A.A. player of the year by Touchdown Club in Washington, D.C. (1966) • Named 1st team All-AFL by Pro Football Weekly and 2nd team All-AFL by NEA, United Press International (UPI), and The Sporting News, and 2nd team All-NFL/AFL by Pro Football Hall of Fame (1969) • Named 1st team All-AFC by AP, Pro Football Writers of America, The Sporting News and UPI, and 2nd team All-Pro by the Professional Football Writers of American and NEA (1970) • Pro Bowl defensive MVP (1971) • Recipient of NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (charitable work as player-citizen) (1972) • Named 1st team All Pro by AP, 2nd team All Pro by Pro Football Writers and NEA, and 1st team All-AFC by Pro Football Weekly, The Sporting News and UPI (1973) • Named 1st team All Pro by NEA, 2nd team All Pro by AP and Pro Football Writers, and 1st team All-AFC by The Sporting News and UPI (1974) • Named 1st team All Pro by NEA, 2nd team All Pro by Pro Football Writers and 2nd team All-AFC by UPI (1975) • Selected to Morgan State Hall of Fame (1982)) by the National Football League as part of the class of 1986, at Canton, Ohio (1986) • Named Virginian of the Year by Virginia Press Association (1986) • Selected to NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team (1994) • Ranked number 42 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranking Chief (1999) • Inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (1999) • The Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Touchdown Club of Richmond rename annual award for Virginia's best small college football player after Lanier (2004) • Selected to NFL 100th Anniversary All Time Team (2019) • Ranked as the 80th greatest player of all time by The Athletic (2021) ==After the NFL==

During the off seasons, Lanier became licensed in real estate and securities. 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 Greene, Carl Eller, Gene Washington, and Mercury Morris. ==See also==