To most, Dick LeBeau is remembered for being a Hall of Fame coach. Make no mistake, he absolutely was, modernizing the Fire Zone blitz and making it an incredible defensive weapon. But long before he stood on the sidelines, he was in between the white lines. And he was a star.
Before discussing his favorite Steelers’ memories, Dick LeBeau reminisced about his incredible playing career on Bryant McFadden’s All Things Covered podcast. LeBeau played for the Detroit Lions from 1959 to 1972, making three Pro Bowls and intercepting 62 career passes. He was part of a historically good secondary alongside the likes of Dick “Night Train” Lane, Lem Barney, and Yale Lary.
“We were a fearsome force of men,” LeBeau told McFadden. “The quarterbacks feared Night Train, wherever he was, they were not even going to look over his way. So that’s how I learned to play. Because they said, ‘Well, Night Train’s over here, that means, LeBeau’s gotta be over here. We’re going after LeBeau.’ So I had to either learn how to play or go home.”
Night Train Lane one of the game’s first true lockdown corners, but it gave LeBeau plenty of chances to make plays on the football. In his second season, he intercepted four passes and picked off at least three in every season from 1960 to 1971. No player in NFL history has that kind of streak, 12 straight seasons with three-plus picks, and he’s one of just five players in history to have 12 total seasons with at least that many interceptions. Three of the others join LeBeau in the Hall of Fame: Rod Woodson, Darrell Green, and Ken Riley.
LeBeau played with Night Train towards the end of his career, the latter joining the Lions in 1960 at 32. But he still made two All-Pro teams and three Pro Bowls, a physical corner who – back in the days when it was legal would clothesline receivers. He would end his career with 68 interceptions, still fourth all-time.
“We drafted Lem. And Lem himself went into the Hall of Fame…Yale had his playing career interrupted by a term in the service. He came back, I caught him at the end of his career, my rookie year,” LeBeau said. “So we did have Yale, Train, and myself on the field at the same time. Three Hall of Famers. And then Lem jumped in there pretty quick.”
Barney was selected in the second round of the 1967 draft. He would go on to make seven Pro Bowls and a pair of All-Pro teams, picking off 56 career passes, including a league-leading 10 of them his rookie year. Lary was a star punter, punt returner, and defender, who made nine Pro Bowls and intercepted 50 career passes. It’s the best ball-hawking secondary in NFL history with four Hall of Famers who played the Lions in the 1960s.
“I don’t think there’s another team that’s come close to that,” LeBeau said. “All four of us in the Hall of Fame.”
Of course, there is the Steel Curtain that produced a slew of Hall of Famers but not four from one position group like the Lions did.
While the NFL’s passing game wasn’t as precise back then, making it easier to pick the ball off, LeBeau and his Lions teammates still did it better than anyone in that era. And they also played in fewer games than players today, making whatever advantage they had in that era a wash. LeBeau was a Hall of Famer player, coach, and person, a rare trifecta that may never be seen again.
Watch the whole interview with LeBeau and McFadden below.
