Dick LeBeau’s supporters had the opportunity to watch his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010. By that point, he already had a number of mainstays, particularly along the defensive line and in the secondary.
To this day he maintains a close relationship with many of them. You can hardly interview any of them without them volunteering some type of fond memory about their time together. A Hall of Famer himself, S Troy Polamalu just shared what may be one of my new favorites: Dick LeBeau trash talk, as mild mannered as you would expect.
“He was never a yeller. He was never a cusser”, he said on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast. “He would come to the DB line, he’d just walk down and go, ’12, 15, 27, 55. Ah, all of you guys don’t amount to the amount of interceptions that I have’. He would literally just go like that and be like, ‘Yup, that’s 55, all of you guys combined. 63 over here”.
LeBeau played 14 seasons for the Detroit Lions from 1959 to 1972, making three Pro Bowls as a cornerback. He retired with 62 (not 63) interceptions, which is an impressive sum that at the time marked the third most in NFL history. Only Emlen Tunnell (79) and LeBeau’s Lions teammate, Dick “Night Train” Lane (68), had intercepted more passes.
Even to this day he still ranks tied for the 10th-most interceptions in NFL history. Only two ahead of him are not already in the Hall of Fame, both eligible, though they are not the strongest candidates. Unfortunately, the Hall of Fame looked past LeBeau for decades before finally earning his rightful place via the Senior Committee.
The only players in Steelers history who gave LeBeau a run for his money were Mel Blount and Rod Woodson. Blount retired in 1984 with 57 career interceptions. Woodson has the third-most interceptions ever with 71, though “only” 38 came in Pittsburgh over 10 seasons.
Even the great Troy Polamalu retired with 32 interceptions. He only recorded more than three interceptions in a single season three times, never more than seven (twice). Incredibly, Jack Butler, who played his final season when LeBeau played his first, remains second in team history with 52. Blount’s teammate, S Donnie Shell, rests third in team history with 51 interceptions.
Polamalu ranks tied for eighth in team history with an underrated safety from the 90s, Darren Perry. Both Hall of Fame 70s linebackers Jack Ham and Jack Lambert also crack the top 10. Another underrated safety, Mike Wagner from the 70s teams, ranks sixth with 36.
But Polamalu is the only Steelers player this century with 25 or more interceptions. The only one. And few even come close. Deshea Townsend intercepted 21 passes, Chad Scott 19. Dewayne Washington recorded 15 interceptions over six seasons. Minkah Fitzpatrick’s 17 make him the only other Steelers defender with more than 15 who played into the 2000s.
And LeBeau most likely said these things to the likes of Ryan Clark and Ike Taylor, though also Townsend. The latter recorded 14 career interceptions, the former 16 (12 in Pittsburgh). Chris Hope had only intercepted four passes by the end of his rookie deal. Even William Gay intercepted just 13 in his career, 11 in Pittsburgh. Yet he returned five for touchdowns. LeBeau only returned three for scores.
