Ukiah Daily Journal from Ukiah, California • Page 33

Page 14 Friday, Novembtr 13,1981 WHERE BE IS K9W On the Track of "Night Train" Lane DICK LANE When Richard Lane was discharged from the Army In 1952. he didn't have the brtghest ot futures He was married with a young child and without a job. He went to work In an alrcratt factory in Los Angeles, spending the entire day tak ing heavy sheets of metal out of a bin and placing them Into a forming press, "The sheets were covered with oil," Lane recalls. "By the end of the day, I was, too, Each night my wife would have to shampoo my hair a number of times so I could get clean enough to ride the bus to work the nentday." Lane was looking for something better. Each day, he'd scan the Los Angeles streets while riding that bus to work, looking tor something else he might do.

One day, his eyes fell on the "Los Angeles Rams" sign hanging over the club's Wllshlre Boulevard offices The year before I had caught 18 touchdown passes while playing for Fort Ord and the San Francisco 49ers were In tereBted in me," says Lane. "I thought, 'If the 49ers were Interested, might not the Rams be So he applied In the same fashion by which so many eventual Hall of Famers break in to pro football Lane walked In off the street and sat "I'd like to play toot ball for the Rams. I'd like to talk to your coach I can't remember his name, but I know 1 1 starts with an It did The coach was Joe Stydahar and he gave Richard Lane a contract $4,500 tor one season, providing he make the team as a receiver. That Tom Fears was playing Lane's same position and the Rams' terminology befuddled the free agent rookie made Lane's chances borderline at best. Then he got his break.

In the week before the Rams' first game, struck down all but one of the Rams defensive halfbacks. Lane, who was not making the club as a receiver, was pressed Into service on one corner of the defense. The rest Is history. The young athlete Fears had tagged "Night Train" because of his love for that record went on to become the most feared defensive back in the National Football League. Lane was the one defensive back Vince Lombard! would not let Bart Starr challenge.

The 49ers used to send Owens in motion just to free him from man-to-man coverage by Lane. "I had no Idea no, It wasn't even in my dreams that football would ever do for me what it did," said Lane recently. Now the head of Detroit's Police Athletic Club, Lane, In that summer of 1952, was hoping football would just serve as step one to get ting his family's feet on the ground. "I wasn't looking beyond that first year. I thought If I could make that $4,500, I'd be able to find a better job and maybe get a car and a decent place to Itve." He made the NFL his home for 14 seasons, feasting on some of the finest quarterbacks the sport has known.

It didn't take the NFL long to learn about the Night Train, however. In his rookie season he Intercepted 14 passes in 12 games. The record still stands. He returned them 298 yards. After playing two years with the Rams, he was traded to the St.

Louis Cardinals where he led the league in Interceptions for a second time In 1954 and made his first all-pro team in 1956. But It wasn't until he joined the Detroit Lions in I960 that Dick Lane really came Into his own. He went to the Lions for placeklcker Jerry Perry in a swap that fellow Hall of Famer Joe Schmidt calls, "One of the best trades that will ever be made In any sport." Lane went on to all-pro honors in '60, '61, '62 and '63 and ran his Pro Bowl count to six. Detroit's secondary became regarded as the best in the NFL. "Coverage was a lot different then," says Lane.

"There were no zones alt man-to-man. The league was smaller, too. You really came to have a friendship with the receivers you covered. With guys like (Lenny) Moore and (Jon) Arnett, It was tough just getting a hand on them much less tackle them." The receivers he covered might have a different view. Lane was also considered one of the game's hardest hitters at 6-foot 2 and 190 pounds.

Lane retired with seven NFL records. He still ranks third on the all-time Interception list, returning 68 in his career for 1,207 yards and five touchdowns. He once intercepted passes in six straight games. At Detroit his interception totals dropped off simply because teams quit throwing into his area Ironically, the record he enjoys most was a 98-yard pass reception as a wide receiver with the Chicago Cardinals in 1955. "I always thought I could play receiver," he says.

All you want to know about football professionals- present and past. Send your questions to PRO PROBE, 656 Fifth San Diego, Ca. 92101 All you want to know about football professionals past and present. Send ques tlons to PRO PROBE, 614 Fifth Suite San Diego, 92101 Q. What Is the most yards a player other than a quarterback has ever gained in a game? P.N.

A. Adding up rushing, receiving, punt and klckoff return yards, the total Is 373 by Billy Cannon of the Houston Oilers against fhe New York Titans In an American Football League game on Dec 10, 1961. The second highest total Is 341 by Tlmmy Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles against St. Louis on Dec. 16, 1962, and Gale Sayers ranks third with 339 yards for the Chicago Bears against Minnesota on Dec.

IB, 1966. 0, Who was the original placeklcker with the Minnesota Vikings, Tommy Mason or "red A. Neither. The original kicker was Mike Mercer. 0, Where do Ahmad Ratted, Cliff Branch and Charlie Joiner rank In the top 10 lift of allflme past catcher.

In the They don't. Although the pass Is back In NFL offenses, the only active receiver in the top 10 at the start of this season was New England's Harold Jackson In seventh with 532 catches. Joiner is getting close, however. At mldseason he had 466 catches and Tommy McDonald ranks 10th on the all-time list with 495. Rashad started the season with 414 catches and Branch came Into the year with 364.

Q. I understand that several years ago the NFL went back and rewrote its all- time passing records under the rating system they use now. Under the system, who is the all-time No. One? W.W. A.

Although he's well behind in categories such as yards gained and completions, the NFL rates Roger Staubach as Its all time leading passer based on a career rating of 83.5. Second is Sonny Jurgensen at 82.8 followed by Len Dawson (82.6), Fran Tarkenton (80.5), Bart Starr (80.3), Bert Jones (79.2), Ken Stabler (78.3), Johnny Unites (78.2), Otto Graham (78.1) and Ken Anderson (78.0). Tarkenton and Unltas still rank 1-2, respectively, in terms of completions and yards (47,003 Q. Can you give me a brief history of the 200-yard rushing game? A.S. A.

Boston's Cliff Battles was the first man to rush for 200 yards in a game, going for 215 against the New York Giants on Oct. 8, 1933. It would be 16 years until the second 200-game was turned in by Philadelphia Eagles' fullback Steve Van Buren. By 1960, only seven 200-yard games had been recorded. Then the trend to runn ing the ball began.

There were 10 200-yard games in the '60s and 14 in the '70s. Walter Payton holds the record for most yards in a game, getting 275 for the Chicago Bears against Minnesota on Nov. 20, 1977. That was two more than Buffalo's O.J. Simpson gained against Detroit on Nov.

25, 1976. Simpson is also No. 3 on the list with a 250- yard game. Simpson holds the record with six 200-yard games in his career while Cleveland's Jim Brown and Houston's Earl Campbell have four and Payton has two. All four of Campbell's efforts came last season and he was the only NFL rusher to top 200 yards in a game in '80.

Los Angeles' Tom Wilson (1956, 223 yards), Brown ('57, 237), Dallas' Tony Dorset! ('77, 206) and Buffalo's Terry Miller ('78, 208) are the only rookies ever to rush for 200 yards in a game. Q. When was the last time someone other than a kicker led the NFL in scoring? A. You have to go back to 1975 when But falo's O.J. Simpson scored 23 touchdowns and led the NFL with 138points.

Ironically, Minnesota's Chuck Foreman finished se cond that year with 22 touchdowns and 132 points. Before that, however, a kicker had led the league in scoring every year since 1965 when Gale Sayers, then a rookie, scored 22 touchdowns for the Chicago Bears. Q. How many winning seasons has John McKay had at Tampa Bay? O. B.

A. One. The expansion Buccaneers set an NFL record in 1976 by going 0-14, the on ly team ever to go through a season without a win. Tampa Bay was 2 12 in '77 and 5 11 in '78. They turned it around in '79 by going 10-6 to win the NFC Central Crown before losing to Los Angeles, 9 0, in the NFC title game.

Last year the Bucs slipped back to 5-10-1..