Eye for the ball

Class of 2010 enshrinee Dick LeBeau is known today as a man who has spent more than a half-century in the National Football League. As great of a contribution he has made as an innovative coach in the league, he is being enshrined in Canton for his 14-season career as a cornerback for the Detroit Lions.

Originally drafted by the Cleveland Browns but cut, he caught on with the Lions. He played in six games with Detroit as a rookie in 1959 but failed to record an interception. Starting with his second year, LeBeau strung together 12 straight seasons with at least three picks.

LeBeau’s career as a player not only ranks among the finest of his era, his stats continue to hold up even decades after his playing days concluded. He retired ranked third all-time in career interceptions with 62. In all, he picked off 29 different quarterbacks. Here is a listing of his “victims.”

 
Rank Player INT
1t JOHNNY UNITAS 7
1t BART STARR 7
3 Jack Concannon 5
4t Bill Munson 4
4t Roman Gabriel 4
6t Joe Kapp 3
6t John Brodie 3
6t FRAN TARKENTON 3
9t Earl Morrall 2
9t Gary Cuozzo 2
9t Bob Berry 2
9t Sam Etcheverry 2
9t Steve Spurrier 2
14t Frank Ryan 1
14t Eddie LeBaron 1
14t Terry Baker 1
14t Dick Shiner 1
14t Jim Ninowski 1
14t Y.A. TITTLE 1
14t Norm Snead 1
14t Lamar McHan 1
14t Rudy Buckich 1
14t Billy Wade 1
14t Bill Nelson 1
14t Jim Hart 1
14t Sam Wyche 1
14t Daryle Lamonica 1
14t Bobby Douglass 1
14t Scott Hunter 1

BOLD CAPS
denotes member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Lebeau, Dick, Detroit Lions
Recent Comments
    First time posting? A confirmation email will be sent to you after submitting.



    Your Comments



    Your email address is required to confirm your comments. Email addresses are never displayed to other users and they are not used for any other purposes other than story comments.

    Once you enter your email address, name, and comment, you will be emailed a link to confirm your comment. Additionally, you will be sent a password. In the future, if you wish to leave other comments, use the password that is provided in the email.