Hall of Fame Nominees Profile: Dick LeBeau

Dick LeBeau-Detroit Lions-Ohio State-1959-1972


Dick LeBeau had only two seasons with less than 3 interceptions, his very first and very last. In the seasons between, he had one season of three interceptions, four with four, three with 5, two with six and one each with 7 and 9 interceptions, all amounting to 62 career interceptions over a 14 year career. That’s ten more than first ballot Hall of Famer Darrell Green, in less of a career. He played during a period where the Lions were still a contender, just beginning to fall into the muck of mediocrity. The main argument against his induction will be that he played across from two Hall of Famers, Dick “Night Train” Lane and Lem Barney. In this case, there may be some credence to the argument in reference to Lane. However, the continued excellence during the years with Lem Barney can be interchanged. There can be not telling how good either would have been without the other so, I find this argument invalid. Also, part of the argument about why certain wide receivers shouldn’t be in the hall is that the proliferation of the west coast offense inflated offensive numbers. If this is the case, then, if Darrell Green is a Hall of Famer, then so is LeBeau. LeBeau played in 124 fewer games than Green and got 8 more career interceptions, in an era where they threw less. Looking at all of these reasons, he is long-overdo for induction and needs to be put in NOW!!