CANTON, Ohio -- Ronnie Lott will be presented with a
life-sized bronzed bust of himself on the steps of the Pro Football
Hall of Fame this weekend.
It will be a change for Lott, since he spent his entire NFL
career handing other guys their heads.
A ferocious hitter, whose part in building the San Francisco
49ers into a dynasty during the 1980s is sometimes overlooked, Lott
will be enshrined into the Hall this Saturday along with former
teammate Joe Montana, Howie Long, Dave Wilcox and Dan Rooney.
|  | | Ronnie Lott played with the 49ers from 1981 to 1990. |
"If Joe Montana was the heart of the team," said Cleveland
Browns president Carmen Policy, an executive with San Francisco for
almost 15 years, "Ronnie Lott was the backbone and courage."
During a 14-year career with San Francisco, the Los Angeles
Raiders and New York Jets, Lott was a 10-time Pro Bowl selection,
earning trips to Hawaii at three different positions -- cornerback,
free safety and strong safety.
And although he'll be best remembered for his monster,
helmet-on-helmet collisions, Lott finished with 63 career
interceptions, fifth on the all-time list, and twice led the
league.
"He's like a middle linebacker playing safety," Dallas coach
Tom Landry once said. "He's devastating. He may dominate the
secondary better than anyone I've seen."
As a free safety, Lott had the luxury of roaming the field in
search of a ball carrier to unload on. And when he found his
target, the 6-foot, 203-pound Lott rarely missed delivering a
teeth-chattering hit.
Games often turned in San Francisco's favor following one of
Lott's bone-jarring tackles.
"It's always more satisfying to lay a lick on somebody," Lott
said in a recent interview with the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer.
"Anybody that's played the game knows when they first invented
this game, the game was meant for that to happen."
Lott made big hits from the moment he walked on the 49ers'
practice field in 1981 following an All-American career as a strong
safety at Southern California.
He was named the club's starting left cornerback on his first
day in training camp. In his rookie season, he intercepted seven
passes and returned three for touchdowns to tie an NFL rookie
record.
The 49ers won their first of five Super Bowls that season and
Lott, who was named to the league's 75th anniversary team, finished
second to Lawrence Taylor in Rookie of the Year voting.
Lott had his best season in 1986. Despite missing the final two
games because of injury, he still led the league with 10
interceptions, recorded 77 tackles, forced three fumbles and made
two sacks.
Later in his career with the Niners, Lott made the Pro Bowl as a
free safety and then on the strong side with the Raiders.
"That's a sense of pride, because it just shows you that I
loved playing the game of football," said Lott, who will be
presented by his father, Roy. "To me, it didn't matter where I
played, I just wanted to play well.
"Most people would say safety was my best position. To me, the
biggest challenge and most gratifying thing I got out of playing
football was playing corner, because it was a bigger challenge than
playing safety. Playing corner provided me my biggest thrills and
my biggest headaches."
Dwight Clark was thankful he was on the same sideline with Lott
in San Francisco and never had to worry about catching a ball over
the middle and absorbing No. 42's golden helmet in the ribs.
Clark, now the Browns director of football operations, realizes
it's unlikely he'll ever find another Ronnie Lott.
"Ronnie Lott is what I model all the defensive players that I
go after," said Clark. "He was one of the greatest all-time
people off the field. He's classy. He's nice. He treats people
well. On the field, he tries to rip their heads from their
shoulders. He was as physical as you could get."
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Ronnie Lott's career highlights
Montana set to enter the Hall
Long proved worthy of being a Raider
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