Jack Lambert (American football)
 Lambert in December 1975 | |||||||||
| No. 58 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Middle linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | July 8, 1952 Mantua, Ohio | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Crestwood (Mantua, Ohio) | ||||||||
| College: | Kent State | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1974 / Round: 2 / Pick: 46 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
NFL
Collegiate
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||
John Harold Lambert (born July 8, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 as "the greatest linebacker of his era," Lambert was the starting middle linebacker for four Super Bowl-winning teams during an 11-year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.[2]
Early years through college[]
Lambert was born in Mantua, Ohio. He played football for Kent State, winning two All-Mid-American Conference linebacker honors. Don James was his head coach. Alabama football coach Nick Saban and former Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel were his teammates.[3] During his college career, he was originally going to study to become a veterinarian.
Professional career[]
Lambert was selected by the Steelers in the second round of the 1974 NFL Draft, though many pro football coaches and scouts thought he was too small to play linebacker in the NFL. (Lambert played quarterback at Crestwood HS before switching to defensive end at Kent State.) While most of his pro career he was reported to be 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 220 pounds (100 kg) in the program, he measured 6 feet 3+1⁄2 inches (1.918 m) and 204 pounds (93 kg) as a rookie.
Lambert was the prototypical middle linebacker for what became the Tampa Two defense. Bud Carson, in his "Double-Rotating Zone" defense where safeties played back in a two-deep zone and the corner-backs played in two shallow zones or in bump-and-run coverage, instead of having the middle linebacker close to the line in run support, had the middle linebacker drop back into a middle zone to cover the seam between the safeties. Middle linebackers had not been tasked in such a way previously (Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke being the epitomes of the run-support middle linebacker), but Lambert's size, speed, and talents facilitated the new role.[4]
The Steelers took a chance on Lambert when he replaced injured middle linebacker Henry Davis. Lambert went on to earn the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award as a central figure on a great Steeler defense that went on to win their first Super Bowl by beating the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 in Super Bowl IX.
Lambert prided himself on his ability to hit hard and intimidate the opposition. He was the Steelers starting middle linebacker for eleven seasons and, according to Steelers media guides, averaged 146 tackles per season through his 10th year. He recorded only 19 in his 11th and final season because of an injury.
Lambert amassed 28 career interceptions, 1,479 career tackles (1,045 solo), and (officially) 231⁄2 sacks.[5] In a nine-year span, Jack Lambert was named to nine straight Pro Bowls and was NFL Defensive Player of the Year once.
Lambert's four upper front teeth were missing as a result of taking an elbow in basketball during high school. Although he had a removable partial denture he wore in public, he didn't wear it during games, and pictures of Lambert's toothless snarl became an iconic image of the famous Steeler defense.
In 1976, Lambert assumed the role as leader of the Steelers after star defensive tackle "Mean Joe" Greene missed several games due to a chronic back injury. After quarterback Terry Bradshaw, receiver Lynn Swann and several other starters went down with injuries, the Steelers struggled to a 1–4 record. At a "players only" meeting, Lambert made it clear that "the only way we are going to the playoffs to defend our title is to win them all from here out."[This quote needs a citation] In a remarkable nine-game span, the Steelers defense allowed only two touchdowns and a total of 28 points, including five shutouts. The Steelers won all of these games and finished at 10–4. The defense gave up only a record low 138 points for the entire season. Eight of the eleven defensive starters on the Steelers made the Pro Bowl that year. Jack Lambert was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1976.
During the 1984 season, a severe and recurring case of turf toe sidelined him, after which he retired. A bachelor throughout his NFL career, Lambert got married after retirement.
He has been a long-time volunteer deputy wildlife officer and he now focuses on coaching youth baseball and basketball, tending to his land and maintaining his town's ball fields. He also played on a men's ice hockey team in nearby Harmarville, Pennsylvania.
Broadcasting career[]
Lambert was a member of the NFL on Westwood One as an analyst.
Honors[]
In 2004, the Fox Sports Net series The Sports List named Lambert as the toughest football player of all time.
While Lambert's number, 58, is one of many jersey numbers "unofficially retired" by the team (the Steelers have retired two jersey numbers-number 70 and 75, worn by Ernie Stautner and Joe Greene[6]), his jersey number has perhaps gotten the most attention out of all such jersey numbers. When Lambert retired, he reportedly told the equipment manager that he was not to issue number 58 again. Lambert later fought with the equipment manager outside of the facility because of a misunderstanding about his number.[citation needed]
Lambert was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. Lambert was voted to the Pittsburgh Steelers 75th Anniversary team. NFL Network's countdown show, NFL Top 10, named Lambert the number 8 "Most Feared Tackler" and the number 5 "Pittsburgh Steeler" of all time.
Lambert remains popular among Steeler fans and was arguably the most feared defender on the team despite the fact that some have regarded Jack Ham as a better outside linebacker than Lambert as a middle linebacker during the Steelers dominance of the 1970s. This has been attributed to Lambert looking directly at the quarterback and vice versa before the start of plays.[7]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=118 Archived March 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine Member profile
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1114104/2/index.htm Archived November 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine accessed August 28, 2012
- ^ http://news.Rams.com/mediarelations/careerstats/jlambert[dead link]
- ^ "Greene's No. 75 to be retired by Steelers". go.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/LLmf2mjVzbI
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jack Lambert (American football player). |
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
- Jack Lambert at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
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- 1952 births
- Living people
- People from Mantua, Ohio
- Players of American football from Ohio
- American football linebackers
- American football middle linebackers
- Kent State Golden Flashes football players
- Pittsburgh Steelers players
- American Conference Pro Bowl players
- National Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winners
- Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
- National Football League announcers