Lonnie Warwick

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Lonnie Warwick
Date of birth (1942-02-26) February 26, 1942 (age 82)
Place of birth Raleigh, West Virginia
Career information
Position(s) Linebacker
College Tennessee Tech
NFL draft 1964 / Round:
Career history
As player
1965–1972 Minnesota Vikings
1973–1974 Atlanta Falcons
Career stats

Lonnie Warwick (born February 26, 1942) is a former professional American football player. He played 10 seasons in the National Football League, with the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons. He started in Super Bowl IV.

College career

Lonnie attended Mount Hope High School in Mount Hope, West Virginia where he participated in the 1959 state championship game, was named all-state in both football and basketball, and graduated in 1960.[1] In 2013, Warwick was inducted to the West Virginia North-South Football Hall of Fame.[2] He attended at the University of Tennessee for a year. Transferring within a year, Warwick and played college football for Tennessee Tech, where he is a member of the Tennessee Tech Hall of Fame.[1]

NFL career

Warwick ended up working for the Southern Pacific Railroad in Arizona for a year, before signing a free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings in 1964.[1][3] He became the starting middle linebacker of the legendary Purple People Eaters Vikings defense of the late 1960s and early 1970s.[4] He was named the "meanest man" in football by former teammate Joe Kapp.[5]

Warwick led the Vikings in tackles for four years, and returned a blocked punt (gridiron football) for a touchdown in 1965.[6] He had four interceptions and recovered two fumbles during the 1969 season, and caught three interceptions in 1970.[4][7] He was the starting linebacker in Super Bowl IV, where the Kansas City Chiefs upset the heavily favored Vikings.[4] Warwick played despite spraining his left ankle during the National Football League Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns the previous week.[8] He was injured with knee problems for most of 1971, where he played four games, and 1972, playing just six games.[7][9] He became a member of the Atlanta Falcons in 1973, after being unable to reach a contract agreement with the Vikings. He played for the Falcons in all fourteen games in both 1973 and 1974 before retiring.[7][9]

After football

He became a coach for the Washington Redskins for several years, where he also occasionally suited up as a player.[1][4] He coached semi-professional teams in West Virginia, and with the Denver Gold of the United States Football League.[1] He currently resides in Mount Hope in Fayette County, West Virginia where he helps out local high school football teams.[4]

References

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  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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