MacArthur Lane

MacArthur Lane (March 16, 1942 – May 4, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons, from 1968 to 1978 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and Kansas City Chiefs. At age 36 and 199 days, he was the oldest running back ever to rush for more than 100 yards in an NFL game.

Early life Lane was born on March 16, 1942, less than four months after the United States entered World War II. He was born and raised in Oakland, California. Lane was named after United States Army General Douglas MacArthur. As a junior (1958), the 185 pound (83.9 kg) Lane was considered the school's best running back. Playing running back in a September 1959 game, he had an 85-yard touchdown run. He was also a placekicker for the team. Lane also threw the shot put on the school's track and field team, and was a pole vaulter. He was the top shot-putter at the May 1960 Martinez relays.

His grades were not sufficient to attend college, and after graduating, Lane worked for over three years as a machinist (the first 2½ as a machinist's apprentice).

College Lane played his first season of college football at Merritt College and transferred to Utah State University in 1965.

After working for several years in a machine shop, Lane realized he was stagnating. During a flag football game at a recreation center, a friend told him he was too good to be playing flag football, and it dawned on Lane he could do more. He entered Merritt College in 1963, and joined the football team, where he played a number of positions. He was also named at the same time to the Golden Gate Conference first-team defense, at linebacker.

Lane was recruited to Utah State. His 7.6 yards per carry as a junior was the highest in the nation for any college running back; and his 6.4 yards per carry the following year was 5th highest among all college running backs. In 1967, he was second in the nation to O. J. Simpson in rushing, when a torn thigh muscle caused him to miss his last four games. In a September 23, 1967 game against West Texas State, Lane ran for a career-high 207 yards on 20 carries, with two touchdowns.

Lane even handled kickoffs (very successfully) for Utah State at times.

Utah State went from a 4–6 record in 1966 to 7–2–1 the following year. His teammates at Utah State included, among others, future NFL running back Altie Taylor and NFL defensive tackle Bill Staley.

Lane was selected to play in the August 1968 College All-Star Game against the Green Bay Packers in Chicago, receiving two votes for most valuable college player in the game.

Lane also was also a thrower for the Utah State Aggies track and field team. He won the shot put at an April 1966 meeting where his appearance was described as a surprise.

Professional football

St. Louis Cardinals The 26-year old Lane was the 13th overall selection in the first round of the 1968 NFL/AFL draft, taken by the St. Louis Cardinals. Lane was seldom used during his first two years in St. Louis (1968-69), totaling only 167 yards in 48 rushing attempts. The Cardinals intended to start Lane in his second year, but a series of injuries prevented this. His 11 rushing touchdowns led the NFL, and his 4.7 yards per carry was tied for third best in the league. He also had 32 receptions for 365 yards, and another two touchdowns.

Lane ran for 146 yards on 28 attempts, with two touchdowns, in the second game of the 1970 season against Washington. In the Cardinals' fourth game, he rushed 16 times for 132 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown run against the New Orleans Saints; with another 41 yards on three receptions. The following week, Lane had three rushing touchdowns and one touchdown reception (26 yards) against the Philadelphia Eagles; while rushing for 125 yards, including a 75-yard run.

Although he had a highly productive season, Lane was upset he did not reach 1,000 yards rushing, and believed he was denied this achievement because the team reduced his rushing attempts towards the end of the season. Despite personal statistical success with the Cardinals, Lane's time was marred by tension with head coaches Charley Winner and later Bob Hollway as well as team owner Bill Bidwill, mostly over disagreements regarding Lane's value. Playing the 1971 season without signing a contract (one of 12 Cardinals players doing so), he commented that the then-rotund Bidwill had "all his money in his stomach" and was suspended by the team for the final game of the season. Lane apologized for his comment, but Bidwill said Lane still had to be suspended as a matter of principle. Hollway stated the trade was unrelated to the financial disputes with Lane. Lane said he was surprised as he believed the financial disputes had been put behind them, but he was happy with the trade. Anderson had also been having contract conflicts with the Packers and coach/general manager Dan Devine, and had similarly not signed a contract with them in 1971. In 1972, Brockington (1,027) and Lane (821) combined for 1,848 yards rushing. Lane averaged 4.6 yards per carry in 177 attempts, and Brockington averaged 3.7 yards per carry in 274 attempts. Lane also had 26 pass receptions for 285 yards, giving him over 1,000 yards from scrimmage for the season.

The Packers won the division and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1967. They lost to Washington in the first round of the playoffs, 16–3. Lane had 56 yards on 14 carries, but Brockington was held to only nine yards on 13 attempts.

The Packers fell to 5–7–2 the next season (1973). Brockington had over 1,000 yards for the third consecutive year (1,144 in 265 attempts), the first player to ever gain over 1,000 yards in his first three seasons. Lane had 528 yards in 170 attempts, while catching 27 passes for 255 yards. The 1974 Packers were 6–8. Lane had only 362 yards rushing, with a career-low 2.6 yards per carry average. He did catch 34 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns.

Kansas City Chiefs Under new head coach Bart Starr in 1975, Lane was traded to Kansas City in July for a future draft pick. He played his final four seasons with the Chiefs. During his final season, Lane recorded 144 yards rushing on October 1, 1978, in a 13–28 loss to the Buffalo Bills at age 36 years 199 days, a record that still stands for the oldest player with 100+ yards rushing in an NFL game (as of at least October 2019).

Career When he retired before the start of the 1979 season, Lane was the oldest running back in the NFL. Over his 11-year NFL career, Lane had 4,656 yards in 1,206 attempts (3.8 yards per carry), 287 receptions for 2,786 yards (9.7 yards per reception) and 37 touchdowns.

NFL career statistics Legend Led the league Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1968 STL 14 0 23 74 3.2 11 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1969 STL 9 0 25 93 3.7 13 1 9 61 6.8 14 0 1970 STL 14 14 206 977 4.7 75 11 32 365 11.4 78 2 1971 STL 13 11 150 592 3.9 40 3 29 298 10.3 34 0 1972 GNB 14 14 177 821 4.6 41 3 26 285 11.0 49 0 1973 GNB 13 13 170 528 3.1 20 1 27 255 9.4 30 1 1974 GNB 14 12 137 362 2.6 20 3 34 315 9.3 68 3 1975 KAN 9 7 79 311 3.9 39 2 25 202 8.1 31 0 1976 KAN 14 14 162 542 3.3 20 5 66 686 10.4 44 1 1977 KAN 3 3 25 79 3.2 9 1 3 40 13.3 21 0 1978 KAN 16 3 52 277 5.3 30 0 36 279 7.8 44 0 133 91 1,206 4,656 3.9 75 30 287 2,786 9.7 78 7

Playoffs Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1972 GNB 1 1 14 56 4.0 18 0 4 42 10.5 22 0 1 1 14 56 4.0 18 0 4 42 10.5 22 0

Honors Lane was inducted in the Utah State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.

Personal life Because he was financially able on his football salary, Lane and his wife Edna took in her two step-siblings, saying "'If you can afford it, you gotta help out'". After retiring from football, he owned and managed rental properties, and worked as a volunteer.

Upon his death, Lane's close friend of nearly 50 years, Raymond Chester, said “Mac was one of those guys that everybody loved. He was smart as a whip, kindhearted and generous. As an athlete, he had to be one of the top ten greatest high school athletes ever in the Bay Area.”