Ronnie Lott

Ronald Mandel “Ronnie” Lott (May 8, 1959-) (CB/S) helped lead the USC Trojans to the 1978 National Championship, was unanimously named and All-American and was a key member of coach John Robinson's team that ran an unbeaten streak to 28 games. The 49ers selected Ronnie Lott with the eighth overall pick of the 1981 NFL Draft out of the University of Southern California. Lott added his speed, hard hitting, and superb work ethic to a young defensive corps in the City by the Bay, and finished second in 1981 NFL Rookie of the Year voting behind fellow Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor. Ronnie Lott possessed incredible instincts in the defensive backfield as he played right and left cornerback as well as free and strong safety, and was one of the most feared hitters in the NFL during his 14-year career with the Niners (1981-1990), the Los Angeles Raiders (1991-1992) and the New York Jets (1993-1994). He was named to eight NFL All-Pro First Teams, played in ten NFL Pro Bowls and was a key component to the 49ers that won Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII and XXIV. Lott led the NFL in interceptions twice in his career and finished with an impressive 63 takeaways, returning them for 730 yards and five touchdowns. He recovered 17 fumbles for 43 yards and recorded 1,113 tackles over the course of his career. Legendary Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry once referred to Lott as “devastating” with the ability to “dominate the secondary better than anyone I’ve ever seen.” Ronnie Lott was inducted into the Pro Football Hal of Fame in 2000 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2010, the NFL Network rated Ronnie as the NFL’s 11th Greatest Player in the history of the league.