He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and was selected by the Browns with the 22nd pick in the first round of the 1981 NFL draft.

He also is credited with naming the Cleveland Browns "Dawg Pound," the section of the stadium known for their antics during Browns home games at the old Municipal Stadium inspired by Dixon's "barking" to teammates, especially fellow cornerback Frank Minnifield.

Dixon has been honored many times by his alma mater including being inducted into the M-Club Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and being named to the school's Football Team of the Century.

He became the seventh football member of the school's Legends Club joining Reggie Collier, Brett Favre, Ray Guy, Derrick Nix, Sammy Winder and Fred Cook.

He has a podcast with Cleveland personality Gab Kreuz called "The Hanford Dixon Show" on the BIGPLAY Network.