He won postseason honors for eight consecutive years, making the AFL All-Star team in 1968 and 1969 before being selected to the Pro Bowl from 1970 through 1975.
[7][8][2] Morgan State's football team was headed by future College Hall of Fame coach Earl Banks (1992), who emphasized academics and graduation to his players.
[9] In 1965, the Bears defeated Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic, which was the unofficial championship game for historically black colleges and universities.
[1] Lanier is a member of The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.
[11] On January 15, 1967, the Chiefs lost Super Bowl I to Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers by a 35–10 score, forcing head coach Hank Stram to look for defensive players in the upcoming draft.
[3] In another explanation, Lynch had been chosen to play in the annual College All-Star Game, causing him to miss the first two weeks of Chiefs practice.
[citation needed]Despite losing out to Lanier at middle linebacker, Lynch started every game from 1968 to 1977, was twice an All AFL player, and was part of a linebacking trio with Lanier and future hall of famer Bobby Bell, that would play together for years and be part of the Chiefs Super Bowl IV championship team.
[13] Lanier joined Garland Boyette of the AFL's Houston Oilers as the first black middle linebackers in professional American football history.
[3] The following year, Lanier collected four interceptions, then matched that total in 1969[14] as he helped the Chiefs capture Super Bowl IV with a 23–7 upset of the Minnesota Vikings.
'"[16] A total of six defensive players on the Chiefs Super Bowl IV championship team were selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Lanier, Bell, Buck Buchanan, Curly Culp, Emmitt Thomas and Johnny Robinson),[17][18] and Lanier, Bell and Buchanan would be named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
[19] There were numerous great moments throughout Lanier's career, but none exemplifies his heart and desire as much as the Chiefs' goal line stand against the New York Jets in the 1969 divisional playoff game.
Trailing 6–3 in the fourth quarter, New York had a first-and-goal at the Chiefs' one-yard line after a pass interference call on Kansas City.
[20] The Chiefs reached the NFL playoffs only one more time during Lanier's career, in 1971, winning the AFC Western Division title.
On Christmas Day, in the final contest at Municipal Stadium, the Chiefs' season came to an end against the Miami Dolphins in a double overtime classic.
[24] Lanier was traded in April 1978 to the Baltimore Colts, but announced his retirement as an active player three months later on July 20, 1978.
[29] As a player, Lanier had great respect for hall of fame offensive tackle Bob Brown.
[2] After retiring, Lanier returned to school, taking graduate courses at the University of Missouri–Kansas City to receive an MBA.
[1][29] In 2006, Lanier was interviewed for the NFL Network documentary America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions chronicling the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season.
Lanier teamed with other 1970s players including Joe Green, Carl Eller, Gene Washington, and Mercury Morris.