Rolland Derenfro "Bay" Lawrence (born March 24, 1951) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) from 1973 to 1980. He was a leader of the 1977 Grits Blitz defense, widely considered to be among the best in league history, and his 39 career interceptions are the most by a Falcons player.[1]
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| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | March 24, 1951 Franklin, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 179 lb (81 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Franklin (PA) | ||||||||
| College: | Tabor | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1973 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Biography
editLawrence was selected to his one and only Pro Bowl in 1977, when he accounted for 10 turnovers on seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries.[2] According to Pro-Football-Reference.com's "Approximate Value" statistic,[3] Lawrence recorded the most valuable season by a non-Hall of Famer in NFL history, recording an AV of 24 in 1977, tied for the fifth-highest single-season AV in NFL history as of 2023.[4] That year marked Lawrence's only-ever selections to the Pro Bowl and an All-Pro team.
Lawrence played college football for the Tabor Bluejays in Hillsboro, Kansas. He became a charter member of the Tabor College Hall of Fame in 1999 and was the first player to have his jersey number (3) retired by the school four years later.
References
edit- ^ Database Football Archived 2010-02-12 at the Wayback Machine Rolland Lawrence statistics
- ^ "Pittsburgh Passion". Archived from the original on July 3, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
- ^ "Approximate Value". Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ "NFL Approximate Value Single-Season Leaders". Retrieved May 8, 2023.