Dannie Key "Danny" Lockett (born July 11, 1964) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who played two seasons with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the Lions in the sixth round of the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Ma ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

College of the Sequoias College of the Sequoias (COS) is a public two-year community college in Visalia, California. The college is named for the Giant Sequoia trees native to the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range. History College of the Sequoias was originally es ...

and the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. He was also a member of the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the NFL, the

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

(WLAF), and the Detroit Drive/Massachusetts Marauders,

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

, Texas Terror,

Connecticut Coyotes The Connecticut Coyotes were an arena football franchise based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Coyotes played in the Eastern Division of the National Conference in the Arena Football League. History On June 22, 1994, the Arena Football League a ...

and Milwaukee Mustangs of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

Early life and college

Dannie Key Lockett was born on July 11, 1964, in

Fort Valley, Georgia Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, Peach County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780. The city is in the Warner R ...

. He attended

Peach County High School Peach County High School is a public high school located in Fort Valley, Georgia, United States. The school is part of the Peach County School District, which serves Peach County. Peach County High School (PCHS) is accredited by the Southern ...

in Fort Valley. Lockett played

at the

in 1983. He was then a member of the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

of the

from 1984 to 1986. He was a two-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

in 1985 and 1986. Lockett was named second-team All-Pac-10 by the Coaches as a senior in 1986.

Professional career

Lockett was selected by the

in the sixth round, with the 148th overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on July 25. He played in 13 games, starting one, for the Lions during the 1987 season, recording one sack and one fumble recovery. He missed three games that year due to the

1987 NFL players strike The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president ...

. Lockett appeared in all 16 games in 1988, totaling one sack and one fumble recovery. He was released by the Lions on September 1, 1989. Lockett signed with the

on March 20, 1990. He was released on June 20, 1990. Lockett started all ten games for the

of the

(WLAF) during the

1991 WLAF season The 1991 WLAF season was the inaugural season of the World League of American Football and was the first transatlantic sports league. The regular season began on March 23, and concluded on May 27. The postseason ran from June 1 until June 9, whe ...

, totaling 65 tackles, 14 sacks, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. The Monarchs finished the season with a 9–1 record and won the first-ever

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football, later called NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The first World Bowl was played ...

(

World Bowl '91 World Bowl '91 (also referred to as World Bowl I) was the first annual World Bowl, the championship game of the World League of American Football. It took place on June 9, 1991 at London's Wembley Stadium. The game featured a matchup between the ...

) against the

Barcelona Dragons Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Barcelona Dragons: * Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) The Barcelona Dragons were an American football team that was a part of the World League of American Football and later in the res ...

by a score of 21–0. Lockett earned first-team All-WLAF and WLAF co-defensive MVP honors for the 1991 season. Lockett was signed by the

on June 18, 1991. On June 29, while not wearing a seatbelt, he lost control of his car and was thrown out of the vehicle's open roof, causing him to land in a ditch. He did not suffer any broken bones as a result of the accident. He was later released by the Jets on August 6, 1991. Lockett returned to the Monarchs in 1992, recording 14 sacks and one interception. He was named first-team All-WLAF for the second consecutive season. The Monarchs finished the year with a 2–7–1 record. Lockett played in 11 games for the

Detroit Drive The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit ...

of the

(AFL) in 1993, accumulating 39 solo tackles, 11 assisted tackles, eight sacks, two fumble recoveries, nine pass breakups, and one interception that he returned for a touchdown. He was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

during his time in the AFL as the league played under

ironman rules The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a platoon system, rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby the same players were expected to stay on the field for the entire game, playing both offense and defense ...

. He garnered first-team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

recognition for the 1993 season. The Drive finished the year with an 11–1 record and eventually advanced to

ArenaBowl VII ArenaBowl '93 (or ArenaBowl VII) was the Arena Football League's seventh ArenaBowl. The game featured the number 3 Tampa Bay Storm (9–3) of the National Conference against the number 1 Detroit Drive (11–1) of the American Conference. The Storm ...

, where they lost to the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

by a score of 51–31. The Drive became the Massachusetts Marauders in 1994. Lockett appeared in nine games during the 1994 season, totaling 17 solo tackles, 5 assisted tackles, four sacks, and two pass breakups. He earned first-team All-Arena honors for the second consecutive season. Lockett played in seven games for the AFL's

in 1995, recording ten solo tackles, three assisted tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two pass breakups, and two blocked kicks. Lockett began the 1996 AFL season by playing in five games for the

, accumulating four solo tackles, three assisted tackles, and 0.5 sacks while also catching two passes for 23 yards and two touchdowns. He then appeared in nine games for the Texas Terror of the AFL in 1996, posting 12 solo tackles, three sacks, and one interception while catching four passes for 45 yards. Lockett played in six games for the Milwaukee Mustangs of the AFL in 1997, totaling five solo tackles, three assisted tackles, one sack, and two pass breakups.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockett, Danny 1964 births Living people Players of American football from Peach County, Georgia American football linebackers American football offensive linemen American football defensive linemen College of the Sequoias Giants football players Arizona Wildcats football players Detroit Lions players San Francisco 49ers players London Monarchs players New York Jets players Detroit Drive players Massachusetts Marauders players Orlando Predators players Texas Terror players Connecticut Coyotes players Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001) players People from Fort Valley, Georgia 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen