A long kickoff return can be a key play in an NFL game.
It can establish field position for an offensive drive and reverse momentum after an opposing score.
One of the top kickoff returners in Cleveland Browns history was Billy Lefear.
Over his four years with Cleveland from 1972 to 1975, Lefear returned kickoffs for over 1,400 yards.
In addition, Lefear was a versatile performer for the Browns, also gaining yards as a rusher, receiver, and punt returner.
Preston Pearson with the high tackle on Billy Lefear.
No Flag.#Steelers #OldSchoolFootball pic.twitter.com/hM5e3xOJ9w— Tomlin Reactions 🆃 (@TomlinReactions) September 14, 2018
We take a look at the life of Billy Lefear – before, during, and after his NFL playing career.
The Early Years Through High School
William Ray Lefear was born in Magnolia, Arkansas on February 12, 1950.
Magnolia is located in southern Arkansas.
Lefear attended Booker T. Washington High School in El Dorado, Arkansas.
El Dorado is about 35 miles east of Magnolia.
At Booker T. Washington High School, Lefear lettered in football, basketball, and track.
In football, Lefear was an All-State player.
After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School in 1967, Lefear, staying in Arkansas, headed to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to attend Henderson State University.
College Years
At Henderson State University, Lefear lettered in football for four years in 1968, 1969, 1970, and 1971.
When Lefear played there, Henderson State University was in the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC).
The AIC was affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
Lefear was an AIC All-Star in 1968 and All-AIC in 1971.
In 1969, Lefear had 36 pass receptions.
Henderson State University posted records in football of 8-3 in 1968, 8-2 in 1969, 5-5 in 1970, and 4-4-1 in 1971.
In 1969, Henderson State University was the champion of the AIC.
After his four years at Henderson State University, Lefear headed to the NFL to continue his football career.
The Pro Football Years
1972-1973
The Cleveland Browns drafted Lefear in the ninth round of the 1972 NFL draft.
Lefear was the 230th overall pick.
Lefear was one of 11 rookies who made the Browns roster in 1972 (joining safety Thom Darden, defensive back Clifford Brooks, linebacker Mel Long, tackle Chris Morris, defensive back Bobby Majors, wide receiver Paul Staroba, guard Bubba Pena, guard Craig Wycinsky, defensive tackle Fest Cotton, and wide receiver Cookie Brinkman).
In 1972, Lefear (at a height of five feet and 11 inches and a weight of 197 pounds) played in nine, but did not start any, regular season games.
Lefear was credited with his first yards in an NFL regular season game, when he rushed for four yards on one rushing attempt, in a 20-0 Cleveland shutout of the Houston Oilers on November 5, 1972.
The following week, on November 13, 1972, in a 21-17 Browns win over the San Diego Chargers, Lefear had his first kickoff return yards in an NFL regular season game, as he returned one kickoff for 24 yards.
In the next game, on November 19, 1972, Lefear returned one kickoff for 21 yards, in a 26-24 Cleveland victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The following week, on November 26, 1972, Lefear rushed for three yards on one rushing attempt and returned one kickoff for 21 yards, as the Browns defeated the Buffalo Bills 27-10.
In the next game, on December 3, 1972, Lefear returned two kickoffs for 51 yards, in a 30-0 Cleveland loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For the 1972 NFL regular season, Lefear rushed for six yards on three rushing attempts and returned six kickoffs for 138 yards.
With a 10-4 record, the Browns earned a wild card playoff berth in 1972.
On December 24, 1972, Cleveland played the undefeated Miami Dolphins in the 1972 playoffs.
Lefear returned three kickoffs for 56 yards, but the Browns lost to the Dolphins 20-14.
In 1973, Lefear played in 13 regular season games and started one regular season game.
Lefear had his first punt return yards in an NFL regular season game, as he returned three punts for nine yards, in a 24-14 Cleveland win over the Baltimore Colts on September 16, 1973.
He also rushed for 19 yards on seven rushing attempts and returned one kickoff for 14 yards.
The following week, on September 23, 1973, Lefear had his first pass receptions in an NFL regular season game, as he caught two passes for 14 yards, in a 33-6 Browns loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In addition, Lefear rushed for 13 yards on five rushing attempts, including a 13-yard run, and returned two kickoffs for 39 yards and one punt for 13 yards.
In a 42-13 Cleveland victory over the Houston Oilers on October 21, 1973, Lefear rushed for 44 yards on three rushing attempts, including a 43-yard run, and returned two kickoffs for 32 yards.
The following week, on October 28, 1973, Lefear started in an NFL regular season game for the only time in his NFL career, in a 16-16 Browns tie with the San Diego Chargers.
Lefear started at running back, substituting for future Pro Football Hall of Fame Cleveland running back Leroy Kelly.
Lefear rushed for 47 yards on seven rushing attempts, including a 17-yard run, and caught two passes for 24 yards, including a 13-yard pass reception.
In the next game, on November 4, 1973, Lefear rushed for seven yards on one rushing attempt and returned one kickoff for 17 yards and two punts for 24 yards, in a 26-3 Cleveland loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
The following week, on November 11, 1973, Lefear rushed for two yards on two rushing attempts and returned one kickoff for 25 yards, as the Browns defeated the Houston Oilers 23-13 on November 11, 1973 (for the second victory by Cleveland over the Oilers in 1973).
Lefear returned two kickoffs for 31 yards and one punt for five yards, in a 21-16 Cleveland win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 25, 1973.
On December 9, 1973, Lefear returned four kickoffs for 162 yards, in a 34-17 Browns loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
He also rushed for three yards on one rushing attempt.
In the 1973 NFL regular season, Lefear rushed for the above-described 135 yards on 26 rushing attempts, caught five passes for 38 yards, and returned 15 kickoffs for 337 yards and the above-described seven punts for 51 yards.
The Browns had a 7-5-2 record in 1973.
Lefear contributed to Cleveland ranking in the 1973 NFL regular season 10th in average yards per punt return (8.6).
1974-1975
Lefear played in 11, but did not start any, regular season games in 1974.
In a 29-7 Cleveland loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on September 29, 1974, Lefear rushed for two yards on one rushing attempt, caught two passes for 14 yards, and returned two kickoffs for 37 yards.
The following week, on October 6, 1974, Lefear caught two passes for seven yards and returned four kickoffs for 82 yards, in a 40-24 Browns loss to the Oakland Raiders.
In the next game, on October 13, 1974, in a 34-24 Cleveland loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Lefear returned four kickoffs for 84 yards.
The following week, on October 20, 1974, Lefear returned four kickoffs for 101 yards, in a 20-16 Browns loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In the next game, on October 27, 1974, in a 23-21 Cleveland victory over the Denver Broncos, Lefear returned three kickoffs for 67 yards.
Lefear returned one kickoff for 32 yards, as the Browns defeated the New England Patriots 21-14 on November 10, 1974.
The following week, on November 17, 1974, in a 26-16 Cleveland loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Lefear returned four kickoffs for 94 yards and two punts for one yard.
Lefear returned four kickoffs for 77 yards, in a 41-17 Browns loss to the Dallas Cowboys on December 7, 1974.
For the 1974 NFL regular season, Lefear rushed for two yards on six rushing attempts, caught the above-described four passes for 21 yards, and returned the above-described 26 kickoffs for 574 yards and the above-described two punts for one yard.
Cleveland had a 4-10 record in 1974.
Lefear contributed to the Browns ranking in the 1974 NFL regular season tied for fifth in average yards per rushing attempt (4.2), fourth in kickoff return yards (1,375), tied for fifth in average yards per kickoff return (22.9), sixth in punt return yards (523), and 10th in average yards per punt return (10.1).
In 1975, Lefear played in 10, but did not start any, regular season games.
On October 5, 1975, Lefear caught one pass for 14 yards, in a 42-6 Cleveland loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The following week, on October 12, 1975, in a 40-10 Browns loss to the Houston Oilers, Lefear returned four kickoffs for 106 yards.
In the next game, on October 19, 1975, Lefear returned one kickoff for 38 yards and one punt for 14 yards, in a 16-15 Cleveland loss to the Denver Broncos.
The following week, on October 26, 1975, in a 23-7 Browns loss to the Washington Redskins, Lefear returned two kickoffs for 45 yards.
Lefear returned one kickoff for 46 yards, in a 21-10 Cleveland loss to the Detroit Lions on November 9, 1975.
The following week, on November 16, 1975, Lefear returned three kickoffs for 64 yards, in a 38-17 Browns loss to the Oakland Raiders.
In the next game, Cleveland played the Cincinnati Bengals on November 23, 1975.
The game is notable in Lefear’s NFL career for both a positive reason and a negative reason.
Lefear had the longest kickoff return in his NFL regular season career, returning one kickoff for 92 yards.
The kickoff return helped the Browns win their first regular season game in 1975, as Cleveland upset the Bengals (who came into the game with an 8-1 record) 35-23.
However, on the 92-yard kickoff return, Lefear broke his right leg when he was tackled.
The injury ended Lefear’s 1975 regular season and ultimately his NFL career.
Running back Billy Lefear, ‘70s era from Arkansas State or some such school. He had some speed and elusiveness to go with the gr8 name. But he suffered a career altering broken leg on a play where — a la Bo Jackson — he appeared to have been tackled but had not been touched.
— Warren Zimmerman (@warrenzim) June 27, 2018
Lefear returned 13 kickoffs for 412 yards (leading the Browns) in the 1975 NFL regular season.
His 31.7 average yards per kickoff return (if maintained) would have led the NFL in 1975 if Lefear had not been injured and had a sufficient number of kickoff returns to qualify under this statistical category.
Lefear was tied for first in the NFL in 1975 among players who had at least 10 kickoff returns in average yards per kickoff return.
In the 1975 NFL regular season, Lefear also caught the above-described one pass for 14 yards and returned the above-described one punt for 14 yards.
The Browns had a 3-11 record in 1975.
Lefear contributed to Cleveland ranking in the 1975 NFL regular season third in kickoff return yards (1,526).
After his injury against the Bengals, Lefear never played again in an NFL regular season game.
The Years After The NFL
Lefear married Marilyn Lott Lefear and has three children.
In 2000, Lefear was inducted into the Henderson State University Athletics Hall of Fame.
Lefear was inducted into the Union County Sports Hall of Fame (in Arkansas) in 2014.
In assessing Lefear’s NFL career with Cleveland, Lefear ranks as one of the top kickoff returners in Browns history.
Lefear ranks 12th in Browns career regular season kickoff return yards (1,461), 11th in Browns career regular season longest kickoff return (the 92-yard kickoff return against the Bengals on November 23, 1975), and, among players with at least 25 kickoff returns, and 10th in Browns career regular season average yards per kickoff return (24.4).
What is especially impressive about Lefear’s kickoff return statistics is that he accumulated them over only 43 regular season games in parts of four regular seasons (Lefear never played in all 14 regular season games in any year).
Had Lefear not suffered a career-ending injury in 1975, he probably would have ranked much higher among Cleveland kickoff returners.
If Lefear had been able to play just one more regular season, he likely would have ended up ranking in the top 10 in Browns history in career regular season kickoff return yards.
In addition, if Lefear had been able to play for two more seasons, there is a strong possibility that he would have ended up eanking in the top five in Browns history in career regular season kickoff return yards.
Besides Lefear’s contribution to the Browns as a kickoff returner, his versatile production for Cleveland as a rusher (143 rushing yards on 35 rushing attempts), receiver (10 pass receptions for 73 receiving yards), and punt returner (10 punt returns for 66 punt return yards), should be noted.
In the only NFL regular season game that Lefear started (October 28, 1973 against the Chargers), Lefear had an excellent game – 47 rushing yards on seven rushing attempts (6.7 average yards per rushing attempt), and two pass receptions for 24 receiving yards.
If this game would have been the model for other games that Lefear would have started, Lefear would have had an excellent career as an offensive player.
However, as Lefear was battling for playing time in the Browns backfield from 1972 to 1975 with Leroy Kelly and such other quality running backs as Bo Scott, Greg Pruitt, Ken Brown, and Hugh McKinnis, he did not have the opportunity to start any other regular season games.
Lefear’s 92-yard kickoff return is the longest kickoff return in Browns regular season history that did not score a touchdown.
It was a great play, but it could have been ever better if Lefear scored a touchdown on it.
Imo: PR- Ben Davis, Billy LeFear, Eric Metcalf. KR- Bobby Mitchell, Eric Metcalf, Josh Cribbs. https://t.co/hNb7lWEjMc
— Kendall Lewis (@TheBSKsays) January 31, 2016
The play is a metaphor for Lefear’s NFL career with the Browns.
Billy Lefear was a solid player for Cleveland, who potentially could have performed even better if not for injury and quality competition in the Browns backfield.
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