Quarterback Gary Lane won first-team all-conference honors three times (1963-65). He led Dan Devine’s Tigers to a cumulative record of 21-8-2 and paced the Big Eight Conference in total offense as a sophomore and junior. He led the Tigers to a dramatic 20-18 victory over Florida in the 1966 Sugar Bowl, where his running and leadership countered a big passing day by the Gator’s Steve Spurrier. From East Alton, Illinois, Lane played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, and in Canada, from 1966-70. He went on to an 18-year career as one of the top referees in the National Football League, and worked Super Bowls XXIII and XXXIII, both in Miami, Florida.
