FAMU's Henry Lawrence, a diamond in the rough, shined brightly;

Florida A&M 's Henry Lawrence is the
Rattlers' only first round draft choice to the
NFL (Oakland Raiders), later earning three
 Super Bowl rings in a 14 year career. 

Lawrence to be inducted into Florida Sports Hall of Fame on March 20th.

BRADENTON, Florida  -  John Madden will never forget the first day he saw Henry Lawrence (Florida A&M). It’s a reason he is an NFL Hall of Fame coach and Lawrence went on to win three Super Bowls. Then the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Madden was at the 1974 Senior Bowl to check out Ed “Too Tall” Jones (Tennessee State), a heralded defensive lineman who would become the number one pick in that year’s NFL draft.

Madden saw what others didn’t. He was more impressed how Lawrence blocked Jones and kept him under check during the Senior Bowl practices.

“I went there to see Too Tall and I see Henry constantly blocking him and holding him back,” Madden said. “We couldn’t get Jones because we weren’t high enough up in the draft, but I said we are going to get the guy who can block the number one guy in the draft.”

The Raiders drafted Lawrence with their first pick (19th overall) and Lawrence went on to have the best NFL career of any player to come out of Manatee County (and Florida A&M), earning several Pro Bowl honors along with his Super Bowl rings.

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VISIT:  HenryLawrence.com
VISIT:  FLORIDASPORTSHALLOFFAME


3 time Super Bowl Champion Henry Lawrence of the Oakland Raiders; video taped live in Sarasota, FL in 2010,with Henry singing his version of Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness."