When people hear the name ****
Night Train lane, they think of
his success on the football field.
They think NFL Hall of Famer Interception
King and a ferocious tackler.
But they may not think about the lowest lows,
lows that included a trying childhood and
frustrating final years in Austin, TX.
His sons want to change that and
hope to paint his entire picture
in an upcoming documentary.
Here's cave use. Jake Garcia.
Anderson High School has been
an engine for education.
A vehicle for change.
A train on track to connect the past
to the present.
It's done so by teaching about its history,
an all black high school on the East
side reopened at its current spot in
Northwest Austin after integration.
First sit right there,
done so with tributes to distinguished
alumni and one distinguished
alumnus is why we're here today.
This is one of his sons,
Richard Walker, senior,
and this is another hi.
I'm Richard Lane junior,
both named after their father,
**** Lane.
Whose nickname was Nitrane Lane
after a 1950s R&B megahan that's
you and you're gonna tell me
that this this is definitely it.
This is the tomb.
And if you're thinking about it,
this will be a great tune that
you're listening to late in the
evening and relaxing, chilling.
You know, cause back in those
days the Blues was very heavy.
**** Night Train Lane made sure his
opponents felt the heavy Blues.
It was something fierce and his vicious
style of play is well documented.
The necktie, tackling the clothesline,
the face mask, all that was banned
because of him. But the reason
his sons are here is to talk
about the undocumented morning.
The start of his life and the
end of his life in Austin,
TX to it big in Texas.
A crew in from out of state.
We are on a mission to
tell a story we're working
on our dad's documentary.
We like to think of it as the
untold story. But we want the
complete story of Nitrane Lane.
A story with primary sources.
We are now we're going to be able to
speak to people like Mr Leroy Bookman,
Junior Leroy Bookman,
Senior played also with Nightrain.
He was black and for him for the most part.
We will also speak.
To people that run the alumni association
for the old LC Anderson High School,
which Mr Ellen Rivers. This is
where Allison used to be. That's where
he went. There's a couple of
young ladies there. Beulah,
Beulah Jones and Robbie Jones.
I think these these young
ladies are very instrumental
in the Community of Austin.
A story with elements of
a Shakespearean tragedy
as a child. He was thrown away
as a baby as an infant wrapped
up in newspaper, put in a
garbage can. I believe he was
approximately 3 months old.
He was found by the lady. Who adopted
him, which was our grandmother?
Elena had already had four children
that strength in her rubbed off on him.
The people that come from nothing
seemed like they're they're
the ones that won it the most
other moments read more like a comedy
he was playing. Pool I guess one
of the gentlemen lost the game
of pool and didn't wanna pay up.
The guy tried to take off and leave.
So as a guy who's headed to the door
right train grabbed the cue ball and
clanked them across the head and from then
on everybody around this like cue ball
and that was kind of where
that name came from.
The ending left his family in mourning
and suspicions of CTE left unanswered.
Denefield didn't wanna acknowledge
because we don't have brain
matter for them to dissect.
To say this is what happened to your dad
to think that he didn't suffer
from concussions and different
things throughout his career.
Is this ludicrous?
But it also brought them closer
and is now bringing them closure.
Here's the first time I
actually met my brothers
their father's funeral in Austin in 2002. I
knew of them since the age
of about 8 to 10 years old.
I knew of them, but they never
knew of me connecting a family.
I would love to say it's
been a dream come true,
but there is no dream here.
This is simply just the reality
now leading to a documentary that's
connecting the dots, capturing
a very important piece of his life,
right here in Austin. Texas.
Telling the tale of Nitrane Lane
as his story leaves the station one
final time in Austin. I'm Jay Garcia.
Another forgotten gem in the
history of Austin that people
are finally going to get to know.
It's a great story.
Jay Garcia as always doing great work
of people need to hear those stories
and I'm glad he told that one me too.
Can't we see the documentary too?
That's gonna be good.
Cannot wait, he just hummed a cue ball
pool ball right at the guy checking.
Been there for that.