<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> College Football Hall of Fame </Td> </Tr> <P> Ronald Mandel Lott (born May 8, 1959) is a former American professional football player who was a cornerback, free safety, and strong safety in the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons during the 1980s and 1990s . Lott played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and was honored as a consensus All - American . A first - round pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders, New York Jets, and Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL . Lott was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, and is widely considered to be one of the best of all time at the safety position in NFL history and one of the best players in NFL history . </P> <P> Lott was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico . He attended Frisbie Junior High and Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California, where he played football under Coach Bill Christopher and graduated in 1977 . He considered his time at Eisenhower High School the best years of his life . It is commonly thought that he was the best player on his team, he started as a wide receiver in 1975 as a sophomore, started at wide receiver and safety in 1976 as a junior, and in 1977 he started at quarterback and safety . The football stadium was recently named after Lott, even though he never played in the stadium . Lott was also the winner of the 1977 Ken Hubbs Award, given to the greater San Bernardino, California area's top male high school athlete . </P> <P> Lott graduated from the University of Southern California in 1981 with a degree in public administration . During his years at USC (1977--1980), he helped the team to a share of the 1978 national championship and played in the 1979 and 1980 Rose Bowls . Lott was a unanimous All - American and team captain in 1980, recording 8 interceptions and 166 return yards . In 2002, he was inducted as one of 15 new members (I-A class) of the College Football Hall of Fame . He was also a 1995 inductee to the USC Athletic Hall of Fame . </P>

Cut off finger to play in super bowl