By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Fred Lane was a former National Football League player, who played in the league with the Carolina Panthers. But his journey started in Franklin, Tennessee, where he was born.
Lane would attend Franklin Junior High School, where he had more than 1,000 rushing yards during his senior season. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry.
His No. 28 was later retired by the school.
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When it came time to play college football, he attended Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. During his career there, he had 3,612 rushing yards — and became their all-time leading rusher.
In 1995, he was considered for the Harlon Hill Trophy Watchlist, which is given to the NCAA Division II Player of the Year. That same season, he was named to the Heritage Radio HBCU All-American team.
His No. 6 was retired by Lane College.
During the 1997 NFL Draft, he went undrafted. But following the draft, he signed with the Panthers.
In his rookie season with the team, he set several franchise records. He appeared in 13 games, including seven starts that season.
He had 182 carries for a career-high 809 yards and seven touchdowns. He also had eight receptions for 27 yards.
In his first two seasons, he led the team in rushing attempts, yards, and touchdowns.
In 1999, the team decided to allow Tim Biakabutuka to carry the load.
In his first three seasons, he appeared in 42 games, including 23 starts. He had 502 carries for 2,001 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
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He also had 43 receptions for 275 yards.
His life came to an end on July 6th, 2000 when his wife, Deidra Lane, shot and killed him. He had been shot twice with a 12-gauge shotgun, including once in the chest and the other shot in the back of the head.
In 2003, Deidra pled guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. The authorities said she was an abusive wife, who killed Lane for his insurance money.
Her own defense was that she killed him in self-defense. However, a judge sentenced her to seven years and 11 months.
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She was able to receive time served while she awaited a sentence on a federal charge of conspiracy to commit bank larceny. She received an additional four months for that charge.
Deidra was released from jail on March 3rd, 2009.
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