 In Dallas, his punishing hits earned him the nickname "Mean Gene, the hitting machine".Lockhart led the team in tackles in four of his seven years with the Cowboys and contributed with more than 100 tackles in every season except 1987, when he registered 80 tackles (52 solo), after suffering a fractured right fibula and missing the last 3 games.In 1989, he led the NFL and set a club record with 222 tackles, while also leading the team in interceptions (2) and the linebackers in passes deflected (8).