Lawless played twelve years of professional baseball. More than seven years were spent at the major league level playing for the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Montreal Expos, and the Toronto Blue Jays.
During his four-year playing career at Behrend College,
Lawless carried a career .378 batting average, fourth best in
school history. In two of his four seasons, Lawless hit over
.400. In 1979 he hit .426 and won the conference-batting
crown.
In June 1978, Lawless was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds. He was the MVP of both his A and AA teams. Lawless made the jump to the Major League in July, 1982.