Deacon Jones
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Deacon Jones | |
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| Position(s): Defensive end |
Jersey #(s): 75 |
| Born: December 9, 1938 Eatonville, Florida |
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| Career Information | |
| Year(s): 1961–1974 | |
| NFL Draft: 1961 / Round: 14 / Pick: 186 | |
| College: South Carolina State Mississippi Valley State |
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| Professional Teams | |
| Career Stats | |
| Sacks | 173.5 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
| Games Played | 190 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
David D. "Deacon" Jones (born December 9, 1938 in Eatonville, Florida) nicknamed "Secretary of Defense" is a former professional football player and actor. Jones specialized in quarterback sacks, a term attributed to him. An extremely durable player, Jones missed only six games of a possible 196 regular-season encounters in his 14 National Football League seasons. He is also noted for perfecting the notorious "head slap" in defensive line play, a tactic that was shortly made illegal in pro football.
He claims that he accumulated 173.5 sacks over his career, which would be third on the all-time sack list.[1]
Jones also unofficially had 26 sacks in 1967, which (if official) would be the single season record.
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[edit] Football career
Jones had an obscure college career consisting of a year at South Carolina State University in 1958, followed by a year of inactivity and a final season at Mississippi Vocational College (since renamed Mississippi Valley State University) in 1960. He was drafted in the 14th round of the 1961 draft by the Los Angeles Rams, and quickly blossomed into a top defensive end and, for most of a decade, he teamed with tackle Merlin Olsen to give Los Angeles a perennial All-Pro left side of the defensive line. The so-called Fearsome Foursome defensive line of the Rams (Lamar Lundy, Rosey Grier, Merlin Olsen, and Jones) is considered one of the best lines of all time, along with the Steel Curtain of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Purple People Eaters of the Minnesota Vikings.
Jones won unanimous All-Pro honors five straight years from 1965 through 1969 and was 2nd Team All-Pro in 1964, 70, and 72. He was also in seven straight Pro Bowls, from 1964 to 1970, and was selected to an eighth after the 1972 season with the San Diego Chargers. In 1967, Jones unofficially amassed 26 sacks in 14 games (the term "sack" had not yet been coined at the time, and official sack statistics were not recorded by the NFL until 1982). Was voted the team's Outstanding Defensive Lineman by the Los Angeles Rams Alumni in 1962, 64, 65, and 66.
In 1972, Jones was included in a multi-player trade with the San Diego Chargers where he was an instant success. He was named San Diego's defensive captain and led all Chargers' defensive linemen in tackles and won a berth on the AFC Pro Bowl squad. He concluded his career with the Washington Redskins in 1974. Along the way Jones was named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Week four times: Week 14, 1967; Week 12, 1968; Week 11, 1969; and Week 10, 1970.
Jones always practiced kicking and in 1974, coach George Allen let him attempt an extra point in a game for the Redskins. The kick was good.
Throughout his career, Deacon was considered—by himself and his opponents—to be one of the toughest players in the league. In an interview with Kevin Jackson, Deacon once remarked:
- I'm probably the toughest (expletive) here. Ain't no question about that with me. I'm the toughest guy here... I'm clean. I mean, I ain't got no marks on me. I don't know nobody else who can say that who came out of any sport. I ain't got no marks on me, so I've got to be the baddest dude I know of.[1]
Jones is considered one of the greatest defensive players ever. The Los Angeles Times called Jones, "Most Valuable Ram of All Time," and former Rams head coach George Allen called him the "Greatest Defensive End of Modern Football."[2]
Jones was considered by many to revolutionize the position of defensive end. Jones was noted for coining the "sack". What separated Jones from every other defensive end was his blinding speed and his ability to make tackles from sideline to sideline, which was unheard of in his time.
He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1980, and was named to the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994. In 1999, he was ranked number 13 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranked player to have played for the Rams franchise, the highest-ranked defensive end, and the second-ranked defensive lineman behind Bob Lilly. The same year, he was named by Sports Illustrated as the "Defensive End of the Century."
[edit] Non-football activities
- Jones was a rhythm and blues singer during his football days, being backed by the band Nightshift, which later became War.
- He appeared on "The Brady Bunch" The Drummer Boy First aired: 1/22/1971 Production Code: 041
- He appeared in a memorable episode of "The Odd Couple" where he and Oscar were in a television commercial together, hawking shaving products.
- He has worked as a television actor, and appeared in numerous TV programs since the 1970s, most often appearing in cameo roles.
- Jones has traveled to Iraq to meet with troops stationed there and U.S. General Tommy Franks.
- Jones currently serves as the president and CEO of the Deacon Jones Foundation[3], an organization he founded in 1997 "to assist young people and the communities in which they live with a comprehensive program that includes education, mentoring, corporate internship, and community service."
- 1978 Elected to South Carolina Sports Hall of fame
- 1981 Voted to the Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame
- 1984 Elected to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame
- 1991 Recipient of the Vince Lombardi Award Presented by the Boy Scouts of America
- 1995 Elected to Black Sports Hall of Fame
- 1996 Recipient of the first annual Round Table Award Presented by Pop Warner Little Scholars
- 1999 Recipient of the Gale Sayers Lifetime Spirit Achievement Award
- 1999 Awarded "The Order of the Leather Helmet" by the NFL Alumni Organization, their highest honor
- 2001 Winner of the NFL Alumni Spirit Award for community service
- 2005 recipient of the Junior Seau Foundation Legend of the Year Award
- 2007 named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team which selected the Top 33 players in the 100 year history of high school football in the state of Florida's history.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- ProFootballHOF.com - Hall of Fame biography page
- Deacon Jones at the Internet Movie Database
- Deacon Jones Foundation
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