Deacon Jones
| Deacon Jones | |
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Position (s): Defensive End |
Jersey number (s): 75 |
| born on December 9, 1938 in Eatonville , Florida | |
| died on June 3, 2013 in Anaheim , California | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1961 - 1974 | |
| NFL Draft : 1961 / Round: 14 / Pick: 186 | |
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College : South Carolina State Mississippi Valley State |
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| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Games | 191 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
| Sacks | 173.5 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
David D. "Deacon" Jones ( nickname "The Secretary of Defense" ; born December 9, 1938 in Eatonville , Florida ; † June 3, 2013 in Anaheim , California ) was an American American football player in the position of Defensive Ends . He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams , the San Diego Chargers and the Washington Redskins .
Life
youth
Deacon Jones was born in 1938 in Eatonville, a town with a predominantly Afro-American population, and grew up there in poor conditions. Even in his youth he was forced to work. In order to be able to support his family financially, he worked as a melon picker. Jones had as a youth the opportunity to the African American baseball players of the Brooklyn Dodgers Jackie Robinson play to see who broke first the so-called color barrier in baseball. Jones attended high school and played baseball, football and basketball there . In addition, Jones was active in the American civil rights movement.
Player career
college
David Jones received a scholarship from South Carolina State University in 1957 . African Americans studied at this college . Deacon Jones played for the Bulldogs, his college football team . In 1958 he suspended a year. After his college learned that he was involved in the civil rights movement, the scholarship was revoked. An assistant coach for the football team had meanwhile left school and found a job at Mississippi Valley State University , which also only had African American students enrolled. He made Jones and other players a change offer, which Jones accepted. He finished his studies in Mississippi . Racism was ubiquitous in this college too. When his team played away, he and his teammates had to sleep on cots because the local motels refused to rent rooms to the players.
NFL
Deacon Jones was in 1961 in the 14th round at the 186th place by that of Bob Waterfield trained Los Angeles Rams drafted . Jones was used together with Lamar Lundy on the defensive line of the Rams. The following year Merlin Olsen joined the Los Angeles team , and in 1963 the Rams were able to sign Rosey Grier . The four defense players formed one of the most feared defensive lines in the NFL and went down in league history as "Fearsome Foursome" . Jones became a key player in the Rams' defensive line. Again and again, the agile and fast Jones succeeded in overcoming the opposing offensive line in order to attack the quarterback . In 1967 alone he got 26 sacks . All of his team's opponents managed to bring the Rams' quarterback down with the ball in hand only 25 times this year. Overall, Jones scored 165 sacks during his season with the Rams.
Under head coach George Allen , Jones and the Rams managed to get into the play-offs in 1967 , but where they failed early due to the Green Bay Packers supervised by Vince Lombardi with 28: 7. In 1969 the Rams moved into the play-offs for a second time. This time the team met the Minnesota Vikings in the first round , who were able to prevail with 23:20.
Jones moved to the San Diego Chargers in 1972 and after two years in San Diego to the Washington Redskins . With the Redskins, who were now also looked after by George Allen, Deacon Jones was able to reach the play-offs again. Opponents in the first game were the Rams from Los Angeles, who won the game by 19:10. After the 1974 game round, Jones ended his career.
After the playing career
Jones was already working as a car dealer and sold Volkswagen during his season . After his career he worked for various US companies such as Miller Brewing Company and Epson . In addition, he appeared again and again in small supporting roles as an actor. He worked in the television series Alf and in the film Heaven should wait with. Jones also set up a foundation that helps young people. Jones was married and last lived in Anaheim , where he also died. His grave is not known.
Awards
Deacon Jones was elected eight times to the Pro Bowl and eight times to the All-Pro . His shirt number 75 is no longer assigned by the Rams; they honor him on the St. Louis Ring of Fame . In 1967 and 1968, he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year . Deacon Jones is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame , the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team , the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team , the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame , the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, and the Black Sports Hall of Fame. In 1999 The Sporting News magazine put him 13th on the list of the Top 100 Football Players of All Time.
In Jones' honor, the NFL has been giving the Deacon Jones Award to the player who scores the most sacks of the season since 2013 .
literature
- Karen Donnelly: Deacon Jones (= Football Hall of Famers ). Rosen, New York 2003, ISBN 0-8239-3606-6 .
Web links
- Short biography
- History of the "sack" (PDF; 21 kB)
- Deacon Jones at the Rams
- Obituary in The New York Times
- Deacon Jones in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Rams 1967
- ↑ Statistics play-off game Rams against Packers 1967
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Rams 1969
- ↑ Statistics play-off game Rams against Vikings 1969
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Redskins 1974
- ↑ Statistics play-off game Redskins versus Rams 1974
- ^ Deacon Jones in the Find a Grave database
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jones, Deacon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jones, David D. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 9, 1938 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Eatonville , Florida , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | 3rd June 2013 |
| Place of death | Anaheim , California , United States |