Today in Black American history: December 9, 1938 - David D. Deacon Jones was a Black American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins was born in in Eatonville, FL, on this date in 1938. Jones specialized in quarterback sacks, a term which he coined. Nicknamed the Secretary of Defense, Jones is considered one of the greatest defensive players ever. The Los Angeles Times called Jones Most Valuable Ram of All Time, and former Redskins head coach George Allen called him the Greatest Defensive End of Modern Football. Jones was drafted in the 14th round of the 1961 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He then earned a starting role as a defensive end and teamed with tackle Merlin Olsen to give Los Angeles a perennial All-Pro left side of the defensive line. He became a part of the Fearsome Foursome defensive line of the Rams which is now considered to have been one of the best defensive lines of all time. Jones won consensus All-Pro honors five straight years from 1965 through 1969 and was second-team All-Pro in 1964, 1970, and 1972. 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. He was voted the teams Outstanding Defensive Lineman by the Los Angeles Rams Alumni in 1962, 64, 65, and 66. In 1971, Jones suffered a severely sprained arch, which caused him to miss four starts, and he ended the season with 4½ sacks, his career-low to that point. In 1972, Jones was included in a multiplayer trade with the San Diego Chargers, where he was an instant success. He was named San Diegos 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. In the final game of his NFL career, the Redskins allowed him to kick the point-after-touchdown for the games last score. 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. An extremely durable player, Jones missed only six games of a possible 196 regular-season encounters in his 14 National Football League seasons. Jones was considered by many to revolutionize the position of defensive end. He was credited with coining the phrase sacking the quarterback. In 1999, Jones provided an L.A. Times reporter with some detailed imagery about his forte: “You take all the offensive linemen and put them in a burlap bag, and then you take a baseball bat and beat on the bag. You’re sacking them, you’re bagging them. And that’s what you’re doing with a quarterback.” He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1980, and was named to the NFLs 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. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEACON JONES!!!!! {R.I.P} Click on the link below to read more about Black Americans and Events. https://facebook/groups/LeConteLewisJr/
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 16:00:08 +0000