Rams to retire No. 75, worn by Deacon Jones
Kathleen Nelson gives us the following update:
Better late than never, the St. Louis Rams will retire No. 75, worn by Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones, who played for the Rams from 1961 to 1971 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980.
For St. Louis Rams fans who are unfamiliar with Jones, here are a few career highlights:
Nicknames surrounded Jones, born in 1938 in Eatonville, Fla. He is credited with coining the term “sack the quarterback” and was nicknamed Secretary of Defense. Through most of the ‘60s, Jones teamed with Merlin Olsen, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier to make up the defensive line known as the Fearsome Foursome.
Jones accumulated 159.5 sacks with the Los Angeles Rams, 173.5 in his career. After leaving the Rams, Jones played for Chargers and Redskins. Other achievements include:
First defensive lineman to record 100 solo tackles in a single season, 1967.
Two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, 1967 and 1968.
Nine-time Pro Bowler.
Member of the NFL’s all-Decade team in the 1960s.
Member of the NFL’s 75th Anniversary team in 1994.
No word on when the Rams will hold the retirement ceremony.
Yes, it is about time.
Congratulations, Mr. Jones.
YES!!! Congratulations to Mr. David “Deacon” Jones!!!
All the NFL commentators through the years have mentioned that Deacon Jones would probably have been the sack leader over Bruce Smith and Reggie white however they did not keep track of sack during Deacon’s playing days so where do these stats come from?
Although I live in Massachusetts, I’ll have to find a way to get to the Number 75 retirement ceremony. Don’t want to miss it!
the stlouis rams rule the la rams suck HARD! stlouis rams for life
Awesome! I had his poster along with Gabriel and Olson on my wall when I was a kid and I lived in N.Y. They started a tradition of exciting defense that went through the 70s for the most part. I’d like to see them retire it with a lot of the defensive stars the Rams have had over the years and play in the throwback jerseys for the game.
It is about time that (Dave) Deacon Jones gets his number retired. Many people, including John Madden, believed Jones was the sack leader of all time because he was sacking QB’s before it was being counted.
Congrats to Deacon Jones!!!!
Chip again thank you for finally honoring this most deserving individual.
Mr. David Deacon Jones aka Secretary of Defense.
One more suggestion please hire someone to do a better job with the team website. There are a lot of bright minds in the area that can make it exceptional, it needs some serious attention.
…too bad Deacon had to head slap the organization to get this, long overdue, thing done!!!!!!
Yo, Yo lets not forget the famous head slap he was known for. Deacon Jones was a head ach waiting to happen. Thanks for the memories Deacon.