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.
I know diddly freaking squat about football and even I’ve heard of Deacon Jones!
I’m glad he’s finally getting well-deserved recognition.
Certainly it was the lone extra point he kicked in his last game that made the Deacon worthy of this honor….even if it was for the Redskins. With all due apologies to Mr. Buck, I remember watching that game and thinking to myself, “I can’t believe what I just saw.”
Congratulations Deac….long overdue.
Its about time - way to go Deacon!
I can’t beleive it has taken so long for Deacon’s number to be retired.
The following players have thier numbers retired, and all of then except Bob Waterfield came after Deacon.
7 Bob Waterfield
28 Marshall Faulk
29 Eric Dickerson
74 Merlin Olsen
78 Jackie Slater
85 Jack Youngblood
All these are great players, but it about Frikking time the Secretary of Defense was honored.
Eric, Marshall, Jackie, Jack, Merlin and Bob make some room, cuz the Deacon is in the house now.
It’s about dang time! David “Deacon” Jones was so much fun to watch at the Coliseum when I was a kid. For those who never saw him play, look up some old film. He was better than any other DL in history. If the NFL had been keeping track of sacks during his entire career, he’d be the all-time leader.
I THINK THEY SHOULD RETIRE THE WHOLE FEASRSOME FOURSOME AT ONE TIME . THEY WERE ONE OF THE BEST IF NOT THE BEST EVER ,AS A UNIT . EACH ONE MAKING THE OTHER BETTER .
The Deacon revolutionized this position like no other in the history of the NFL. The Fearsome Foursome outplayed and were more feared than the Purple People Eaters or Steel Curtain. They receive less notoriety due to no Super Bowl appearances and questionable team management.