Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Had a Twitter exchange was conace21 (Adam C) about that 1972 season
and I'd forgotten some details and went down the wormhole of
seeing when he switched from "Deacon" to "D.Jones".

Turns out it was week 10, vs Chiefs at Arrowhead. He wore "D. Jones" the final four weeks on
both the blue and white jerseys.

The previous week he had "Deacon" on MNF vs Browns ... and of course weeks prior
Week 8 was vs Dallas.

It made me wonder if the national exposure during those two weeks triggered the change.

Maybe Tex Schramm noticed it (a stickler for rules --- remember he's the one who questioned
Tom Dempsey's shoe after the 63-yard field goal as not being legal) and then the MNF game
put it in everyone's face ... or maybe it took a week to get a letter out and the seams-person
got it done for week 10.

Seems late in the season for a change .. why not let it go for the final month?

In the 1973 preseason it was "Jones, D." on the all-white, no-stripes jerseys until they got the actual game
jerseys.

Anyway -- couple of shots

During the Rams 1971 MNF game against Washington and George Allen, the ABC announcers called Jones David or Dave. I've watched a video of the game and it sounds silly. Jones was known as Deacon Jones. Offensive linemen had other names for him, but he was known as Deacon to the fans and it was silly to pretend anything else.

Lee Elder wrote: ↑Fri Jun 28, 2024 9:45 pm During the Rams 1971 MNF game against Washington and George Allen, the ABC announcers called Jones David or Dave. I've watched a video of the game and it sounds silly. Jones was known as Deacon Jones. Offensive linemen had other names for him, but he was known as Deacon to the fans and it was silly to pretend anything else.

Yeah, got that game on videotape maybe 27-28 years ago ... (it's one with Andy Reid in the PP&K competition) and remember them doing that. Were they trying to be contrarian? Respectful? Cool? Like "everyone else calls him 'Deacon' we'll call him "David" to be quaint and familiar? Agree, kind of odd.

I found the video. Frank Gifford has called him "Dave Jones" four times by the end of the first drive.

You can actually hear the stadium announcer saying "tackle made by Deacon Jones," after he tackled Larry Brown.

Othe next drive, Deacon jumped offsides, and Gifford again called him "Dave." Cosell intoned, "David is known to do that from time to time." ABC put up a graphic "75 -Deacon Jones" and Cosell smoothly continued, "We we just advised... that some people call David 'Deacon', but Dandy and I have elected to call him David." Meredith responded, "I call him 'Mr. Jones.'"