Homer Jones Pittsburg native and a legend in his own right

ou may not know the name Homer Carroll Jones, but he is an NFL legend in his own right, most notably for inventing the “spike” and being the rst Yplayer ever to return a kicko for a touchdown on Monday Night Football. Jones is still one of the most recognized and valued players in the New York Giants franchise and was a feared scoring threat in the 60s. In high school, Mr. Jones ran a blinding 9.3 second 100-yard dash and ran the 200-yard dash in 19.9 seconds; he also ran for the United States track team. Homer played college ball at Texas Southern University where he was one of the fastest athletes on the team, and in Texas Southern University history. Jones was drafted rst by the Houston Oilers, but was later cut for failing a physi- cal due to a knee injury. He was later picked up by the Giants and the rest was history. Homer was given the number 45, which was previously worn by hall of famer Emlen Tunnell. Jones’ 66.4 yards per game is still a record for the Giants and his 4,845 total receiving yards and 35 touchdowns are fth in Giants history. He was selected as the Giants most valuable player in 1967 for his 49 catches for 1,209 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 86.4 yards per game performance.  e honor entitled Jones to a brand new Cadillac as well. Homer nished his career with the Cleveland Browns in 1970.  ough it may come as a surprise, Jones didn’t play sports as a child and only got into football when he saw his idol, Jim Brown wreaking havoc on defenses. “He was performing and doing his best and at that time it was a scary thing; he was good,” said Jones. Even still, he only played a year of high school football, but he was a lightning bolt. Jones said another Pittsburg resident persuaded him to come to Texas Southern for college and it was something he had to adjust to. “I only played one year of high school ball and college was a bit more 102 N. Greer Blvd. advanced so I had to get used to it, but I just kept at it. My greatest accomplish- ment in college was beating Grambling.” Pittsburg, TX Homer said his overall greatest accomplishment though was beating the Dal- las Cowboys as a New York Giant. Ever the humble man, Homer wouldn’t dare laud his invention of the “spike.” 6 AM – 10 PM Daily Having seen players such as Giant teammate Frank Gi ord and Green Bay Pack- ers star Paul Hornung celebrate touchdowns by throwing the ball to fans in the stands, Jones decided to come up with his own post-touchdown maneuver. In a 1965 game, he scored a touchdown and threw the football down hard into the end zone. He called the move a “spike”, and modern post-touchdown celebra- tions, including “touchdown dances”, are said to have evolved from Jones’ invention of spiking the ball. In January 1970, Jones was traded to the Browns in exchange for running back Ron Johnson and veteran defensive lineman Jim Kanicki.  e Browns were in the market for a new wide receiver after having traded all-pro Paul Warf- ield to the Miami Dolphins. In the team’s rst game of the 1970 NFL season on Sept. 21, 1970 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Jones returned the second-half kicko against the New York Jets for a touchdown, a key play in the Browns’ 31-21 win over the Jets in front of 85,703 fans.  e crowd, o cially the largest crowd in Browns’ his- tory, was a part of NFL history that evening in the rst game ever played on ABC’s Monday Night Football. However, that touchdown would be the highlight of his one season with the Browns as knee injuries soon caught up with Jones. Soon after being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in July 1971, he was forced to retire at age 29.

January 2017 IN & AROUND PITTSBURG • 45