Remembering Deacon Jones, Esther Williams, Marvin Junior

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• published: 02 Jul 2013
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Master Of The Quarterback Sack THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, MGM'S MERMAID, AND THE DELLS David "Deacon" Jones was one of the finest defensive ends to play in the NFL. A gentle man off the field, he was perhaps the fiercest pass rusher in history, and most people consider him the greatest Los Angeles Ram player ever. He and his three defensive line teammates earned the famous moniker, The Fearsome Foursome. Esther Williams was one of MGM's greatest stars in the 1940's and 1950's, and her name is synonymous with swimming pools. She captivated audiences worldwide with her wonderful performances in the water. Marvin Junior was one of the members of The Dells, one of the great underrated black R & B groups of the1950's and 1960's. Their biggest hit, Oh What A Night , first released in 1956 is an R & B classic. David D. "Deacon" Jones (December 9, 1938 -- June 3, 2013) was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980. Jones specialized in quarterback "sacks", a term which he coined. Nicknamed the "The Secretary of Defense", Jones is considered one of the greatest defensive players ever.[1] 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 fourteenth 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.[5] He became a part of the Fearsome Foursome defensive line of the Rams (along with Lamar Lundy, Rosey Grier and Olsen), which is now considered to have been one of the best defensive lines of all time.[6] "I'm probably the toughest (expletive) here. Ain't no question about that with me. I'm the toughest guy here... I'm clean. I mean, I ain't got no marks on me. I don't know nobody else who can say that who came out of any sport. I ain't got no marks on me, so I've got to be the baddest dude I know of." Jones, in an interview with Kevin Jackson[7] 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.[5] He was voted the team's 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 multi-player trade with the San Diego Chargers where he was an instant success.[5] He was named San Diego's 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.[5] In his final game of his NFL career, the Redskins allowed him to kick the point after touchdown for the game's 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. Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 -- June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie actress. Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the outbreak of World War II, she joined Billy Rose's Aquacade, where she took on the role vacated by Eleanor Holm after the show's move from New York City to San Francisco. While in the city, she spent five months swimming alongside Olympic gold medal winner and Tarzan star, Johnny Weissmuller.[1] Williams caught the attention of MGM scouts at the Aquacade. After appearing in several small roles, alongside Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy film, and future five time co-star Van Johnson in A Guy Named Joe, Williams made a series of films in the 1940s and early 1950s known as "aquamusicals," which featured elaborate performances with synchronized swimming and diving. From 1945 to 1949, Williams had at least one film listed among the 20 highest grossing films of the year. In 1952, Williams appeared in her only biographical role, as Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman in Million Dollar Mermaid, which went on to become her nickname while at MGM. Williams left MGM in 1956 and appeared in a handful of unsuccessful feature films, followed by several extremely popular water-themed television specials, including one from Cypress Gardens, Florida.