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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Deacon Jones, Harry Carson, Joe Montford, Willie Jeffries, Donnie Shell, John Gilliam, Dextor Clinkscale, Orlando Brown, Kenny Bynum, Robert Porcher, Barney Bussey, Charlie Brown, Derek Watson, James Lee, Anthony Cook, Zach Thomas, Rickey Anderson, Barney Chavous, Freddie L. Solomon, Lewis Kelly, Wendell Tucker, Dwayne Harper, Willie Holman, Rufus Bess, William Judson, Arther Love, Edwin Bailey, Darius Hadley. Excerpt:Date of birth: : May 30, 1972 (1972-05-30) Anthony Andrew Cook (born May 30, 1972 in Bennettsville , South Carolina ) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the Houston Oilers . He played college football at South Carolina State University and was drafted in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft. Websites (URLs online) A hyperlinked version of this chapter is at Date of birth: : September 18, 1977 (1977-09-18) Arther Lee Love (born September 18, 1977 in Soperton, Georgia ) is a former professional American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . A hyperlinked version of this chapter is at Date of birth: : May 20, 1962 (1962-05-20) Barney Bussey (born May 20, 1962 in Lincolnton, Georgia ) is a former American football safety. He attended high school at Lincoln County High School in Lincolnton, Georgia where he was a major reason behind Lincoln County's defensive success in the late '70s. Bussey was a terror on both sides of the ball, breaking long runs and chasing down QBs. In 1979, he was named to the Class AA All-State team. Bussey then attended D-IAA South Carolina State , where he became an All-American Defensive Back. After college, Bussey was selected in the 1st round (8th overall) of the 1984 USFL Draft by the Memphis Showboats in January 1984. Fo... ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Jerry Rice, Deacon Jones, Corey Holmes, Fred Bohannon, Tyrone Timmons, Willie Totten, Ashley Ambrose, Thaddeus Coleman, Bob Gaddis, Joe Thomas, Parnell Dickinson, Melvin Morgan, Ted Washington, Sr., Vincent Brown, Ricky Feacher, Donald Sweeney, Joseph Todd. Excerpt:item Position(s) Cornerback : Jersey #(s) 33, 43 item Born: September 17, 1970 (1970-09-17) New Orleans, Louisiana item Career information item Year(s) : 1992 2004 item NFL Draft : 1992 / Round: 2 / Pick: 29 item College : Mississippi Valley State item Professional teams item item Career stats item INT : 42 item INT yards: 512 item Touchdowns : 3 item Stats at NFL.com item Career highlights and awards item Ashley Avery Ambrose (born September 17, 1970 in New Orleans, Louisiana ) is a former professional American football cornerback for several NFL teams during the 1990s and early 2000s. He was a one time Pro Bowl selection in 1996 while he was playing with the Cincinnati Bengals , the team for which he played from 1996- 1998. Ambrose also played for the Indianapolis Colts from 1992-1995, the New Orleans Saints in 1999 and again in 2003 and 2004 and for the Atlanta Falcons from 2000-2002. He attended Mississippi Valley State University and has forty-two career interceptions for 512 yards and three touchdowns . Prior to the 2005 season, he tried out for the Kansas City Chiefs . Ashley Ambrose was hired as a defensive technical intern for the University of Colorado football team's 2008 season. In May of 2009, Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins announced that Ambrose would take over as the Buffs wide receivers coach in 2010 after being mentored by Coach Hawkins during the 2009 season. References (URLs online) A hyperlinked version of this chapter is at item Position(s) Wide Receiver : Jersey #(s) 15, 22 item Born: January ... ... Read more

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More than a simple story, Headslap brings to full view the NFL during the 1960s and 1970s--a time of incredible upheaval and change in the United States. These were tough times for black players as they tried to play the game while confronting prejudice and misconceptions that kept young stars from shining, such as Deacon Jones. Photo insert. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good book, important book, but apparently flawed
I hadn't expected to enjoy the account of Jones' early days leading up to his pro football career. But that was the best part of the book. Once I got halfway through his career I started skipping large chunks of text.

The football tales were interesting, but not engrossing. What makes the book worthwhile to me is the account of Jones' struggle with racism through most of his life, including his early years in the NFL.

That said, I was disappointed to see that the book is written in semi-fiction style in that whole conversations that were never taped or even could have been taped are reproduced as if they were transcribed by a stenographer. It seems obvious that the authors made it up. That doesn't necessarily mean that the conversations presented don't accurately reflect what was said at the time. But the authors don't even acknowledge that they have put words in people's mouths.

In the same vein, I got the impression that some of the stories of Jones' life, as presented in the book, are apocryphal, or at least based mainly on Jones' memory.

For example, one story has Jones meeting Jackie Robinson as a teenager. He had just seen a Dodgers game and witnessed a white player step on Robinson's hand. He said something to Robinson along the lines of

HeadSlap
I have idolized Deacon Jones all of my life, and this book really made The Deacon out to be everything I thought he was.The reason I liked the book so much was the fact that it not only covered his unrealistically impressive football career, but also covered his entire life from childhood all the way through his retirement from the NFL.It really gave you a real feel of the hard, grueling times he went through back in the days of racism and presidium.I recommend this book for anyone, even those who are not interested in football, fore is a book far from only being about football, but a book of struggle, anger, distress, and overcoming all obstacles in order to succeed greatly in life.

This is a not a self-serving biography. I learned a lot.
I met Deacon Jones about two months after I read this book. I felt like I had actually known him for a long time and even played with him. The author did a great job in describing the man, especially his youth in Florida, during the fifties. If you like sports and understand the discipline and dedication that a good athlete puts into his profession you will experience it in this documentary that reads like a novel. In some ways, this book is a history of the NFL as seen through the practical eyes of a humble and sincere young man who came from a small town in the "old south" and was never groomed for college or the NFL. This is the first biography that I read completely without getting tired of all the subject's glories. The book is not self-serving. It should be mandatory reading for all high school athletes especially football players and their coaches. Submitted by: Stanley Strychaz West Hills, Californi ... Read more

Product Description
As one of the greatest football players of the 20th Century Deacon Jones learned that it would take more than size and speed to be the best defensive end in the NFL. He knew that extraordinary mental toughness would keep him at the peak of his game. After he retired from football, Deacon continued to use his winning attitude to help him to recreate his success off the gridiron. The Book of Deacon is a collection of sayings that represents the mental and spiritual essence of a modern day warrior.

As an integral member of the Los Angeles Rams legendary Fearsome Foursome, Deacon Jones was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980. Deacon’s combination of speed and tenacity made him one of the leading pass rushers in NFL history and the 13th greatest football player to have played in the NFL by Sporting News. Today, the Deacon Jones Foundation is instrumental in helping academically qualified inner city students find personal and financial success by providing scholarships and mentoring programs.

The Book of Deacon is a combination of down home wisdom, gridiron determination, and modern motivation to help anyone to succeed in the game of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Black Oral Wisdom From The Old Country
This is an attempt to catch time in a bottle, to preserve a bit of a way of thinking for future generations, the actual way the first generations of American negroes thought when they brought their culture from Africa, preserved through the generations in a unique way.One would think it might be better to record this history as an audio book, and there is some truth in that; but oral wisdom can be elusive as a moth in the night; it is best when spontaneous, when it takes flight in unconscious reaction to the events of the moment.The direct observation: the individual who related this wisdom, the legendary football star and celebrity Deacon Jones, freezes a bit under the mike, as most people do.So I did what I could; while writing his biography (Headslap) in the early 1990's, I took hand-written notes, and this book is the result of that often frantic scribbling, to capture as much as I could of the flavor and the essence of the way his mind works, the way his people and his people's people taught him in a direct and unadulterated line over the generations. ... Read more