1980 Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ring Presented to Deacon Jones....

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Sold on Jul 30, 2015 for:

$33,460.00 Bid Source: HA.com/Live bidder

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The "Secretary of Defense" is immortalized at Canton

1980 Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ring Presented to Deacon Jones. "When I see guys huddling up after the game to pray, that's what scares me about the game," Jones once told reporters. "I'm a Baptist, but I'm a quarterback killer, and I ain't praying with you. I'll give you 30 seconds to ask your Lord and master to keep me from killing you." The leader of the Los Angeles Rams' Fearsome Foursome, Jones was one of the most intimidating players in history of the National Football League, and one of the most prolific sackers of quarterbacks that ever played, though the statistic was not counted during Jones' career.

In fact, it was Jones himself who coined the term, explaining to a Los Angeles Times reporter, "You take all the offensive linemen and put them in a burlap bag, and then you take a baseball bat and beat on the bag. You're sacking them, you're bagging them. And that's what you're doing with a quarterback." Few players revolutionized the defensive game like Jones, whose sideline-to-sideline speed was unprecedented for a man of his size. He would earn eight Pro Bowl appearances and unofficial ownership of the single-season sacks record in fourteen NFL seasons to waltz into Canton on the first Hall of Fame ballot.

Offered here is the ring presented to Jones that day, a piece of jewelry symbolizing the sport's most elite brotherhood. The logo of the Hall of Fame is embossed in gold onto a blue stone on the ring's face, which is encircled by raised text reporting, "Pro Football's Hall of Fame." Left shank is engraved "Defensive End" above imagery of the museum's facade, while right shank features imagery of game action framed between engraved text reading, "Deacon Jones" and "Elected 1980." Interior band is stamped "Balfour 10K" and measures to a size twelve and a half (12.5).

It is important to stress that this is the original ring presented to Jones at his 1980 induction, a ring that was lost for a number of years but later recovered and returned to Jones' widow in 2014. A year earlier, Jones' replacement ring was sold at auction for $15,000. This original is considerably more significant, and comes to us with a letter of provenance from Jones' stepson. Letter of provenance from family of Deacon Jones.

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