Joe Jones (defensive end)

American football player (born 1948)

Not to be confused with Joe Jones (tight end), Joseph Jones (American football), or Joey Jones (American football).

American football player

Joe JonesNo. 80, 64, 77

Position:| Defensive end
Personal information
Born:|  (1948-01-07) January 7, 1948 (age 77)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height:| 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:| 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
College:| Tennessee State
NFL draft:| 1970: 2nd round, 36th pick
Career history

* Cleveland Browns (1970–1973)
* Philadelphia Eagles (1974–1975)
* Cleveland Browns (1975–1978)
* Washington Redskins (1979–1980)

Career highlights and awards

* First-team Little All-American (1969)

Career NFL statistics
| Sacks:| 46.5

|

Fumble recoveries:| 5
Interceptions:| 1
Defensive TDs:| 1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Joseph Willie "Turkey" Jones (born January 7, 1948) is a former American football defensive end who spent eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Cleveland Browns (1970–1973; 1975–1978), Philadelphia Eagles (1974–1975) and Washington Redskins (1979–1980).

## Turkey nickname

[edit]

Per Jones' daughter, Leone Jones Hopewell, he did earn his "Turkey" nickname just before Thanksgiving during his rookie season with the Browns in 1970. The veterans on the team pulled a prank on the rookies by sending them off to distant farms to get nonexistent "free turkeys" for the holiday. Jones continued his futile search for hours, long after his fellow rookies had abandoned theirs. He fell for the same prank again the following year.[1] The not-true story his nickname was because he bobbed his head like a turkey when he ran so some college teammates started calling him Turkey.[2] By the end of his rookie season, he had worked his way into the starting lineup, but a knee injury sidelined him in 1972. Cleveland traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1974, but he was cut the next year, and he re-signed with Cleveland.

## Terry Bradshaw incident

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In 1976, Jones was back in the starting lineup when Pittsburgh rolled into Cleveland for a game with their biggest rivals, the Browns. Although Hal Lebovitz called it Jones' best game at the end of the third quarter, Jones' legacy as the instigator in one of the dirtiest plays in recent memory was made in the 4th. Jones lined up for a play, beat the offensive lineman (Larry Brown) and wrapped his arms around quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Whistles blew, but Jones ignored them and lifted Bradshaw up high, and slammed the Pittsburgh QB on his head. As Bradshaw laid there motionless on the ground, the officials marched off a 15-yard penalty for roughing. Bradshaw ended up with a concussion, and Jones ended up with a $3,000 fine.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Henkel, Frank M. (May 13, 2005). Cleveland Browns History. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738534282 - via Google Books.
2. ^ Posnanski, Joe (November 15, 2019). "Posnanski's Browns Diary: Era of Turkey Jones is over; Myles Garrett marred his career forever". The Athletic. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Turkey Jones' tackle of Terry Bradshaw on YouTube

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Cleveland Browns 1970 NFL draft selections

* Mike Phipps
* Bob McKay
* Joe Jones
* Jerry Sherk
* Rick Stevenson
* Steve Engel
* Mike Cilek
* Craig Wycinsky
* Honester Davidson
* Geoff Brown
* William Yanchar
* Gene Benner
* Jerry Sanders
* Larry Roberts
* Jim Tharpe
* Guy Homoly
* John Redebaugh
* Charley Tabb

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