Heroes of Yesteryear: Pro Football’S Dying Breed of Players from a Bygone Era

By Danny Jones

Heroes of Yesteryear: Pro Footballs Dying Breed of Players from a Bygone Era, focuses on forgotten stars from the glorious past. Author Danny Jones has dedicated most of his life preserving the legacies and memories of all-time great football players from the past. His books take a close-up view of Pro Footballs legends and outstanding players who somehow slipped through the cracks of immortality. Most of these guys had the talent and credentials to be in the Hall of Fame- but are not. These men defined a bygone era with their brilliant performances.
These iconic players were a big part of Pro Football in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and a few into the 80s. Its time for them to receive the recognition that they deserve. These guys were the biggest gate attractions and marquee players of their eras. They were as good as anyone who ever played their positions. These stars built the game of football for the fans and players today so they can prosper. We have a competitive game today because of the success and popularity of the players from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Fans need to understand this. These legends of the fall have become distant memories. They were dedicated professionals and were pioneers, trailblazers, and forefathers of Americas game. Lots of statistics in this book. They have already secured their place in Pro Football history. I hope all of you get chosen to the Hall of Fame soon. Enjoy the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524690236

Danny Jones

Danny Jones is 68 years old (born in 1953) and lives with his wife, Tina in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Danny's love and passion for football began during the early60's- Pro Football's golden decade. He played amateur and semi-pro football for over a decade during the 70's and 80's. Danny was a wide receiver and compiled some outstanding statistics during his illustrious career. He caught 302 passes for 5,519 yards and 66 touchdowns. Danny scored 15 touchdowns of 40 or more yards. He wore #19 like his football hero and idol- star receiver Lance Rentzel of the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams. Danny enjoys the simple pleasures of life. He cherishes time spent with his loving wife, Tina. The reason for these books is to give former NFL stars of the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's the recognition they deserve so they can be chosen to the Hall of Fame where they should be. Danny has written 5 football books, including his new book, Trailblazers and Unsung Heroes (2018).His other books are Distant Memories, More Distant Memories, Lost Treasures from the Golden Era of America's Game, and Heroes of Yesteryear (2017). Danny has also written an e-book about the football career of superstar Gale Sayers (2021). Details on Danny's football books can be found on his website: www.starsofthenfl.com or http:www.prweb.com/releases/2015/12/prweb13135291htm

Book preview

© 2017 Danny Jones. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/14/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-9024-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-9023-6 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

KEN ANDERSON

RAYMOND CHESTER

CARROLL DALE

CHUCK FOREMAN

CHARLEY FRAZIER

GARY GARRISON

DAVE GRAYSON

RICH TOMBSTONE JACKSON

STANLEY MORGAN

JIMMY ORR

TO THE ONES WHO

MATTER MOST

This book is dedicated to my lovely wife, Tina, my beautiful dog, Holly, and my pretty cat, Rambo. I love you more than anything in the world. I wouldn’t last a day without you. You give me happiness and joy every day. You light up my life and always make me smile. I am truly blessed. Thank you so much. Tina is the best wife and sweetest person in the world. Rambo is the most lovable and prettiest cat ever and I just wanted to tell her that I love her more than anything. She knows that and I know she loves me too. Rambo stands alone in her beauty and elegance and believe me, she wrote the book on cuteness. This book is also dedicated to my brothers Scotty and Jeff and to my sister Becky. I love them very much and no matter what’s happening in our lives, that will never change. I would like to thank my good friends Homer Jones and Lance Rentzel. They are always pulling for me and care about my happiness. Their support and kindness means the world to me. That’s why they are my 2 best friends and heroes.

THANKS

I would like to thank the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio for the use of their facilities as I did my research. I wanted to recheck and confirm the information that I already had to make sure the data I had on my end was accurate. I was able to gather some new information. I would like to thank my beautiful wife, Tina. She reviewed this book with me and found some corrections for me. She was very patient and understanding as she always is. Thank you so much Tina. I appreciated your help and assistance very much.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book is about legends from a bygone era in the NFL. Some of these stars have been forgotten for over forty years. The others have been over twenty years. Some of the best players in pro football history are in this book, and they have been forgotten by the Hall of Fame. Why? Is it politics, favoritism, prejudice, or a buddy-buddy thing? Whatever it is, these legends are not in Canton, and the system isn’t working.

Change the culture, mind-set, and the voting process to get new faces to do the job. To just automatically put the NFL’s players of today in the Hall of Fame, who have waited only five years or so while many guys of yesteryear have waited forty years, is not fair and is insensitive. Ken Anderson, Raymond Chester, Carroll Dale, Chuck Foreman, Gary Garrison, Dave Grayson, Stanley Morgan, and Jimmy Orr—all of these guys were caliber Hall of Fame players and the biggest gate attractions of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. I have chronicled the careers of ten players and have provided you a glimpse back at their most memorable moments and best seasons of their illustrious careers. You have an up-close and in-depth look at their accomplishments, statistics, and the longest touchdowns of their careers. This book is dedicated to the ten heroes of yesteryear and to the other eighty-one players in my other books. I feel for the forgotten stars because they should be in the Hall of Fame. Their dedication, sacrifices, greatness, and talents that they displayed to millions of fans across America should be acknowledged. It seems that nobody cares that they have become distant memories. America, it’s time to speak up and be heard. I hope that these icons get chosen to the Hall of Fame very soon. Hope you die-hard fans like the book and enjoy your trip into the glorious past.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Danny Jones is 64 years old (born in 1953) and lives with his wife, Tina, in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Danny’s love and passion for football began during the early 60’s- Pro Football’s golden decade. He played amateur and semi-pro football for over a decade during the 70’s and 80’s. Danny was a wide receiver and compiled some outstanding statistics during his career. He caught 302 passes for 5,519 yards and 66 touchdowns. Danny scored 15 touchdowns of 40 or more yards. He wore #19 like his football hero and idol- star receiver Lance Rentzel of the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams.

Danny enjoys the simple pleasures of life. He cherishes time spent with his loving wife, Tina, and pretty cat, Rambo. The reason for these books is to give former NFL stars of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s the recognition they deserve so they can be chosen to the Hall of Fame where they should be.

Danny has written 4 football books, including his new book, Heroes of Yesteryear: Pro Football’s Dying Breed of Players from a Bygone Era (2017). His other books are Distant Memories: The NFL’s Best Ever Players of the 60’s and 70’s and More Distant Memories: Pro Football’s Best Ever Players of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, and Lost Treasures from the Golden Era of America’s Game: Forgotten Heroes and Legends of the 50’s,60’s, and 70’s.

Details on Danny’s football books can be found on his website: www.starsofthenfl.com or http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/12/prweb13135291.htm

FOREWORD TO THE BOOK

HEROES OF YESTERYEAR:

PRO FOOTBALL’S DYING BREED

OF PLAYERS FROM A BYGONE ERA

Heroes of Yesteryear: Pro Football’s Dying Breed of Players from a Bygone Era, is a book about 10 players who should perhaps be in the Hall of Fame- but are not. Most of them have been forgotten for over 40 years. If you fans like statistics, I have a lot of them in this book. Once you read it, you will find out just how good these legends really were. With 91 players in all 4 of my books, all of these stars had the credentials to be in the Hall of Fame. All these guys had a license to thrill and used it every Sunday.

KEN ANDERSON

Position: Quarterback

Height: 6’2"

Weight: 212 lbs.

1971-1986: Cincinnati Bengals

College: Augustana College

In the 70’s and 80’s, Ken Anderson was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Time has forgotten his outstanding accomplishments and he has become a distant memory. He had great poise and knowledge of the game. Ken had strong leadership qualities that all quarterbacks need to have and a total command of the huddle. He always played the percentages and on occasion, took what the defense gave him. But most of the time, he called the plays that he wanted. Then he would throw the bomb to Isaac Curtis, a 9.3 world-class sprinter, and one of the NFL’s all-time great receivers. From 1973-1984, Ken Anderson and Isaac Curtis were one of the NFL’s most dangerous passing combinations. From 1981-1986, near the end of his career, he also had Cris Collinsworth, another all-time great receiver to rely on. They didn’t come any better than those 2 star receivers. Ken never received the notoriety or publicity he deserved because he came from a small college called Augustana in Illinois. It wasn’t a big-time school. He played in an era that included Hall of Fame quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, Fran Tarkenton, Bob Griese, Ken Stabler, and Joe Montana. Very tough to be in the spotlight with those legends. Ken was the quiet, unsung hero and leader of the Cincinnati Bengals. In 1981 and 1982, he started to gain national recognition as one of the premiere quarterbacks in Pro Football. During his illustrious career, Ken was simply one of the most accurate and precise passers in NFL history. He was that good and utilized all of his offensive weapons. Ken was efficient, consistent, intelligent, and would always come up with the big play when you needed it. He liked the short passing game with short passes to his running backs and he was the best at it. Then he would throw the bomb. Either way, he was deadly accurate with those passes. Ken was a fierce competitor and warrior and was second to nobody in that aspect of the game. In 1974-1975, 1981-1982, for 4 seasons, he led the NFL in passing and was the top rated passer. In 1974 and 1975, Ken led the NFL in passing yards. He also led the NFL in completion percentage 3 times in 1974 (64.9), 1982 (70.6- an NFL record until recently), and 1983 (66.7). Ken once completed 20 of 22 passes for 227 yards and set a 90.91 completion percentage against the Steel Curtain in 1974. It was an all-time record of excellence for a single-game (since broken) that stood for years and perhaps against the best defense ever. In 1981, his best season, Ken was voted Most Valuable Player/Player of the Year by FW, AP, NE, SN, MX. He was also selected AFC MVP/Player of the Year by UP and Offensive MVP/Player of the Year by AP, PW. Ken Anderson was simply one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. Somebody needs to explain to the millions of NFL fans why he isn’t in the Hall of Fame. If it’s because the Bengals lost in the 1981 Super Bowl to the 49ers, try again. That wasn’t Ken’s fault. The Seniors Committee has 10 star players in this book to talk about. Time is fleeing. It’s 2017. Ken has already waited 25 years. It’s time he gets in.

In 1971, Ken was the Bengals 3rd round draft choice from little Augustana College in Illinois. Virgil Carter was the other quarterback that he shared playing time with. Ken started 5 games for Cincinnati. He passed for 777 yards and 5 touchdowns. In the 3rd game, against the Packers, he completed 9 of 16 passes for 93 yards and 1 touchdown of 5 yards to receiver Eric Crabtree. It was Ken’s first touchdown pass of his career. The Packers edged the Bengals 20-17. In the 4th game, against the young, talented Miami Dolphins, he completed 11 of 19 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown of 11 yards to tight end Bob Trumpy. The Bengals lost 23-13 to the Dolphins. In the 6th game, against the tough Oakland Raiders, Ken completed 14 of 20 passes for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns- including a 41-yard touchdown to runner Essex Johnson and Ken ran for a 5-yard touchdown. The Raiders barely beat the Bengals 31-27. The Bengals finished the season in last place in the AFC Central division with a 4-10 record. In 1972, Ken won the starting job at quarterback and it was his job for keeps. He passed for 1,918 yards and 7 touchdowns and was 4th in completion percentage in the NFL with a 56.8 percentage. Ken was the 5th ranked passer in the AFC. In the 5th game, against the Chiefs, he completed 14 of 25 passes for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns of 65 to Essex Johnson and 7 yards to Speedy Thomas. The Bengals handled the Chiefs 23-16. In the last game of the season, against the Houston Oilers, Ken completed 20 of 27 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals blew out the Oilers 61-17. The Bengals showed improvement as they posted an 8-6 record.

In 1973, Ken Anderson came into his own as a top quarterback in the NFL while directing the