Honors He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1980, and was named to the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994. In 1999, he was ranked number 13 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranked player to have played for the Rams franchise, the highest-ranked defensive end, and the second-ranked defensive lineman behind Bob Lilly. The same year, he was named by Sports Illustrated as the "Defensive End of the Century". In 2010, he was named to the inaugural class of the Black College Football Hall of Fame. 1980 – Elected to South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame 1981 – Voted to the Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame 1983 – Elected to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame 1999 – Recipient of the Gale Sayers Lifetime Spirit Achievement Award 1999 – Awarded "The Order of the Leather Helmet" by the NFL Alumni Organization, their highest honor 2001 – Winner of the NFL Alumni Spirit Award for community service 2005 – Recipient of the Junior Seau Foundation "Legend of the Year Award" 2007 – Named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team which selected the Top 33 players in the 100-year history of high school football in Florida's history 2009 – His number 75 was retired by the Rams on September 27, 2009. 2013 – An award for the league leader in sacks is named in his honor and awarded for the first time. Robert Mathis of the Indianapolis Colts was the inaugural award winner. Personal life Jones stated that he gave himself the nickname Deacon after joining the Rams because too many David Joneses were in the local phone book. "Football is a violent world and Deacon has a religious connotation," he told the Los Angeles Times in 1980. "I thought a name like that would be remembered." Jones' wife Elizabeth is the chief operating and financial officer of the Deacon Jones Foundation, based in Anaheim Hills, California, the community in which the couple lived. Jones was a rhythm and blues singer during his football days, and was backed by the band Nightshift, which later became the group War. Jones sang onstage with Ray Charles, performed on The Hollywood Palace in 1967 and 1968, and on The Merv Griffin Show in 1970. Jones was the inspiration for the name of the 1977