Pittsburg, Tx, Texas Southern and the inventor of the touchdown spike.
Homer Jones was a lightning-quick wide receiver for the New York Giants, who didn't play much his rookie season in 1964. But in the fifth game of the 1965 season, on Oct. 17, he got his first career start against the Philadelphia Eagles at Yankee Stadium.
He had seen teammates Frank Gifford and Alex Webster hurl footballs into the stands after scoring touchdowns, and he ached to emulate them. The problem was NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle had outlawed the practice in the offseason and attached a $50 fine to the flippant act.
Thus, Jones was conflicted after he caught a second-quarter, 89-yard pass from Earl Morrall.
"I was fixing to throw it into the grandstand," Jones remembered. "But just as I was raising my arm, the reality snapped into my head. Mr. Rozelle would have fined me. That was a lot of money in those days. So I just threw the ball down into the end zone, into the grass. Folks got excited, and I did it for the rest of my career."
It was a short, almost back-handed deposit -- not the flamboyant mega-spike you see today. Nevertheless, 50 years ago, a financial necessity became the brilliant mother of invention. In a word: history.
He called it "The Spike."
nypost.com
Homer Jones was a lightning-quick wide receiver for the New York Giants, who didn't play much his rookie season in 1964. But in the fifth game of the 1965 season, on Oct. 17, he got his first career start against the Philadelphia Eagles at Yankee Stadium.
He had seen teammates Frank Gifford and Alex Webster hurl footballs into the stands after scoring touchdowns, and he ached to emulate them. The problem was NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle had outlawed the practice in the offseason and attached a $50 fine to the flippant act.
Thus, Jones was conflicted after he caught a second-quarter, 89-yard pass from Earl Morrall.
"I was fixing to throw it into the grandstand," Jones remembered. "But just as I was raising my arm, the reality snapped into my head. Mr. Rozelle would have fined me. That was a lot of money in those days. So I just threw the ball down into the end zone, into the grass. Folks got excited, and I did it for the rest of my career."
It was a short, almost back-handed deposit -- not the flamboyant mega-spike you see today. Nevertheless, 50 years ago, a financial necessity became the brilliant mother of invention. In a word: history.
He called it "The Spike."
Former Giants WR Homer Jones dead at 82 — first player to spike football after a touchdown
Homer Jones, the Giants wide receiver who made two Pro Bowls in the 1960s and is recognized as the first player to spike a football after scoring a touchdown, died at 82, following a battle with lu…
nypost.com
