Goodbye to Homer Jones at the age of 82.
The speedy Jones averaged over twenty-two yards a catch (an NFL record even today) over his career after the Giants selected him in the twentieth round in the 1964 draft and he would make two Pro Bowls for the Giants.
Jones is also credited as the first player to spike the football after a touchdown and was the star of the first-ever Monday Night Football game in 1970 when he returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the Browns in their win over the Jets.
The Browns had traded running back Ron Johnson (their first-rounder in 1969) and defensive lineman Jim Kanicki to the Giants for Jones in expectations of Jones replacing the production of Paul Warfield, whom they had traded to Miami in order to draft quarterback Mike Phipps.
Jones would catch only ten passes for the Browns, despite playing in all fourteen games and would be out of the league after the season, while Johnson would twice rush over one thousand yards for the Giants.
Goodbye to Daniel Ellsberg at the age of 92.
Ellsberg is thought of by some as a hero and others as a traitor for his role in the leaking of the famous "Pentagon Papers", which unveiled the Top Secret files of the defense department's history of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War.
Ellsberg was brought to trial in 1973 under the 1917 espionage act among other charges but had all charges dismissed by Judge William Matthew Byrne.
Ellsberg was also a key portion of Watergate, as one of the "Plumbers" break-ins was at Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office in search of damaging information on Ellsberg.
Ellsberg spent much of his time after his court cases involved in liberal causes, whistleblower protection, and anti-nuclear weapons work.
Goodbye to Bob Brown at the age of 81.
The Hall of Fame offensive tackle was the second overall pick in the 1964 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, winning the Rookie of the Year award which isn't an easy award to win for an offensive lineman.
Brown was named to the first or second-team All-Pro teams in nine of his ten seasons with the Eagles, Rams, and Raiders, and won the NFLPA's Offensive Lineman of the Year for three consecutive seasons from 1968-70.
"The Boomer" was part of history in 1971 with Oakland as the Raiders could occasionally send out an entire offensive line of future Hall of Famers with Gene Upshaw, Art Shell, Ron Mix, Jim Otto, and Brown.
Goodbye to Brison Manor at the age of 70.
Manor spent most of his nine-year NFL career with the Denver Broncos other than the final few games of the 1984 season after Denver traded him to Tampa Bay at midseason.
Manor was a key part of the Bronco defensive line for their "Orange Crush" defense, which led the franchise to their first three playoff seasons from 1977-79.
Manor recovered a key fumble in the 1977 AFC title game for Denver in their win over the Oakland Raiders and finished his career with twenty-three sacks with a high of six and a half in 1979.
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