Headslap: The Life and Times of Deacon Jones [Hardcover]

John Klawitter (Author), Deacon Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1996

From a small rural town in Florida to the NFL Hall of Fame, this is the story of Deacon's rise to the top of the heap in the National Football League. "Headslap" refers to the lightning move popularised by Jones in the early days of the game, when a player could rattle the cage (or at least the helmet) of a blocker by belting him alongside the head. And Deacon did this better than anyone in the game. They weren't jabs; they were full left hooks and right crosses. So devastating was this move that the League outlawed it. "Headslap" has a deeper meaning as well: it's the jarring feeling you get when you realise that things aren't always what they might seem to be.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Football Hall of Famer Jones, widely considered the best defensive end in the history of the game, played from 1960 to 1975, mostly with the Los Angeles Rams, then with the San Diego Chargers and the Washington Redskins. This outstanding sports book, however, does not concentrate on his exploits on the field, notable though they were. Klawitter (Crazyhead) takes Jones through his reminiscences of the dangerous existence of a young black man in the Deep South of the 1950s; the obstacles put in the way of black players by owners who viewed all their team members as chattel, but especially blacks; inept coaches, many selected by owners because they were pliable, if not obsequious, who had little idea of how to encourage maximum performance from athletes. Some readers may be wary of a book of such length about a jock, but they will find interesting revelations throughout. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 570 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573920827
• ISBN-13: 978-1573920827
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #413,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Multi-talented John Klawitter is a writer, producer, film & video director, song lyric writer and published author of fiction and non fiction books. Based in Hollywood, he's worked for major studios, indy companies and run his own production company. He's written and produced for CBS, NBC, Disney, The Disney Channel, Paramount, Universal, Atlantis Productions, and many others. He's also worked on animation projects for Disney, Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera, Phil Mendez Productions, Zoiyu Productions (Japan), Pink Planet Productions (Holland) and Franke Films (Finland). He has directed short films featuring a wide range of stars and personalities, including Bill Cosby, Ali MacGraw, Jane Alexander, Jacqueline Bisset, Ray Bradbury, George Plimpton, Leslie Nielsen, and many others.

His film writing includes the political documentaries Scene: Politic (EMMY AWARD)and World Cities; the Television Specials The Great American Dreammobile, Le Mans, The Adventures of Sports Goofy, and Here comes Sam (The Olympic Eagle). He has also adapted several novels to screenplay format, most notably HOBBERDY DICK by K.M. Briggs, STYX by Christopher Hyde, MONSTER TALES by Phil Mendez, and his own novel CRAZYHEAD.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a not a self-serving biography. I learned a lot., December 6, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Headslap: The Life and Times of Deacon Jones (Hardcover)

I met Deacon Jones about two months after I read this book. I felt like I had actually known him for a long time and even played with him. The author did a great job in describing the man, especially his youth in Florida, during the fifties. If you like sports and understand the discipline and dedication that a good athlete puts into his profession you will experience it in this documentary that reads like a novel. In some ways, this book is a history of the NFL as seen through the practical eyes of a humble and sincere young man who came from a small town in the "old south" and was never groomed for college or the NFL. This is the first biography that I read completely without getting tired of all the subject's glories. The book is not self-serving. It should be mandatory reading for all high school athletes especially football players and their coaches. Submitted by: Stanley Strychaz West Hills, Californi

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HeadSlap, October 18, 2002

By 

Rhonda Greenly - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Headslap: The Life and Times of Deacon Jones (Hardcover)

I have idolized Deacon Jones all of my life, and this book really made The Deacon out to be everything I thought he was. The reason I liked the book so much was the fact that it not only covered his unrealistically impressive football career, but also covered his entire life from childhood all the way through his retirement from the NFL. It really gave you a real feel of the hard, grueling times he went through back in the days of racism and presidium. I recommend this book for anyone, even those who are not interested in football, fore is a book far from only being about football, but a book of struggle, anger, distress, and overcoming all obstacles in order to succeed greatly in life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, important book, but apparently flawed, January 29, 2004

By 

Ralph R. Echtinaw (Alma, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Headslap: The Life and Times of Deacon Jones (Hardcover)

I hadn't expected to enjoy the account of Jones' early days leading up to his pro football career. But that was the best part of the book. Once I got halfway through his career I started skipping large chunks of text.

The football tales were interesting, but not engrossing. What makes the book worthwhile to me is the account of Jones' struggle with racism through most of his life, including his early years in the NFL.

That said, I was disappointed to see that the book is written in semi-fiction style in that whole conversations that were never taped or even could have been taped are reproduced as if they were transcribed by a stenographer. It seems obvious that the authors made it up. That doesn't necessarily mean that the conversations presented don't accurately reflect what was said at the time. But the authors don't even acknowledge that they have put words in people's mouths.

In the same vein, I got the impression that some of the stories of Jones' life, as presented in the book, are apocryphal, or at least based mainly on Jones' memory.

For example, one story has Jones meeting Jackie Robinson as a teenager. He had just seen a Dodgers game and witnessed a white player step on Robinson's hand. He said something to Robinson along the lines of