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Jon Arnett

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Jon Arnett
No. 26, 21
Position:Halfback,
Return specialist
Personal information
Born:(1935-04-20)April 20, 1935
Los Angeles, California,U.S.
Died:January 16, 2021(2021-01-16)(aged 85)
Lake Oswego, Oregon,U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:197 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school:Manual Arts (CA)
College:USC
NFL draft:1957/ round: 1 / pick:2
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:123
Starts:85
Yards Rushing:3,833(4.0 average)
Yards Receiving:2,290(10.3 average)
KRyards:3,110(24.7 average)
PRyards:981(8.2 average)
Touchdowns:39
Player stats atPFR

Jon Dwane"Jaguar Jon"Arnett(April 20, 1935 – January 16, 2021) was an American professionalfootballplayer. He was a first-teamAll-Americanout ofUSCand was chosen in the first round, second pick overall, of the1957 NFL draftby theLos Angeles Rams.

During a successful 10-year career in theNational Football League,Arnett was selected five consecutive times to thePro Bowlfrom 1957 to 1961 before chronic knee pain reduced his effectiveness. He was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Famein 2001.

Biography

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Early life

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Jon Arnett was born April 20, 1935. He attendedManual Arts High SchoolinLos Angeles,for which he competed on the schoolgymnasticsteam.[1]Arnett later attributed much of his career success as an elusive running back to this early background in gymnastics.[1]Arnett also participated intrack and fieldin high school and later in college, specializing in thelong jump.[1]In 1954 Arnett posted a near-record of 24'8.75 "in an NCAA meet.[1]

During his 1952 senior season, Arnett scored a total of 112 points, eclipsing the old single-season high school record of 110, in leading the Manual Arts Toilers to the Los Angeles city championship.[2]The All-Southern California Board of Football, working through the Helms Athletic Association, named Arnett to the first team of the Los Angeles All-City high school football team and selected him as the 1952 Player of the Year.[2]

College career

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Arnett attended theUniversity of Southern California,for which he played football and ran track.

Arnett was the multiple recipient of theW. J. Voit Memorial Trophyas the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. Arnett won the Voit Trophy in both 1955 and 1956.

  • 1954: 96 carries for 601 yards and 7 TD. 3 catches for 104 yards and 2 TD.[3]
  • 1955: 141 carries for 672 yards and 11 TD. 6 catches for 154 yards and 3 TD.
  • 1956: 99 carries for 625 yards and 6 TD. 2 catches for 38 yards.

During his sophomore season USC was granted a bid to the1955 Rose Bowldespite a second-place finish in thePacific Coast Conference,owing toUCLAbeing ruled ineligibile.[4]The speedy Arnett acquitted himself well, finishing with 123 yards gained on just 9 carries, including a 70-yard scamper in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans fell nonetheless by a score of 20–7.[4]

Arnett was a first team All American during his 1955 junior year at USC but was limited to only half a season of eligibility in 1956 due toNCAApenalties against the Pacific Coast Conference for recruiting violations.[1]

Professional career

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Arnett was selected by theLos Angeles Ramsin the first round of the1957 NFL draft,the number two choice overall, one of two running backs picked ahead of legendarySyracusefullbackJim Brownin that lottery.[1]His initial contract signed with the Rams was a one-year deal for $15,000.[5]The most he ever made in a single season during his ten-year career was $37,000.[5]

In addition to averaging 4.6 yards per carry during his first four seasons with the Rams, Arnett also served as a punt return and kickoff return specialist and was among the team's leading pass receivers.[1]

Arnett's production fell off after the 1961 season — his last of five consecutive trips to thePro Bowl— when a chronic "knee sprain" began to exact its toll.[6]Largely robbed of the fluidity which made his open-field running a constant big play threat for the Rams, Arnett came to be viewed as expendable by the team in the run-up to the1964 season.[6]Arnett acknowledged his status, declaring "The hardest thing with any athlete is to be injured. The relationship with players and coaches becomes different."[6]

With predictions of the forthcoming move rife, Jon Arnett was traded to theChicago Bearsin August 1964.[7]In the 3-for-1 trade the Rams received four-year startingguardRoger Davis,centerJoe Wendryhoski,a veteran of theCanadian Football League,and rookiedefensive backFrank BudkaofNotre Dame.[7]

Legendary Bears head coachGeorge Halasdeclared that the addition of the veteran Arnett helped fill a "gaping hole" for his club in the aftermath of the death of left halfbackWillie Galimore.[7]"Ron Bullhas been filling in adequately, "Halas said," but we needed another man at the position. "[7]

Arnett would play three largely uneventful seasons for the Bears, retiring after the1966 campaign.

Arnett was known by teammates as "The Cat"[1]and by the popular nickname of "Jaguar Jon."[5]Arnett's nicknames were attributed to an "unusual sense of balance and body coordination which enables him to dodge, cut, and slip from tacklers."[1]

NFL career statistics

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Year Team Games Rushing Receiving
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
1957 LAR 12 9 86 347 4.0 68 2 18 322 17.9 66 3
1958 LAR 12 12 133 683 5.1 57 6 35 494 14.1 75 1
1959 LAR 12 11 73 371 5.1 80 2 38 419 11.0 38 1
1960 LAR 12 12 104 436 4.2 31 2 29 226 7.8 24 2
1961 LAR 14 14 158 609 3.9 26 4 28 194 6.9 29 0
1962 LAR 10 7 76 238 3.1 40 2 12 137 11.4 40 0
1963 LAR 9 8 58 208 3.6 20 1 15 119 7.9 41 1
1964 CHI 14 8 119 400 3.1 21 1 25 223 8.9 27 2
1965 CHI 14 3 102 363 3.6 24 5 12 114 9.5 30 0
1966 CHI 14 1 55 178 3.2 21 1 10 42 4.2 11 0
Career[8] 123 85 964 3,833 4.0 80 26 222 2,290 10.3 75 10

Life after football

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Arnett was married in June 1959 to a former USC classmate andRose Paradeprincess, Yvonne Flint ofPasadena.[9]

During his NFL years Arnett worked in the off-season as a stock and bond broker for the firm of Hayden, Stone & Co. ofBeverly Hills.[1]

Arnett ran a distribution service and supplied frozen foods toCostco,Sam's Club,andWal-Mart.After living for many years in theLos Angeles Countycoastal town ofRancho Palos Verdes,Arnett and his family moved toLake Oswego, Oregon.[5]

"I went to grammar school, junior high school, high school, USC, and the Rams, all within a 5 mile radius," Arnett told an Oregon journalist in 2008. "I was really a Southern California person. Now you couldn’t get me to go back there."[5]

Death and legacy

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Arnett died on January 16, 2021, from heart failure inLake Oswego, Oregon.[10]

Arnett was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994 and theCollege Football Hall of Famein 2001 as a member of the USC Trojans.

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijBruce Lee, "When Will They Get Arnett?"Pro Football 1961.New York: Fawcett Publishing, 1961; pp. 54-55, 78-79.
  2. ^abJon De La Vega,"Jon Arnett Voted Top City Player,"Los Angeles Times,Dec. 27, 1952, pt. 3, p. 2.
  3. ^"Jon Arnett College Stats".
  4. ^abFritz Howell,"Ohio Fans Still Strutting After Win,"Redwood City Tribune,Jan. 3, 1955; p. 6.
  5. ^abcdeCliff Newell,"Jaguar Jon,"Lake Oswego Review,January 31, 2008.
  6. ^abcJerry Winn,"Arnett's Ram Career in Balance,"Long Beach Press-Telegram,Aug. 13, 1964; p. C-1.
  7. ^abcdJerry Winn,"'I Couldn't Be Happier' —Jon,"Long Beach Press-Telegram,August 24, 1964; p. C-1.
  8. ^"Jon Arnett".Football-Reference.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  9. ^"Jon Arnett Marries Rose Queen,"Venice Evening Vanguard,June 8, 1959; p. 7.
  10. ^"Jon Arnett, USC Football and L.A. Rams Running Back Great, Dies At 85".usctrojans.University of Southern California Athletics.RetrievedJanuary 18,2021.
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