Homer Jones, former NFL star credited as first player to spike football after TD, dead at 82

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Homer Jones, a two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who played for the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns in the NFL and is credited as being one of the first players to spike a football after a touchdown, has died. He was 82.

Jones was battling lung cancer when he died.

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New York wide receiver Homer Jones catches a pass in front of Washington Redskins defensive back Lonnie Sanders during a 48-21 Giants victory on Sept. 29, 1968, at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York. (Nate Fine/NFL)

The Giants announced Jones’ death on Wednesday night.

"Homer Jones had a unique combination of speed and power and was a threat to score whenever he touched the ball," Giants CEO John Mara said, via the team’s website. 

"He was one of the first players (if not the first) to spike the ball in the end zone after scoring a touchdown and he quickly became a fan favorite. I remember him as an easygoing, friendly individual who was well liked by his teammates and coaches."

Homer Jones, "bomb-catching" split end of the New York Giants, tapes his TD-scoring cleats for a game against the Cleveland Browns. (Getty Images)

The Houston Oilers selected Jones in the fifth round of the 1963 AFL Draft but he never ended up playing for them. The Giants selected him in the 20th round of the 1963 NFL Draft and he made his first appearance with the team in 1964.

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Jones became a two-time Pro Bowler in New York. He led the NFL in touchdown catches with 13 in 1967. He then played one season with the Browns before stepping away from the game after the 1970 season.

New York Giants Homer Jones runs with the ball. (Gene Kappock/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Image)

He finished his career with 224 catches for 4,986 yards and 36 touchdowns.

Most notably, Jones is credited as the first person to spike the football after a touchdown. After seeing superstar players of the time like Frank Gifford and Paul Hornung throw the ball into the stands after a score and get fined for it, Jones would spike the ball on a touchdown grab when he started the first game of his career in 1965.

"I was fixing to throw it into the grandstand," Jones recalled to ESPN in 2015. "But just as I was raising my arm, the reality snapped into my head. (NFL Commissioner Pete 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."

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According to KLTV, Jones is survived by his six children.