Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 20, 1994 TAG: 9407200099
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ASHBURN LENGTH: Medium
On Tuesday, he announced his retirement, signaling the end of another legacy of the Joe Gibbs Redskins.
For 13 years, Jacoby anchored a front line that dominated the scrimmage line, opening big, game-winning holes for runners such as John Riggins and Earnest Byner.
But back pain and other injuries, age and the salary cap have ended Jacoby's long ride. He hadn't played since last Nov.7 against the Indianapolis Colts.
``It's time to move on,'' the 35-year-old Jacoby said at a farewell news conference at Redskin Park with his wife, Irene, and two daughters, ages 6 and 4. He said he had hoped to come back from his back problems after last season but realized that was not possible.
``I don't want to put my body through the torture and the pain anymore. I'm tired of it. There are three main reasons that are already up here,'' he said, indicating his family. ``I cannot put them through that anymore.''
Jacoby misted up slightly when he thanked Redskins coaches and staff. He said he will spend his time running his new auto dealership in Warrenton.
The 6-foot-6, 320-pound tackle was one of the league's biggest and strongest players, and earned a reputation for playing with the pain of numerous injuries - back, knees, elbow, hips, neck - sustained from slamming into defensive linemen.
Jacoby joined the Redskins as an unheralded rookie free agent in 1981, the same year Gibbs became head coach. No one believed Jacoby had a chance of making the team.
But by midseason he was starting.
Jacoby was the biggest of the unit then-line coach Joe Bugel assembled that later became known as the Hogs. Jacoby, Mark May, Russ Grimm, Jeff Bostic and George Starke averaged 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds - the biggest line the NFL had seen at the time.
``They set the standard,'' said Bugel, who maintains close friendships with the former Hogs. ``Everyone realized after that they would have to get 300-pound linemen.''
One day, Bugel told his players, ``OK, you hogs, let's go down in the bullpen and hit those sleds.''
``Some guys might have resented it, but these guys loved it,'' Bugel said, and they were the Hogs from then on.
They formed the foundation of Gibbs' ball-control offense. They helped take the Redskins to their first Super Bowl championship in 1982 and became one of the first offensive lines to become known as a group.
Jacoby played in 170 games, four Super Bowls (three of them championships), and earned four straight trips to the Pro Bowl, from 1983-86. He is the only Redskins offensive lineman to ever score a touchdown, falling on a Redskins fumble in the end zone against Minnesota in 1984. Bugel and current offensive line coach Jim Hanifan agree that Jacoby is a future Hall of Famer.
Fellow Hog Bostic recently said of Jacoby in a Washingtonian magazine article: ``He's the biggest man I've ever seen in my life. And he's one of the most powerful people I've ever been around. He would hit people and it would be like a Mack truck hitting a VW. People would go flying off him, and it never seemed like he had done that much. I've never really seen him real mad, and that's probably good. Because I wouldn't want to see him mad.''
Added Grimm: ``It was like having a big brother beside you - really big. What made us good back then was you felt worse if you let him down than if you let yourself down.''
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB