| No. 13 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Safety,return specialist,wide receiver (CFL only) | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1945-07-20)July 20, 1945 Greenwood, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | November 19, 2020(2020-11-19) (aged 75) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 188 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Bullis School(Potomac, Maryland) | ||||||||||||
| College | Georgia (1966–1968) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1970: 7th round, 159th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Jacob E. Scott III (July 20, 1945 – November 19, 2020)[1] was an American professionalfootball player who was asafety andpunt returner from1970 to1978 for theMiami Dolphins andWashington Redskins of theNational Football League (NFL). He played college football forGeorgia, and was selected by the Dolphins in the seventh round of the1970 NFL draft.
Scott went to thePro Bowl five consecutive times between1971 and1975. He recorded 35interceptions in his six seasons as a Dolphin, and another 14 in his three years with the Redskins. To this day, he remains the Miami Dolphins all-time leader in interceptions with 35. He was also a five-time first or second teamAll-Pro, and won back-to-back Super Bowl Championships in 1972 and 1973, including winning the MVP of Super Bowl VII.[2]
Scott wore number 13 throughout his career, which was later made famous in Miami byDan Marino, and has since been retired in Marino's honor.[3]
After growing up inAthens,Georgia, but playing high school football inArlington, Virginia atWashington-Lee High School, and then eventuallyBullis School inPotomac, Maryland for 2 years Scott playedcollege football at theUniversity of Georgia, where he led Georgia ininterceptions in 1967 with six interceptions and 1968 with ten interceptions. In 1967, Scott was named first-teamAll-SECdefensive back by theAssociated Press, and in 1968 again in both the AP and theUPI. The ten interceptions in a season is now second-most in Georgia history behindTerry Hoage’s 12 in 1982. Scott's 175 return yards on interceptions in 1968 is also second all-time for Georgia.
Scott's college career total of 315 interception return yards was the most in school history until 2017. He also holds the current Georgia record for career interceptions.[4]
Scott was inducted into theGeorgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1986[5] and the Athens (GA) Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.[6]
It was announced on May 17, 2011, that Scott had been selected for induction into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.[7]
Scott left the University of Georgia after his Junior year to go to Canada and play professional football in theCFL. Based on his July 20 birth date, Scott's military draft lottery number of record was 187. The highest administrative draft number called for Scott's year group was 195, suggesting that Scott could have been, but was not, drafted for military service during theVietnam War as he had previously served in theU.S. Marines.[8]
Scott began his professional career in 1969 in theCanadian Football League as aflanker andkick returner with theBC Lions.[9] In his one season with the Lions he played in 11 games caught 35 passes for 596 yards and three touchdowns, all marks which were good for second best or tied for second best on the team. He also recorded 224 kickoff return yards, which led the team. TheBC Lions finished with a record of 5–11.[10]
He was selected by the Miami Dolphins during the seventh round, 159th overall, in the1970 NFL draft,[11] where in his rookie year, he recorded five interceptions and returned one punt return for touchdown. The following year, he recorded seven interceptions and 318 punt return yards, helping the team reachSuper Bowl VI, which they lost 24–3 to theDallas Cowboys. Scott recorded a 21-yard punt return in the game.
Scott was a key member of the1972 Miami Dolphins undefeated season, and was namedSuper Bowl MVP ofSuper Bowl VII, recording two interceptions in the Dolphins' 14–7 win over theWashington Redskins including one in the fourth quarter.[1] He helped the Dolphins in their 24-7Super Bowl VIII win, recording two fumble recoveries, 20 punt return yards, and 47 kickoff return yards in that game. He established twoSuper Bowl records. Scott set a record by being the first player to recover 2fumbles in one game. He also first established the record for most career fumble recoveries in Super Bowls at two, a record now shared by 12 others. Scott is still the only player to have recovered one of his own team's fumbles and one of his opponent's fumbles in a single Super Bowl game.[2]
Overall, Scott finished his nine seasons with 49 interceptions. He made 35 interceptions playing 6 seasons for Miami, making him the Dolphins' all-time leader in that category.[3] Scott had 13 fumble recoveries in his career. On special teams, he gained 1,357 yards and a touchdown returning punts, and 137 yards on six kickoff returns. Scott played for theRedskins the final 3 years of his career.[12]
While best known for his defensive play, Scott also returned punts. In week 10 of his rookie season against the Baltimore Colts, he returned a punt 77 yards for his first and only NFL touchdown.[13] He led the NFL in punt return yards in 1971 with 318 and finished top ten in punt returns yards a total of four times over his NFL career. He finished his NFL career with 1,357 punt return yards with a 10.4 yards per return average, and an additional 137 kick return yards.[14]
In the late 1980s,NFL Films named Scott as the Dolphins All-Time Neutralizer sponsored byTums. He was inducted into the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame in 1998.[15] TheProfessional Football Researchers Association named Scott to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2007.[16]
Scott was one of only three livingSuper Bowl MVPs who did not attendSuper Bowl XL, when all previous MVPs were honored prior to the game; the other no-shows wereTerry Bradshaw andJoe Montana.[17] Scott did attendSuper Bowl 50 and was introduced during pre-game festivities.[18]
Scott was inducted withBill Stanfill into theMiami Dolphins Honor Roll on November 18, 2010.[19]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Super Bowl MVP | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Interceptions | Fum | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Int | Yards | TD | Lng | Fmb | FR | Yards | TD | ||
| 1970 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 5 | 112 | 0 | 47 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 7 | 34 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 5 | 73 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 0 |
| 1973 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 4 | 71 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 8 | 75 | 0 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 0 |
| 1975 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 6 | 60 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | WAS | 12 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977 | WAS | 14 | 14 | 3 | 42 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1978 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 7 | 72 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 126 | 126 | 49 | 551 | 0 | 47 | 9 | 13 | 35 | 0 | |
Scott was a lifelong bachelor,[20] who enjoyed fishing and traveling.[21] A private individual known for shunning the spotlight,[21] Scott had lived in theColorado mountains and theFlorida Keys, and spent his later years living inHanalei, a small town on the Hawaiian island ofKauai.[20] During his retirement Scott was an investor inHawaii.[4]
Scott had a falling out with at the time Miami Dolphins Head Coach Don Shula which eventually resulted in his trade to the Washington Redskins and lasted well into his retirement. As a result, he did not participate in Dolphins alumni events for several decades. Many years later, the two reconciled, and Scott later attended his Miami Dolphins Honor Roll enshrinement as well asSuper Bowl 50.[22] Scott was quoted, “Coach Shula and I had our differences, but time heals all wounds,”[1]
Scott died at the age of 75 on November 19, 2020, after falling down a flight of steps while visiting friends in Atlanta, Georgia.[23] He is one of at least 345NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[24][25]
Scott was cremated and his ashes were spread in the waters ofHanalei Bay.[26] Memorabilia from Scott's personal collection, including his Super Bowl rings, were sold at auction, as per his final wishes.[26]
