Crazy Canton Cuts : Coy Bacon

Coy Bacon
6'4" 270
Defensive End
1968 - 1981
14 Seasons
180 Games Played
130 Sacks
2 Touchdowns
3 Pro Bowls



Leander McCoy Bacon was an undrafted rookie signed by the Los Angeles Rams right before the 1968 season. Bacon had just come from playing in the Continental Football League.

Coy had signed with the Charleston Rockets in 1966, after leaving Jackson State University upon completion of his sophomore year.

At JSU, Bacon played linebacker and defensive end. While playing with the Rockets, Coy was named an All-Star as a defensive end in 1966.

Other NFL luminaries like Bill Walsh, Ken Stabler, and Garo Yepremian also were in the Continental Football League.

Coy Bacon is a member of the Jackson State University Hall Of Fame.



Coy joined a Rams team that had one of the best defensive lines in football, featuring Hall Of Famers Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen.

They were called "The Fearsome Foursome", and Bacon played just 7 games as a reserve in his rookie year. Coy cracked the starting lineup the next year, and started 13 games at defensive tackle.

He was moved to defensive end in 1970, recorded 20 sacks,and took a fumble 14 yards for a touchdown. Bacon then had 21 sacks and intercepted a pass the next year.

Coy made his first Pro Bowl Team in 1972, and then was traded to the San Diego Chargers after that season as part of a blockbuster deal. He picked off a pass that year, and took it 80 yards for a touchdown. Bacon also led the Chargers in sacks in two of his three seasons with them.

Right after the 1975 season, the Chargers traded Bacon to the Cincinnati Bengals for Hall Of Fame Wide Receiver Charlie Joiner.

Coy responded with 21.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries for 48 yards and a safety. He was named to the Pro Bowl Team. Coy then made his last Pro Bowl Team the next year for the Bengals, despite missing two games.

The Bengals then traded Bacon to the Washington Redskins right before 1978. Coy was the pass rusher the Redskins desperately needed, and he recorded double digits in sacks in each of his first three seasons with them.

Coy was 39 years old in 1981, and started the three games he played before being injured for the rest of the season. The Redskins released him in the off season, but Coy was not done playing.

He joined the Washington Federals of the United States Football League in 1983, and had a few good games. He then retired permanentely after that year.



Coy played in an era where sacks were not a recorded statistic. Some researchers have credited him with over 130 sacks in his career. If you discount the three games he played in 1981, you can easily see he averaged ten sacks every year of his career. That includes his first two seasons as a defensive tackle.

Bacon was one of the best pass rushers I have seen play the game. He was noted as a character who would not like to practice during the week of a game, reserving his energies for Sunday. He wasn't always stout against the run in the latter part of his career, but he made several spectacular plays when his team needed it most.

He is considered a fringe player for many as far as induction into Canton, but I look at a guy like Fred Dean get in and wonder why Coy is.

He was just as good a pass rusher, and had 37 more sacks than Dean did. Coy mostly played on lesser defensive lines too, meaning the primary focus was on him. Bacon was also better versus the run.

Coy Bacon is a victim of times passing, as the newer voters don't probably know who he is. He never played on any teams that won anything, so he never got the press he probably deserved.

But even if you look at the statistics, like many do, you can see Coy Bacon is worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Notable Players Drafted In 1968   (* Denotes Hall Of Fame)

1. Ron Yary, OT, Minnesota *
2. Bob Johnson, C, Cincinnati
3. Claude Humphrey, DE, Atlanta
4. Russ Washington, DT/ OT, San Diego
8. Larry Csonka, FB, Miami *
9. Haven Moses, WR, Buffalo
11. Greg Landry, QB, Detroit
13. MacArthur Lane, RB, St. Louis Cardinals
14. Tim Rossovich, LB, Philadelphia
15. Forrest Blue, C, San Francisco
23. John Williams, OT, Baltimore Colts
26. Bill Lueck, G, Green Bay
31. Curley Culp, DT, Denver
33. Charlie West, DB, Minnesota
42. Bob Atkins, DB, St. Louis
43. Bill Lenkaitus, C, SanDiego
47. John Garlington, LB, Cleveland
48. Mike Livingston, QB, Kansas City
52. Ken Stabler, QB, Oakland
69. Skip Vanderbundt, LB, San Francisco
73. Dick Anderson, DB, Miami
74. Charlie Sanders, TE, Detroit *
77. Elvin Bethea, DE, Houston Oilers *
80. Art Shell, OT, Oakland *
81. Dick Himes, OT, Green Bay
82. Paul Robinson, RB, Cincinnati
84. Jess Phillips, RB, Cincinnati
98. Johnny Fuller, DB, San Francisco
105. Jim Beirne, WR, Houston
110. Charlie H. Smith, RB, Oakland
117. Mike Bragg, P, Washington
118. Jim Kiick, RB, Miami
124. Mark Nordquist, G, Philadelphia
127. Cecil Turner, WR, Chicago
130. Blaine Nye, G, Dallas
156. Essex Johnson, RB, Cincinnati
159. D.D. Lewis, LB, Dallas
167. Oscar Reed, RB, Minnesota
176. Bob Brunet, RB, Washington
181. Willie Holman, DE, Chicago
190. George Atkinson, DB, Oakland
222. Paul Smith, DT, Denver
249. John Outlaw, DB, Boston Patriots
261. Tommy Hart, DE, San Francisco
275. Greg Brezina, LB, Atlanta
277. Marv Hubbard, RB, Oakland
288. Henry Davis, LB, NY Giants
289. Rich Coady, C, Chicago
291. Dennis Partee, K, San Diego
297. John Pergine, LB, LA Rams
301. Bob Trumpy, TE, Cincinnati
305. Jim Cheyunski, LB, Boston
317. Jeff Queen, RB, San Diego
323. Harold Jackson, WR, Los Angeles Rams
330. Charlie Greer, DB, Denver
351. Dean Halverson, LB, LA Rams
357. Marlin Briscoe, WR, Denver
375. Robert Holmes, RB, Kansas City
417. Rocky Bleier, RB, Pittsburgh
428. Larry Cole, DE, Dallas
441. Bob Lee, QB, Minnesota