# Honor Jackson > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Honor_Jackson > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Honor_Jackson.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_Jackson > Source revision: 1343591007 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Honor W. Jackson** (born November 21, 1948) is an American former professional [football](/source/American_football) player who was a [defensive back](/source/Defensive_back) in the [National Football League](/source/National_Football_League) (NFL) for the [New England Patriots](/source/New_England_Patriots) and [New York Giants](/source/New_York_Giants). He was selected by the [Dallas Cowboys](/source/Dallas_Cowboys) in the ninth round of the [1971 NFL draft](/source/1971_NFL_draft). He played [college football](/source/College_football) for the [Pacific Tigers](/source/Pacific_Tigers_football). ## Early life Jackson attended [Tamalpais High School](/source/Tamalpais_High_School) where he played [defensive end](/source/Defensive_end). Although he received interest from [division I](/source/Division_I_(NCAA)) schools, because of grades, he opted to go to [College of Marin](/source/College_of_Marin) where he was converted to [wide receiver](/source/Wide_receiver). In 1969, he transferred to the [University of the Pacific](/source/University_of_the_Pacific_(United_States)), lettering in [football](/source/American_football) and [track](/source/Track_%26_field).[1] As a senior, he registered 55 receptions for 931 yards, 5 [touchdowns](/source/Touchdown), ranked 12th in the nation in receiving average (16.9 yards) and earned [All-PCAA](/source/Pacific_Coast_Athletic_Association) honors. He finished his college career with 74 receptions for 1,236 yards and 8 [touchdowns](/source/Touchdown).[2] In 2005, he was inducted into the Pacific Athletics Hall of Fame.[3] ## Professional career ### Dallas Cowboys Jackson was selected by the [Dallas Cowboys](/source/Dallas_Cowboys) in the ninth round (233rd overall) of the [1971 NFL draft](/source/1971_NFL_draft), who had a strong team that was coming off a [Super Bowl V](/source/Super_Bowl_V) appearance and would eventually win [Super Bowl VI](/source/Super_Bowl_VI).[4] It was decided to switch Jackson to [defensive back](/source/Defensive_back), in order for him to have a better chance to make the roster, even though he had never played the position before. During the [1971 offseason](/source/1971_NFL_season), because [Duane Thomas](/source/Duane_Thomas) was going through a contract dispute (he requested that his 3-year contract be rewritten) and refused to report to [training camp](/source/Training_camp), the Cowboys decided to trade him to the [New England Patriots](/source/New_England_Patriots). Although Jackson was waived on July 26,[5] he was included as part of the transaction alongside [Halvor Hagen](/source/Halvor_Hagen), in exchange for [Carl Garrett](/source/Carl_Garrett) and the Patriots number one draft choice in the [1972 NFL draft](/source/1972_NFL_draft). Within a week, because of problems with the Patriots organization and head coach [John Mazur](/source/John_Mazur), in an unprecedented move, the [NFL commissioner](/source/NFL_commissioner) voided part of the trade, sending Thomas and Garrett back to their original teams. The Patriots kept Hagen and Jackson, in exchange for a second and third round draft choices in the [1972 NFL draft](/source/1972_NFL_draft), which the Cowboys eventually used to select [Robert Newhouse](/source/Robert_Newhouse) and [Mike Keller](/source/Mike_Keller).[6][7] ### New England Patriots Jackson was tried first at [wide receiver](/source/Wide_receiver), before being moved to [safety](/source/Safety_(American_and_Canadian_football_position)) after the Patriots claimed [Randy Vataha](/source/Randy_Vataha) off waivers, who was a college teammate of starting [quarterback](/source/Quarterback) [Jim Plunkett](/source/Jim_Plunkett). He ended up starting at [strong safety](/source/Safety_(American_and_Canadian_football_position)) in [1972](/source/1972_NFL_season), leading the team in pass [interceptions](/source/Interception) with four. His best performance came against the [Miami Dolphins](/source/Miami_Dolphins) on December 3, when he registered two interceptions and knocked [Mercury Morris](/source/Mercury_Morris) out of game during the Dolphins' perfect season. The next year, he played in nine games mostly as a reserve, before being cut on November 10.[8] ### New York Giants Jackson signed as a [free agent](/source/Free_agent) with the [New York Giants](/source/New_York_Giants) in [1973](/source/1973_NFL_season). He was released on September 12, [1974](/source/1974_NFL_season), before being brought back to the team.[9] That same year he was placed on the [injured reserve list](/source/Injured_reserve_list) with a nerve injury in his right leg. He could never recover physically and decided to retire from professional football at the age of 27. ## Personal life He worked as a manager for [Longs Drugs](/source/Longs_Drugs) and also became president of the Northern California chapter of the NFL Alumni Association. ## References 1. ["Pacific Is Favored To Trip Fresno"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19691004&id=ZHwzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4DIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=6998,423086). Retrieved July 15, 2017. 1. ["Honor Jackson"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170211160916/http://archive.patriots.com/alumni/index.cfm?ac=alumnibiosdetail&bio=13978). archive.patriots.com. Archived from [the original](http://archive.patriots.com/alumni/index.cfm?ac=alumnibiosdetail&bio=13978) on February 11, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2016. 1. ["The 2005-06 Inductees of the Pacific Athletics Hall of Fame"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160329203124/http://pacifictigers.com/information/hall_of_fame/all_time/2005). Archived from [the original](http://www.pacifictigers.com/information/hall_of_fame/all_time/2005) on March 29, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2017. 1. ["1971 NFL Draft Listing"](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1971/draft.htm). *Pro-Football-Reference.com*. Retrieved 2025-05-17. 1. ["Oilers trade Levias for two big linemen"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19710727&id=aJpPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WFIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4004,1533002). Retrieved July 15, 2017. 1. ["Cowboys' Thomas Is Traded To Patriots"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19710801&id=ll8sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XM0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5772,63180). Retrieved July 15, 2017. 1. ["Duane Thomas Goes Back To Cowboys"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19710805&id=G3glAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2vIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1414,1921875). Retrieved July 15, 2017. 1. ["Patriots Place Jackson On Waivers"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19731111&id=-3otAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ptcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2626,1565760). Retrieved July 15, 2017. 1. ["Transactions"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19740913&id=gC8sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_ssEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3215,2603923). Retrieved July 15, 2017. ## External links - [Dave Albee: 1971 pick Honor Jackson knows draft day is never easy](https://archive.today/20141214041856/http://www.marinij.com/ci_9056493) - [Honor Jackson leads by example](http://rohnertpark.towns.pressdemocrat.com/2012/08/news/success-on-and-off-the-field/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20141111165001/http://rohnertpark.towns.pressdemocrat.com/2012/08/news/success-on-and-off-the-field/) 2014-11-11 at the Wayback Machine - [Honor's advice: Study](http://www.pressdemocrat.com/csp/mediapool/sites/PressDemocrat/News/story.csp?cid=2255119&sid=555&fid=181) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235049/http://www.pressdemocrat.com/csp/mediapool/sites/PressDemocrat/News/story.csp?cid=2255119&sid=555&fid=181) 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Honor Jackson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_Jackson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_Jackson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.