John M. Garlington (June 5, 1946 – February 10, 2000) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played professionally for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Early life

Garlington was born in

Jonesboro, Louisiana Jonesboro is a town in, and the parish seat of, Jackson Parish in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 4,106 in 2020. History Founded on January 10, 1860, by Joseph Jones and his wife, Sarah Pankey Jones ...

and graduated from

Jonesboro-Hodge High School Jonesboro-Hodge High School is a high school located in Jonesboro in Jackson Parish, Louisiana. The school mascot is the Tiger, named after LSU. The colors are scarlet and royal blue. The school, a part of the Jackson Parish School Board, serve ...

in Jonesboro. in 1964. He was a star college athlete at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. At LSU, he was a 1967

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

All-American pick. He was also a First-team All- SEC pick in 1966 by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

and in 1967 by both the AP and

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

. He was described as an "Incredible athlete whose talents typified his play and teamwork. Had excellent speed and lateral pursuit. Opponents were timid when it came to attacking his side of the defensive line. Even with his size, he was a speed merchant. In the 1966

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

encounter, John picked off an errant pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown."

Professional career

Garlington was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 2nd round (47th overall) of the

1968 NFL Draft The 1968 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 30–31, 1968. The Min ...

. He played ten seasons with the Cleveland Browns, from 1968 until 1977.

Law enforcement career

After leaving professional football, Garlington worked, from 1986, as a Wildlife Enforcement Agent (

game warden A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment. A conservation officer may also be referred to as an environmental technician or technologist, game warden, forest ranger, forest watcher, forest gu ...

) with the

Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries - Enforcement Division Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He was promoted to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, in 1998, and was the commander of the department's Region 1 office near

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. Prior to assuming command of Region 1, Garlington held the rank of Sergeant, and was assigned to the department's Statewide Strike Force. Garlington died in the line of duty, from

drowning Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer a ...

, while investigating a

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

complaint near his home on the Mill Creek Reservoir near Saline, LA in

Bienville Parish Bienville Parish (french: link=no, Paroisse de Bienville, ) is a parish located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,981. The parish seat is Arcadia. The highest natural point ...

. He had been on the force for 14 years. Garlington was survived by his wife Karon Garlington, and son Seth Garlington. He is buried at the Ebenezer Cemetery off Louisiana Highway 508 in Bienville Parish. His son, Jonesboro police officer John Moses Garlington, was interred at this same cemetery in the spring of 1994.

References

External links

Cleveland Browns Jersey Numbers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garlington, John M. 1946 births 2000 deaths American football linebackers American police officers killed in the line of duty Cleveland Browns players Jonesboro-Hodge High School alumni LSU Tigers football players People from Jonesboro, Louisiana