John Eldon Zook (September 24, 1947 – June 6, 2020) was an American professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player who was a
defensive end for 12 seasons in the
National Football League (NFL). He played for the
St. Louis Cardinals and the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
. Zook played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
for the
University of Kansas.
Zook was born in
Garden City, Kansas
Garden City is a city in, and the county seat of, Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 28,151. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richa ...
, and grew up in
Zook and Larned.
He was a three-year letterman, was picked twice for all-conference honors, anchoring one of the top defensive units ever taking the field at KU. He was an honorable mention All-American in 1967 and was a consensus
All-America honors as the Jayhawks' defensive standout on the 1968 Orange Bowl-bound team, the year KU was named No. 6 by the
Associated Press. Zook had 202 total tackles during his career, putting him at No. 4 on KU's all-time defensive line list. KU Coach
Pepper Rodgers said Zook "never played but full speed from snap one to snap hundred. He was the most full-speed player on every snap that you could imagine." He was also chosen in the KU All-Time team by the ''
Lawrence Journal-World''.
Zook was drafted by the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
in the 4th round (99th overall) of the
1969 NFL Draft
The 1969 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and American Football League (AFL) held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969.
The draft beg ...
. He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and then by the Eagles to the Atlanta Falcons, where began his NFL career in 1969. Zook played 144 games in the NFL and was a Second-team
All-Pro selection in 1973. He had been a Second-team All-NFC selection in 1972 and 1973 and was voted to the 1973 Pro Bowl. Zook was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1976 and finished his career there.
Zook recorded the first ever safety for the Falcons franchise.
Zook died on June 6, 2020 in Kansas.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zook, John
1947 births
2020 deaths
People from Garden City, Kansas
All-American college football players
American football defensive ends
Kansas Jayhawks football players
University of Kansas alumni
Los Angeles Rams players
Atlanta Falcons players
St. Louis Cardinals (football) players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
Players of American football from Kansas