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Around the NFL during the early 1970s they joked that free safety Jake Scott of the Miami Dolphins
could only play in home games because airport metal detectors rejected him every time he tried to fly.
At one time, Scott had five stainless steel screws holding together the bones of his right hand,
and at least one other metal screw in an elbow he'd fractured playing high school football.
He went into Super Bowl VII nursing a separated shoulder. When he intercepted two passes in the
Miami victory that gave the Dolphins a perfect 17-0 record, he was named the game's most valuable
player. On another occasion, he played in the Pro Bowl with two broken hands in casts.
Scott left the University of Georgia a year before his class graduated and went to the Canadian
Football League where, with the British Columbia Lions, he caught 35 passes for 596 yards and 3
touchdowns. He was offered a three-year, $100,000 contract by the Lions, but after he was picked
in the seventh round of the 1970 draft by the Dolphins, he took a $5,000 salary cut to join Miami.
Scott not only was a savvy free safety, but also was a fine return man, averaging 10.5 yards on
punt returns and 23 yards on kickoff returns. Though he may have been among the bravest men on
the field, he also was no dummy: He set a single-game record (since broken) in 1970 with
6 fair catches against the Buffalo Bills.
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