Jeff Van Note

Jeffrey Aloysius Van Note was a man crouched over the ball for eighteen years and never once lost his footing. Born on February 7, 1946, in South Orange, New Jersey, Jeff grew up with an iron constitution and a quiet hunger to prove himself — qualities that would come to define one of the most remarkable careers in National Football League history. After earning his stripes at St. Joseph Prep in Bardstown, Kentucky, Jeff enrolled at the University of Kentucky, where he lined up at running back and defensive end for the Wildcats from 1966 to 1968. He earned Second-Team All-SEC honors in 1966 and was named team MVP in 1968 — a fitting tribute to a player who led by doing, not by talking. Selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 11th round of the 1969 NFL Draft, Jeff was initially assigned to the Alabama Hawks of the Continental Football League — a stop he later remembered with a laugh, calling it "the armpit of the world," where he earned roughly $3,000 and rode buses to games. Head coach Norm Van Brocklin had other plans, however, moving Jeff from linebacker to center — a position he had never played. He won the starting job in 1970 and never gave it back. Over 18 seasons with the Falcons, Jeff appeared in 246 games and missed only four. He anchored the offensive line through 14 different quarterbacks and five head coaches, always the steady constant at the heart of the huddle. He earned six Pro Bowl selections (1974, 1975, 1979–1982), two Second-Team All-Pro designations, and a franchise-record 155 consecutive games played. The 1980 season — a 12-4 campaign that brought the Falcons their first division title — stood as the pinnacle. "I had always played against the best," he reflected. "For once I was part of the best." When Jeff played his final home game on December 14, 1986, the Falcons retired his No. 57 jersey and presented him with a 1957 Chevrolet. He went on to a second career as a color commentator for Falcons, Wildcats, and Georgia Tech broadcasts, and as a familiar voice on Atlanta sports radio throughout the 1990s and beyond. In 1991, Falcons fans voted him their favorite player of the franchise's first 25 years. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (1999), the Falcons Ring of Honor (2006), and multiple Kentucky halls of honor. He is survived by his wife, Dee, and their three sons: Beau, Ben, and Blaine. Jeff Van Note passed away on October 2, 2026, at the age of 80 — a man of extraordinary durability whose legacy, like the man himself, was built to last.