Dearth Perseveres Amid Family Misfortune

WhiteShoeWillis · Nov 28, 2009

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. ? In 2001, the Jets? first signing under Herman Edwards was a mostly anonymous long snapper, a soft-spoken Texan named James Dearth. So tenuous was his job status that he moonlighted at Home Depot, working nights.

Jets long snapper James Dearth has played in 138 consecutive games.

Dearth played in every game that season and in every game in every season since. He has snapped for four kickers, three head coaches and more punters than he can count. On Sunday, against the Carolina Panthers at Giants Stadium, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Dearth will play in his 139th consecutive game ? the model of consistency in the Jets? inconsistent season.

The streak remains remarkable. But this season has been different from the others, different because of the turmoil that surrounds him, because his father?s health worsened before training camp, because his mother died unexpectedly two weeks ago.

?Because James has come to work and performed admirably takes nothing way from his constant concern about his family,? said Mike Westhoff, the special-teams coordinator. ?He?s in two places at one time, and he?s doing both jobs exceptionally well.?

Dearth missed two work days this season, to attend his mother?s funeral. That is how Jan Dearth raised him.

She embodied sacrifice. She worked at the local gas station in Scurry, Tex., and each day after school her children and their friends would stop in, filling up on hamburgers and candy. Most months, they ate more than she made in wages.

That was Jan Dearth, everybody?s mother. She took in family members, friends, anyone who needed a place to stay.

On Nov. 13, Dearth felt a strong urge to call her. They talked for 40 minutes, about family and faith and her upcoming visit. Christmas was her favorite holiday, and last year she spent December with her son, joking when it ended that she did not want to leave.

The next day, Dearth?s nephew and niece went into his mother?s bedroom. She was not breathing. Family members tried to resuscitate her. So did the paramedics. As her husband?s health declined in recent years, Jan Dearth had suffered a series of minor strokes. But her death, at 57 from cardiac arrest, came as a shock.

The Jets told Dearth to take as much time as he needed, but he played that Sunday against Jacksonville, went home, spoke at the funeral and returned to practice later in the week.

?I needed to go to work,? he said. ?I could almost hear my mom. She never quit anything. Because of her, I can?t remember ever wanting to quit anything. I never thought about not playing.?

Dearth?s father took the news the hardest. He said things like ?it wasn?t supposed to happen this way? and ?this is the worst.? Dearth heard his father implying that he thought he would die first.

In recent years, Dearth had watched his parents? marriage blossom. They built a garden together, played bingo together, raised chickens and horses, spent each weekend at the local flea market.

In July, his father, also James, was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Doctors told the son that the father had between one and three years to live, depending on how he responded to medication.

It was the latest in a long line of ailments for his father, whose friends call him Jim and whose family calls him Pops. He had served in Vietnam, as a military police officer, and when he returned, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

His family believes his health problems stem from his exposure in Vietnam to Agent Orange, the herbicide used by the military. Jim Dearth had his first heart attack at 42. He had open-heart surgery a few years ago. He is diabetic. He has declining eyesight and rashes that cover his body and five cracked vertebrae on his spine.

Many of his military friends died in their 50s, but not Jim Dearth, who is 60 and ill and retains a commanding presence. This is a man who once kept a weight set in the yard, who put 285 pounds on the bar, benched it, military pressed it, squatted it and curled it. A man who could pick up an engine block as if it was a loaf of bread. A man who dunked a basketball at 48, despite weighing 320 pounds.

?He is a gigantic, powerful man,? Westhoff said. ?James is big, but he?s the smallest one in that whole family. I wouldn?t want to feed that outfit.?

Jim Dearth worked construction, often far from his Texas home. Still, he never missed his son?s football games, sometimes driving 18 hours from Washington and arriving just before kickoff.

His son works now to repay that loyalty, spending his free time in the locker room contacting the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dearth wants his father moved from the veteran?s hospital in Dallas to the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. So far, the transfer has been blocked.

?What?s frustrating is why they wait for so long to do anything about it,? Dearth said. ?This is a guy who fought for his country. This is a guy they promised to take care of.?

Work has provided Dearth a necessary distraction, a needed support system. When Dearth struggles with concentration, when his mind drifts, he thinks about his perfectionist parents.

Teammates and coaches see that same quality, the drive for perfection, in their son. Westhoff said Dearth took such detailed notes on opponents that they resembled a doctoral dissertation. He said Dearth watched so much film that he has unearthed favorable matchups, like the one the Jets exploited last week in New England when they blocked a punt and scored.

That is James Dearth, Westhoff said. Last year, Westhoff needed to work out punters in the off-season. Westhoff said Dearth was baby-sitting, but came in anyway. He snapped to the punters while the stroller sat nearby.

?If you want to talk about a team player, he should have his picture next to that phrase in some book,? Westhoff said. ?I?ve coached for 30 years, and rarely do you find someone who gets the absolute maximum out of what he has every single day. If anyone has the perseverance to pull through tough times, believe me, it?s James Dearth.?

The anonymous long snapper has become the mainstay, the pillar of consistency in an inconsistent season. He is, more than anything, the product of his parents.
Click to expand...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/sports/football/29jets.html?_r=1&ref=sports

onefanjet · Nov 28, 2009

Wow, He so damn quiet I honestly didn't know whether he even still played....... Prayers to him and his family, wish we had more class/quiet players like this.....

TheBlairThomasFumble · Nov 28, 2009

Is it even possible to curl 285 lbs? Anyone?

Talisman · Nov 29, 2009

sometimes we forget about the roll players, that's a pretty amazing story...prayers to him and his...

NDmick · Nov 29, 2009

Dearth is the most consisent Jet i've seen in my lifetime that isn't a skill player.

The guy should get special teams awards for the job he does.

Harpua · Nov 29, 2009

TheBlairThomasFumble said: ↑

Is it even possible to curl 285 lbs? Anyone?
Click to expand...

Yes, but its a freakish thing. Most of the guys I know that can lift any where near that are on roids. A friend of mine that lifts with them but is clean is not any where near it, but I have seen it happen.

Hemi · Nov 29, 2009

He is one position that you have never worried about, ever since he took the job. Can anyone recall a bad snap on a punt with him? Unsung hero for sure.

Harpua · Nov 29, 2009

Hemi said: ↑

He is one position that you have never worried about, ever since he took the job. Can anyone recall a bad snap on a punt with him? Unsung hero for sure.
Click to expand...

No I can't off the top of my head. Steady as can be. A long snapper is at his best when we never talk about him, Dearth has been great for us for years.

TheBlairThomasFumble · Nov 29, 2009

It seemed pretty hard to believe, but maybe his dad is one of those genetic freaks.

Harpua said: ↑

Yes, but its a freakish thing. Most of the guys I know that can lift any where near that are on roids. A friend of mine that lifts with them but is clean is not any where near it, but I have seen it happen.
Click to expand...

624 · Nov 29, 2009

Nice article, Dearth is definitely an unsung hero.

jetsyankeesfan6 · Nov 29, 2009

Best long snapper in football .

chalomi · Nov 29, 2009

also sounds like great person

chalomi · Nov 29, 2009

sorry just need to reply so i can see links

chalomi · Nov 29, 2009

this should be last stupid post as i should now be at 20

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