How James Earl Jones helped Jacksonville land the Jaguars

"Ray, people will come, Ray."

"No, I am your father."

"This is CNN."

With his iconic bass voice, James Earl Jones delivered some of the most memorable lines in film and TV history.

And those moments will live on long after the Academy Award-winning actor's death on Monday at the age of 93.

But 33 years ago, Jones lent his voice to another film, one that helped bring the Jaguars to Jacksonville

In 1991, more than two years after Touchdown Jacksonville! Inc. was formed to bring an NFL franchise to Jacksonville, the group traveled to New York to present its case to become one of two new teams in the expansion of the league.

Other cities making pitches that day included Charlotte, Nashville, Oakland and Sacramento. (In all, 11 cities had applied for NFL expansion.)

But they didn't have James Earl Jones.

The actor, known for his roles in "Field of Dreams" and "Star Wars" as well as CNN's signature tagline, would lend his voice to Jacksonville's NFL pitch, narrating a nearly 11-minute-long video highlighting the city's history and passion for football and titled "Jacksonville ... A City of Dreams."

"You rise up onto bridges over the St Johns River far below and Jacksonville shines from a number of angles, like a jewel being turned in your hand," Jones says at the beginning of the video, quoting American novelist and poet John Updike.

Birth of the Jaguars: How Jacksonville's NFL dream became reality in 1993

The video shows the dramatic moment on Aug. 15, 1979, when Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay landed a helicopter on the field of a packed Gator Bowl to meet with then-Jacksonville mayor Jake Godbold and declaring his interest in moving to the First Coast. (Four years later, the Colts packed up and moved to Indianapolis.)

It also shows classic footage from Florida-Georgia, Gator Bowl and NFL matchups at the stadium, including a 1987 Falcons-Patriots game marked by an "utter deluge" of rain and a 1981 Arkansas-Carolina Gator Bowl game played in a thick fog.

"Nothing short of a hurricane will keep these people from their football. Certainly not a little rain," Jones says. "These fans are unbelievable."

At the end of the video, after repeating the Updike quote, Jones concludes, saying: "Jacksonville, a community determined to win an NFL franchise. A special addition to the National Football League. Jacksonville, a city of dreams."

On Nov. 30, 1993, nearly two years after Touchdown Jacksonville! made its pitch to NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and league president Neil Austrian with the Jones-narrated film, Jacksonville was awarded the Jaguars.

Clayton Freeman of the Times-Union contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: How James Earl Jones helped Jacksonville land the Jaguars