Itch Jones
Biographical details | |
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Born | 1938 (age 85–86) Bluefield Orioles |
1960 | Stockton Ports |
Position(s) | MacMurray |
1969 | Southern Illinois (asst) |
1970–1990 | Southern Illinois |
1991–2005 | Illinois |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 1,240–718–6 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
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Awards | |
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Richard C. "Itch" Jones (born 1938) is a retired college baseball coach.
Jones broke his leg while in third grade, and the cast he had to wear caused severe itching. To get a measure of relief, he stuck a flyswatter handle between the cast and his leg. His cousin, Albert, nicknamed him "Itchy." The nickname stuck, though in later years it was shortened to "Itch."[1]
A 1960 graduate of
Jones became head baseball coach at
In 1991, Jones moved to Illinois as head coach. In 15 years, he compiled a record of 474-373-1, including two Big Ten regular-season titles, a Big Ten Tournament title in 2000, and two NCAA tournament appearances. He retired after the 2005 season. At the time of his retirement, he was the 15th winningest coach in collegiate baseball history.
Twenty of Jones' players went on to play in the major leagues, including
Head coaching record
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
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MacMurray Highlanders (Independent) (1966–1968)
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1966 | MacMurray | 5–13 | |||||||
1967 | MacMurray | 10–11 | |||||||
1968 | MacMurray | 13–9 | |||||||
MacMurray: | 18–33 | ||||||||
Southern Illinois Salukis (Independent) (1970) | |||||||||
1970 | Southern Illinois | 29–8 | District 4 tournament | ||||||
Southern Illinois Salukis (Midwestern Conference) (1971–1972) | |||||||||
1971 | Southern Illinois | 43–9 | 11–1 | 1st | College World Series
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1972 | Southern Illinois | 32–8–1 | 7–2 | 2nd | |||||
Southern Illinois Salukis (Independent) (1973–1974) | |||||||||
1973 | Southern Illinois | 37–6 | District 4 tournament
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1974 | Southern Illinois | 50–12 | College World Series
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Southern Illinois Salukis (Missouri Valley Conference) (1975–1990) | |||||||||
1975 | Southern Illinois | 37–13–1 | 1st | ||||||
1976 | Southern Illinois | 39–14–1 | 1st | Mideast Regional | |||||
1977 | Southern Illinois | 41–12 | 1st | College World Series
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1978 | Southern Illinois | 37–14 | 1st | Midwest Regional | |||||
1979 | Southern Illinois | 37–10 | 3rd | ||||||
1980 | Southern Illinois | 34–16 | 2nd | ||||||
1981 | Southern Illinois | 30–17 | 7–3 | 1st (East) | Midwest Regional | ||||
1982 | Southern Illinois | 32–20 | 8–8 | 2nd (East) | Missouri Valley Tournament | ||||
1983 | Southern Illinois | 23–18 | 4–2 | 2nd (East) | Missouri Valley Tournament | ||||
1984 | Southern Illinois | 20–22 | 9–4 | 1st | Missouri Valley Tournament | ||||
1985 | Southern Illinois | 28–29 | 5–15 | 6th | |||||
1986 | Southern Illinois | 39–22–2 | 13–7 | 1st | Central Regional | ||||
1987 | Southern Illinois | 36–21 | 10–10 | 4th | Missouri Valley Tournament | ||||
1988 | Southern Illinois | 40–22 | 11–9 | 3rd | Missouri Valley Tournament | ||||
1989 | Southern Illinois | 26–38 | 6–14 | 6th | Missouri Valley Tournament | ||||
1990 | Southern Illinois | 49–14 | 14–6 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
Southern Illinois: | 738–345–5 | 87–78 | |||||||
Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (1991–2005) | |||||||||
1991 | Illinois | 26–30 | 13–15 | 7th | |||||
1992 | Illinois | 36–20 | 16–12 | 4th | Big Ten tournament
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1993 | Illinois | 32–23 | 12–16 | T-8th | |||||
1994 | Illinois | 26–26 | 12–16 | T-7th | |||||
1995 | Illinois | 25–31 | 14–14 | T-5th | |||||
1996 | Illinois | 37–22 | 17–11 | T-3rd | Big Ten tournament
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1997 | Illinois | 32–27 | 17–10 | 3rd | Big Ten tournament
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1998 | Illinois | 42–21 | 19–5 | 1st | South I Regional | ||||
1999 | Illinois | 34–22 | 15–12 | 3rd | Big Ten tournament
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2000 | Illinois | 41–23 | 17–11 | T-3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
2001 | Illinois | 29–28 | 13–14 | 5th | Big Ten tournament
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2002 | Illinois | 32–19 | 14–15 | T-6th | |||||
2003 | Illinois | 27–26 | 12–19 | T-6th | |||||
2004 | Illinois | 22–33 | 11–21 | 9th | |||||
2005 | Illinois | 33–23–1 | 20–12 | 1st | Big Ten tournament
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Illinois: | 474–373–1 | 222–203 | |||||||
Total: | 1,240–718–6 | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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See also
References
- ^ a b Major League Teams Relying More on Colleges. United Press International, 1985-05-29.
- ^ a b "Illinois bio". Archived from the original on 2014-05-08. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Minor league stats
- SIU Alumni page