Background
He was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
He was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
Listed at 5 ft 6 in (168 m), 135 pounds, Jones batted and threw left-handed. Jones was 20 years old when he entered the majors in 1889 with the Pittsburg Alleghenys, playing for them one year before joining the Louisville Colonels (1892), Washington Senators (1892), Philadelphia Phillies (1894) and Detroit Tigers (1903). Jones always was a bad luck pitcher either due to injury or playing on a bad baseball team
His most productive season came in 1892, when he posted a 3.31 European Research Area in 16 combined starts for the Colonels and Senators, but finished with a negative record of 5–14.
The rest of the time, he kept jumping between the minors and majors for almost 20 years. In a four-season career, Jones posted a 7–15 record with a 3.73 European Research Area in 26 appearances, including 18 complete games and one shutout, giving up 137 runs (54 unearned) on 199 hits and 77 walks while striking out 65 in 200 ⅓ innings of work.
Jones died in Woodville, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, at the age of 71.