Earnest Christopher "E. J." Jones (born February 1, 1962) is a former American football

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

in the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs,

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

and Dallas Cowboys. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of Kansas.

Early years

Jones attended

Chicago Vocational High School Chicago Vocational High School (commonly known as CVCA, Chicago Vocational Career Academy or CVS) is a public 4–year vocational high school located in the Avalon Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened i ...

, where he was a starter at running back. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Kansas. As a senior, he was named a starter at

, registering 98 carries for 417 yards (4.3-yard avg.) and 2 rushing touchdowns.

Professional career

Jones was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kansas City Chiefs after the

1984 NFL Draft The 1984 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 1–2, 1984, at the Omni Park Cent ...

on May 5. He was waived before the start of the season. In 1985, he was signed for training camp and was later released on August 26. On September 16, he was re-signed. He appeared in 5 games, registering 12 carries for 19 yards. On October 23, he was released to make room for the signing of running back

Mike Pruitt Michael L. Pruitt (born April 3, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 to 1986. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round (se ...

. On July 9,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, he was signed by the

as a free agent. He was waived on August 24 and placed on the injured reserve list the next day. He was released after the fourth regular season game. In

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, he was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys. He was waived on August 31. After the NFLPA strike was declared on the third week of the season, those contests were canceled (reducing the 16-game season to 15) and the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

decided that the games would be played with replacement players. He was re-signed to be a part of the Dallas replacement team that was given the mock name "Rhinestone Cowboys" by the media.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, E.J. 1962 births Living people Players of American football from Chicago American football fullbacks Kansas Jayhawks football players Kansas City Chiefs players Chicago Bears players Dallas Cowboys players National Football League replacement players