Ed Jones (born June 29, 1952) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

and BC Lions of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He won five

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

s for the Eskimos and was a CFL All-Star. He also was a member of the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in the

National Football League 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 ...

(NFL). 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 ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

and was drafted by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Early years

Jones grew up in

Middletown Township, New Jersey Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township had a total population of 67,106, making it the most-populous municipality in the county and the state's 16th ...

and didn't play organized football until attending Middletown Township High School in Navesink, New Jersey. He was a two-way player (

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

) that also was a key

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

performer. In 1969, before the state championships were played, he led his team to a 14–8 upset over Toms River South High School, by returning a 67-yard kickoff to set up a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

run and intercepting a pass to seal the win. The team finished with a 9–0 record. He received All-state honors as a senior.

College career

Jones accepted a football scholarship from

. As a sophomore, he was switched from

to defense during the season, earning the starting position at left

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

, collecting 3 interceptions and 16 kickoff returns for 315 yards. He also practiced

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, competing in the

100 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and 220 metres. As a junior in 1972, he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

with an injured shoulder. In 1973, he was second on the team with 4 interceptions and also returned 5 kickoffs for 90 yards. As a senior in 1974, he led the team with 7 interceptions and received All-East honors. His career interception total (14) tied the school record set by John Pollock in 1968. In 1990, he was inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Jones was selected by the

in the ninth round (226th overall) of the

1975 NFL Draft The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartko ...

, also known as the Dirty Dozen draft. He was released before the start of the season on August 11.

Buffalo Bills

On August 14,

, he was claimed off waivers by the

. He played in 12 games (11 starts) at

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

, while missing 2 games with an arm injury. He registered 3 interceptions, one fumble recovery and received

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 ...

All-rookie honors. On September 7,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, he was released, with some in the media reporting that a contract dispute was part of the reasoning.

Edmonton Eskimos

, he was signed by the

of the

after a five-day trial. He played in the last four regular-season games and in two playoff games. He was coached by Hugh Campbell and earned a reputation as one of the hardest hitters in the league. Jones was selected 4 times to the West All-Stars (1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981) as well as 3 times to the CFL All-Stars (1979, 1980 and 1981). In 1980 he had his best season, leading the CFL with 10 interceptions (3 returned for

s). He helped the team win 5

s during his nine-year career, finishing with 30 career interceptions, 5 fumble recoveries and 3.5 sacks. On March 12,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, he was traded to the BC Lions in exchange for a third-round draft pick in the

1985 CFL Draft The 1985 CFL Draft composed of nine rounds where 81 Canadian football players were chosen from eligible Canadian universities and Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The 1985 draft was the first draft in Canadian Football League history wherein th ...

BC Lions

, he played in only 9 games because of torn cartilage in his right knee and recorded one interception. He was placed on the reserve list on October 19.

Personal life

After his retirement, he worked in Edmonton's City Hall to provide affordable housing in the city. He served as the vice-president of the Eskimos Alumni. In the

2014 CFL Draft The 2014 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 7:00 PM ET on TSN. 65 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. A total of 19 trades ...

, his son Derek was selected in the fourth round (29th overall) by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

References

External links

Ex-Eskimo hard hitter now throws his weight into housing the poor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ed 1952 births Living people Middletown High School North alumni Sportspeople from Long Branch, New Jersey People from Middletown Township, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey American football defensive backs American players of Canadian football Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's track and field athletes Buffalo Bills players Edmonton Elks players BC Lions players Canadian football defensive backs Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey