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Willie Jones
Jones' 1950 baseball card from Bowman Gum
Third baseman
Born: (1925-08-16)August 16, 1925 Dillon, South Carolina, U.S.
Died: October 18, 1983(1983-10-18) (aged 58) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Batted: RightThrew: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 1947, for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
May 7, 1961, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Batting average	.258
Home runs	190
Runs batted in	812
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Philadelphia Phillies (1947–1959) Cleveland Indians (1959) Cincinnati Reds (1959–1961)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star (1950, 1951) Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame

Willie Edward Jones (August 16, 1925 – October 18, 1983), nicknamed "Puddin' Head", was an American professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1947–1959), Cleveland Indians (1959), and Cincinnati Reds (1959–1961). He batted and threw right-handed.

In a 15-season career, Jones was a .258 hitter with 190 home runs and 812 runs batted in (RBI) in 1,691 games played. Defensively, he recorded a .963 fielding percentage.

Early life

Born in Dillon, South Carolina, Jones grew up in and listed Laurel Hill, North Carolina, as his home. Jones went on to serve his country in the United States Navy during World War II.

Major league baseball

Jones started his major league career with the Phillies in 1947. By 1949, he became the team's starting third baseman, and held that position until 1959. Jones was the top fielding third baseman in the National League (NL) during the 1950s. He led the league in fielding percentage five times, in putouts for seven years (also tying a record), and twice each in assists and double plays.

Jones' most productive season came as a member of the fabulous 1950 "Whiz Kids" National League champion team, when he posted career-highs in home runs (25), RBI (88), runs (100), hits (163), and led the league in games played (157). His 16-game hit streak to begin that campaign was a franchise record that stood for 73 years until Bryson Stott surpassed it on April 18, 2023. In 1951, Jones hit 22 homers with 81 RBI and a career-high .285 batting average. He was selected for the All-Star Game in both seasons.

In 1959, Jones was part of successive trades between the Phillies, Cleveland Indians, and Cincinnati Reds. He finished his career with Cincinnati in 1961.

Jones was given his nickname from a popular 1930s song, "Woodenhead, Puddin' head Jones".

Personal life

Jones was married to Carolyn, with whom he had three children, Eddie, Kathie, and Bradley. The marriage ended in divorce.

Death

On October 18, 1983, Jones died at the age of 58, of cancer in Cincinnati, Ohio — where he had lived after his playing days were over.

Highlights

• Twice All-Star (1950–51)
• Tied a major league record with four straight doubles in a game (April 28, 1949)
• His six career grand slams as a Phillie ties him for third place behind Mike Schmidt and Ryan Howard
• His 2,045 career putouts are 10th-highest in major league history
• Compiled a career 1.39 walk-to-strikeout ratio (755-to-541)

References

1. ^ "Willie Jones Baseball Stats". baseball-almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
2. Casella, Paul. "Stott tops Puddin' Head for Phils-record hit streak," MLB.com, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
3. Marazzi, R.; Fiorito, L. (2015). Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-4766-0429-9. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
4. Deaths | Willie Jones, Daytona Beach Morning Journal October 21, 1983, p. 13B. Retrieved February 10, 2021.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Willie Jones at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
• Willie Jones at Find a Grave

v t e Philadelphia Phillies
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Lore	1993 World Series Game 6 2018 MLB Little League Classic Bedlam at the Bank Black Friday Black Saturday The Cardiac Kids Chase Utley's throw home Dick Sisler's home run The Four Aces Macho Row Perfect games Jim Bunning Roy Halladay Pete Rose catch The Phold Roy Halladay's postseason no-hitter Whiz Kids Wheeze Kids
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Key personnel	Owner: Limited partnership (John S. Middleton, Jim & Pete Buck, Stanley Middleman, Estate of David Montgomery, & Pat Gillick) President: David Dombrowski General Manager: Preston Mattingly Manager: Rob Thomson
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Category

v t e Members of the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame
Inducted as Phillies	Roberts Ashburn Klein Alexander Ennis Bunning Delahanty Williams Hamner Owens Carlton Schmidt Bowa Short Simmons Allen Jones Thompson Callison Luzinski McGraw Cravath Maddox Taylor Magee Hamilton Boone Green Vukovich Samuel Kalas Daulton Kruk Lieberthal Schilling Manuel Burrell Thome Gillick Halladay Abreu Trillo McBride Reed Carpenter Quinn Rolen Montgomery
Inducted as Athletics	Mack Foxx Grove Simmons Cochrane Dykes Plank Waddell Collins Moses Johnson Valo Bender Coombs Baker Shantz Joost Rommel Fain Miller Chapman Earnshaw Zernial Walberg Oldring

• 1925 births
• 1983 deaths
• Baseball players from Cincinnati
• Baseball players from South Carolina
• Cincinnati Reds players
• Cleveland Indians players
• Deaths from cancer in Ohio
• Major League Baseball third basemen
• National League All-Stars
• People from Dillon, South Carolina
• Philadelphia Phillies players
• Terre Haute Phillies players
• Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players
• United States Navy personnel of World War II
• Utica Blue Sox players