Dub Jones

William Augustus "Dub" Jones (December 29, 1924 – November 2, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a halfback for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily for the Cleveland Browns. He shares the NFL record for touchdowns scored in a single game, with six.

Jones was born into an athletic family in Louisiana and played a variety of sports, including football, at his high school in Ruston. The team won the state championship in 1941, his senior year. He attended Louisiana State University on a scholarship for a year before being transferred to Tulane University in New Orleans as part of a World War II–era U.S. Navy training program. He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave for two seasons before joining the Miami Seahawks of the new AAFC in 1946.

The Seahawks traded Jones at the end of the 1946 season to the AAFC's Brooklyn Dodgers, who subsequently sent him to the Browns before the 1948 season. That year, the Browns won all of their games and the AAFC championship. The team repeated as champions in 1949, but the AAFC dissolved at the end of the year and the Browns joined the NFL. A tall flanker back and a running and receiving threat, he was a key part of Browns teams that won NFL championships in 1950, 1954 and 1955. He was twice named to the Pro Bowl, the NFL's all-star game, including in 1951, when he set his touchdown record.

Jones retired after the 1955 season, but returned to the Browns as an assistant coach in 1963. The Browns won the NFL championship the following year. He left football for good in 1968 and went back to Ruston, where he worked with one of his sons in a general contracting business. He is a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.

Early life and college Jones was born on December 29, 1924, in Arcadia, Louisiana, but moved with his mother and three older brothers to nearby Ruston after his father died when he was three years old. His brothers were all athletes. He played Little League Baseball as a child and went to watch boxing matches and baseball and football games at the nearby Louisiana Tech University.

Jones attended Ruston High School starting in 1938, and played football under head coach L.J. "Hoss" Garrett. He was small in stature and did not make the first team until his senior year in 1941. Ruston's Bearcats football team won its first-ever state championship that year, with Jones playing left halfback and tailback. Jones also played baseball and basketball and boxed in high school.

After graduating, Jones got a scholarship to attend Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, where one of his brothers played football. He stayed there for a year before joining the U.S. Navy as American involvement in World War II intensified. The Navy transferred him to a V-12 training program at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he played as a halfback and a safety in 1943 and 1944.

Jones carried the football for a total of 700 yards of rushing and scored four touchdowns in 1944, his junior year, and was named an All-American and an All-Southeastern Conference player by sportswriters. He trained as a fireman aboard submarines while in the Navy, and in 1945 he played football for a military team at the Naval Submarine Base New London in New London, Connecticut. Before beginning his professional career, he played in the 1946 Chicago College All-Star Game, a now-defunct annual contest between the National Football League champion and a squad of the country's best college players. Led by quarterback and future teammate Otto Graham, the college players beat the Los Angeles Rams 16–0 that year.

Professional career Jones was selected by the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) with the second pick in the 1946 NFL draft, but did not sign with the team as he pondered returning to LSU to finish his studies. When the Miami Seahawks of the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC) offered him a $12,000 contract, he accepted it and joined the team. The Seahawks, meanwhile, folded and were moved to Baltimore after the season because of poor attendance and shaky finances. Jones played sparingly for the Dodgers in the last three games of the 1946 season, rushing for 62 yards on 19 carries.

The Dodgers traded for Jones in part to replace Glenn Dobbs – a star tailback in Brooklyn's single-wing offense – because Dobbs was suffering from injuries. He too was hurt early in the 1947 season, hit by Bill Willis of the Cleveland Browns. Injuries to his knee, hip and clavicle forced him to sit out for several weeks. He broke his hand when he returned and had to play exclusively on defense for the rest of the season.

Paul Brown, the head coach of the Browns, was impressed with Jones's defensive play for Brooklyn, and traded away the rights to University of Michigan star Bob Chappuis to acquire him in June 1948. Jones began his career with the Browns as a defensive back, but was switched to halfback early in the 1948 season because his performance on defense wasn't up to Brown's standards. Jones played on offense alongside Graham, the team's quarterback, and star fullback Marion Motley as the Browns won all of their games in 1948 and beat the Buffalo Bills for their third straight AAFC championship. He ended the year with 149 rushing yards on 33 carries.

Over the next two seasons, Jones developed into a star flanker, a position he helped invent. He was both a running threat and a receiver – his tall stature was well-suited to receiving – and helped complement a passing attack that featured the Browns' two main ends, Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie. Jones often went in motion behind the line of scrimmage before the snap at a time when few players did so, causing confusion and mismatches on defense. He had 312 rushing yards and 241 receiving yards in 1949, when the Browns won another AAFC championship. The Browns finished the season with an 11–1 win–loss record and advanced to the championship game, but lost this time to the Rams. Jones came in second in the NFL in touchdowns scored and was named to the Pro Bowl, the league's all-star game. He was also selected by sportswriters as a first-team All-Pro. Jones played for two more years, winning two more championships with the Browns before retiring for good.

NFL/AAFC career statistics Legend Won the NFL championship or AAFC Championship Led the league Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1946 MIA 9 3 24 102 4.3 - 0 0 0 0.0 - 0 BDA 2 1 19 62 3.3 - 0 0 0 0.0 - 0 1947 BDA 8 2 43 136 3.2 - 1 0 0 0.0 - 0 1948 CLE 12 2 33 149 4.5 - 1 9 119 13.2 - 2 1949 CLE 11 9 77 312 4.1 - 4 12 241 20.1 - 1 1950 CLE 12 12 83 384 4.6 61 6 31 458 14.8 80 5 1951 CLE 12 12 104 492 4.7 43 7 30 570 19.0 81 5 1952 CLE 12 12 65 270 4.2 35 2 43 651 15.1 63 4 1953 CLE 12 6 31 28 0.9 10 0 24 373 15.5 58 0 1954 CLE 12 8 51 231 4.5 24 0 19 347 18.3 48 2 1955 CLE 12 6 10 44 4.4 13 0 3 115 38.3 46 1 114 73 540 2,210 4.1 61 21 171 2,874 16.8 81 20

Playoffs Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1948 CLE 1 1 5 22 4.4 6 0 2 13 6.5 10 0 1949 CLE 2 2 9 23 2.6 - 1 2 74 37.0 49 1 1950 CLE 2 2 14 36 2.6 10 0 4 80 20.0 31 1 1951 CLE 1 1 9 12 1.3 6 0 4 62 15.5 26 1 1953 CLE 1 0 3 28 9.3 19 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1954 CLE 1 0 3 3 1.0 3 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1955 CLE 1 0 1 3 3.0 13 0 1 11 11.0 11 0 9 6 44 127 2.9 19 1 13 240 18.5 49 3

Later life and coaching career Jones spent seven years working at his business in Ruston after leaving the Browns. He worked briefly as a special instructor for the Houston Oilers and an occasional advisor to college programs in Louisiana, but otherwise was out of football. He returned to the Browns as an assistant coach in March 1963, after Paul Brown was fired by team owner Art Modell. Blanton Collier, Brown's long-time deputy, became head coach and put Jones in charge of the receivers. He directed the team from the press box on Collier's behalf because Collier was hard of hearing and could not do so himself. The Browns won their first six games at the beginning of Jones's coaching career in the 1963 season, although a late slump cost them a spot in the championship game. The team regrouped the following year, ending with a 10–3–1 win–loss–tie record and winning the NFL's eastern division. Cleveland went on to win the championship game against the Baltimore Colts in 1964. During his tenure as a coach, Jones was the primary position coach for running backs Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly, both of whom are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He also coached receiver Paul Warfield, another hall of fame member who helped propel the Browns to the 1964 championship.

Jones stayed with the Browns until early 1968, when he quit and was replaced by Nick Skorich. The Browns had offered him a part-time coaching job but made clear that he could not stay on as offensive coordinator; Jones declined the reduced role. After leaving the Browns, Jones moved back to Ruston and did occasional scouting for the team at the nearby Grambling State University. He was also a volunteer coach of receivers on Grambling's football team. Later in life, he worked for his son Tom's general contracting business in Ruston.

Jones was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.

Personal life and death Jones was married to Schumpert Barnes, one of his classmates from Ruston High School, from June 1946 until his death 78 years later. He had seven children, including four sons who played college football. His son Bert Jones was a quarterback who played 10 seasons in the 1970s and 1980s for the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams and won the NFL's most valuable player award in 1976.