Cowboy Jones

Albert Edward Jones
(Bronco)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 160 lb.

• Debut June 24, 1898
• Final Game June 21, 1901
• Born August 23, 1874 in Golden, Colorado Territory USA
• Died February 9, 1958 in Inglewood, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"Tebeau is much impressed with the young left-handed pitcher, Bert Jones." - Sporting Life, April 2, 1898

"Southpaw Bert Jones has proven a hard nut for every club he has pitched against this season." - Sporting Life, June 2, 1900

Bert "Cowboy" Jones was the first Colorado-born player to come to the major leagues, and the only one to play in the majors in the 19th Century. After four seasons in the majors (1898-1901), he played in the minors through 1915.

His best year was as a rookie with the 1898 Cleveland Spiders, a performance which apparently saved him from staying with the 1899 Spiders, a shell of a team that is sometimes considered the worst major league team ever.

While his ERA was low in 1898, he gave up a lot of unearned runs. In subsequent years, his ERA went up, but he gave up a smaller percentage of unearned runs. In 1899 it was reported that he left the team in August to go to his home in Pueblo, CO due to illness.

In three of his four years, he was managed (at least part of the year) by Patsy Tebeau, and in his last year he was managed by another Patsy, Patsy Donovan. Three of his four teams finished over .500.

He is the only major leaguer who is formally remembered by the name "Cowboy", although several others bore the nickname Cowboy. Instead of being an actual cowboy, during the off-season of 1898-99 he ran a cigar store in Albuquerque.

The most similar pitcher, according to the similarity scores method, is Dixie Walker, the pitcher who was the father of Dixie Walker the batting champ.

Notable Achievements

• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1900)