Willie Jones

Note: This page is for 1950s third baseman Willie Jones; for the catcher in the 1920s, click here.

Willie Edward Jones
(Puddin' Head)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 192 lb.
• High School Laurel Hill High School
• Debut September 10, 1947
• Final Game May 7, 1961
• Born August 16, 1925 in Dillon, SC USA
• Died October 18, 1983 in Cincinnati, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones played fifteen years in the majors, getting over 5,000 at-bats. His nickname came from a 1930s song.

Jones was in the minors for most of 1947 and 1948 at Terre Haute, Utica and Toronto. While with Terre Haute in 1947, Jones led the league in doubles. He came up for 18 games with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1947, hitting .226, and 17 games with the team in 1948, hitting .333.

In 1949 he became the regular third baseman for the Phillies. In the majors he almost never played any position other than third, with above-average range and fielding percentage. He was one of the 1950 "Whiz Kids" who won the National League pennant, the first won by the Phils since 1915. Jones scored 100 runs for the Phillies in 1950 and hit .286 in the World Series, in which the Phils were swept in four games by the New York Yankees.

He made the All-Star team in 1950 and 1951 and led the league in Games Played in 1950 and Sacrifice Hits in 1951.

Jones stayed with the Phillies through June 1959, hitting between 9 and 25 home runs each year with a peak of 25 in 1950. After 11 games in 1959 with the Cleveland Indians, he finished out his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1959-1961. Although the Reds won the National League pennant in 1951, Jones' last game with them was in May of that year.

He died of cancer at age 58.

Notable Achievements

• 2-time NL All-Star (1950 & 1951)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1950 & 1951)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1950)

Records Held

• Tied MLB record by hitting four doubles in a game, April 20, 1949

Related Sites

• Willie Jones at the SABR Bio Project