Frederick Scheetz Jones (April 7, 1862 – January 14, 1944) was an American university professor, dean, and

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach. He was the first physics teacher at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and the school's second football coach, known as the "father of Minnesota football". Following his time as coach, Jones continued his involvement in athletics. He helped secure land and funding for

Northrop Field Northrop Field was the on-campus stadium of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team from 1899 to 1923. The original field had seating of around 3,000 and was named for University President Cyrus Northrop. After the 1902 season, the playing ...

, the program's first true home field. He also signed Henry L. Williams to be the new head football coach at Minnesota in 1900. Jones was born in

Palmyra, Missouri Palmyra is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Missouri, Marion County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,613 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Hannibal, Missouri, Hannibal Hannibal micropolit ...

and attended

Shattuck-Saint Mary's Shattuck-St. Mary's (also known as Shattuck-St. Mary's School, Shattuck, or simply SSM) is a coeducational Episcopal-affiliated boarding school in the city of Faribault, Minnesota. History Established in 1858 as an Episcopal mission scho ...

Faribault, Minnesota Faribault ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 24,453 at the 2020 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highwa ...

. After graduating from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

with the class of 1884, Jones taught history and elocution at Shattuck. He then taught physics at the University of Minnesota before spending two years in Europe, studying at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

and

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

. He returned to the University of Minnesota in 1889 as professor of physics and electricity. From 1902 to 1909, he was the dean of the School of Engineering at Minnesota. Jones received a

Legum Doctor Legum is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Colin Legum (1919–2003), British anti-apartheid activist * Judd Legum (born 1978), American journalist, lawyer, and political staffer * Margaret Legum (1933–2007), Brit ...

degree from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in 1909. He was the dean of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

from 1909 until his retirement in 1927. Jones died on January 14, 1944, as his home in

Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant (Connecticut), Sleeping Giant". The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecti ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Frederick S. 1862 births 1944 deaths 19th-century American educators 20th-century American educators ETH Zurich alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches University of Kansas alumni University of Minnesota faculty Yale University administrators Yale University alumni People from Marion County, Missouri Schoolteachers from Minnesota