Richard C. "Itch" Jones (February 15, 1938 – February 17, 2025) was an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. Jones coached the

Southern Illinois Salukis The Southern Illinois Salukis are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The nickname comes from the Saluki, the Royal Dog of Egypt and the Persian greyhound, which ties into the fact that southern Ill ...

from 1970 to 1990 and the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

from 1991 to 2005. Jones was twice named the national college baseball coach of the year.

Early life

Jones was born on February 15, 1938, in

Herrin, Illinois Herrin is a city in Williamson County, Illinois. The population was 12,352 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Marion-Herrin Micropolitan Area and is a part of the Carbondale- Marion-Herrin, Illinois Combined Statistical Area with 123,2 ...

. He broke his leg while in third grade, and the cast he had to wear caused severe itching. To get a measure of relief, he stuck a flyswatter handle between the cast and his leg. His cousin, Albert, nicknamed him "Itchy". The nickname stuck, though in later years it was shortened to "Itch".Major League Teams Relying More on Colleges

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

, 1985-05-29.

Baseball career

Jones attended

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a Public university, public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls stude ...

, and played

as a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

for the

. He graduated in 1960. Jones then played

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

for one year in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

minor-league system. In 1961, Jones accepted a position at Jacksonville High School coaching freshman football and junior varsity basketball. In 1964, Jones was promoted to head varsity basketball coach. In 1964, Jones led his JHS team to the Sweet Sixteen in the Illinois High School basketball tournament. Jones became head baseball coach at

MacMurray College MacMurray College was a private college in Jacksonville, Illinois, United States. Its enrollment in fall 2015 was 570. Founded in 1846, the college closed in May 2020. History Although founded in 1846 by a group of Methodist clergymen as the ...

in 1966. He returned to Southern Illinois as an assistant under

Joe Lutz Rollin Joseph Lutz (February 18, 1925 – October 20, 2008) was an American professional baseball player and coach, as well as the first non-Japanese manager in Japanese professional baseball. Life Lutz was born on February 18, 1925, in Keok ...

in 1968, becoming head coach in 1970. In 21 years, he led the Salukis to 10

NCAA Division I baseball tournament The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the eight-team Men's College World Series (MCWS) at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Oma ...

s and three

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

. His best team was the 1971 unit, which came within one game of winning the national title. His record of 738 wins are the most of any coach for the Southern Illinois baseball. In 1991, Jones became the head coach of the

of the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. He won his 1,000th game as a college head coach on April 8, 1998. In 15 years, he compiled a record of 474–373–1, including two

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

regular-season titles, a Big Ten Tournament title in 2000, and two NCAA tournament appearances. He retired after the 2005 season. At the time of his retirement, he was the 15th winningest coach in collegiate baseball history. Twenty of Jones' players went on to play in the major leagues, including

Dave Stieb David Andrew Stieb (; born July 22, 1957), nicknamed "Sir David", is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher who spent the majority of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays. A seven-time All-Star, he won ''The Sporting New ...

Steve Finley Steven Allen Finley (born March 12, 1965) is an American former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for eight teams between 1989 and 2007, most notably the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks. He is one of o ...

, and

Scott Spiezio Scott Edward Spiezio (; born September 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He is well known for his time as a member of the Anaheim Angels, when he hit a three-run home run in Game Six of the 2002 World Series against ...

. He was named national coach of the year twice, in 1971 and 1977. Jones won the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

Coach of the Year Award four times and the

Coach of the Year Award twice. He was inducted into the

halls of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

for the Missouri Valley Conference,

American Baseball Coaches Association The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest Amateur baseball in the United States, amateur baseball Manager (baseball), coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coach ...

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National F ...

, Southern Illinois University, MacMurray College, Jacksonville High School, and Herrin High School. In 2014, Southern Illinois renovated their baseball stadium and dedicated it as

Itchy Jones Stadium Itchy Jones Stadium is a baseball venue in Carbondale, Illinois. It is home to the Southern Illinois Salukis baseball team of the NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference. The field, opened in 1964, holds 2,000 spectators. The field is name ...

Personal life

Jones and his wife, Sue, an elementary school teacher, had two children. In December 2000, Jones was diagnosed with breast cancer. He underwent radiation and chemotherapy, as well as two surgeries, and went into remission in July 2001. Jones died of

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) is an incurable, always fatal neurodegenerative disease belonging to the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) group. Early symptoms include memory problems, behavioral changes, poor coordination, visu ...

Gore, Oklahoma Gore is a town in western Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 977 at the 2010 census, an increase of 15 percent over the figure of 850 record ...

, on February 17, 2025, at the age of 87.

Head coaching record

References:

References

External links