Itch Jones

Richard C. "Itch" Jones (born 1938) is a retired college baseball coach.

Itch Jones
Biographical details
Born1938 (age 81–82)
Herrin, Illinois
Playing career
1957–1960Southern Illinois
1960Bluefield Orioles
1960Stockton Ports
Position(s)Second baseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1966–1968MacMurray
1969Southern Illinois (asst)
1970–1990Southern Illinois
1991–2005Illinois
Head coaching record
Overall1,240–718–6
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • Midwestern (1971)
  • 7× Missouri Valley (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1990)
  • Missouri Valley Tournament (1990)
  • 2× Big Ten (1998, 2005)
  • Big Ten Tournament (2000)
Awards
  • 4× Missouri Valley Coach of the Year (1977, 1981, 1986, 1990)
  • 2× Big Ten Coach of the Year (1998, 2005)
  • 2× National Coach of the Year (1971, 1977)

Jones 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."[1]

A 1960 graduate of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Jones played second base under Abe Martin. He then played one year in the Baltimore Orioles 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 in 1966. He then returned to his alma mater as an assistant under Joe Lutz in 1968, becoming head coach in 1970. In 21 years, he led the Salukis to 10 NCAA Tournaments and three College World Series. His best team was the 1971 unit, which came within one game of winning the national title. His record of 738-345-5 is still the best in school history.[2]

In 1991, Jones moved to Illinois as head coach. In 15 years, he compiled a record of 474-373-1, including two Big Ten 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, Steve Finley and Scott Spezio.[2] He was named national coach of the year twice, in 1971 and 1977.[1]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
MacMurray Highlanders (Independent) (1966–1968)
1966 MacMurray 5–13
1967 MacMurray 10–11
1968 MacMurray 13–9
MacMurray: 18–33
Southern Illinois Salukis (Independent) (1970)
1970 Southern Illinois 29–8District 4 Tournament
Southern Illinois Salukis (Midwestern Conference) (1971–1972)
1971 Southern Illinois 43–911–11stCollege World Series
1972 Southern Illinois 32–8–17–22nd
Southern Illinois Salukis (Independent) (1973–1974)
1973 Southern Illinois 37–6District 4 Tournament
1974 Southern Illinois 50–12College World Series
Southern Illinois Salukis (Missouri Valley Conference) (1975–1990)
1975 Southern Illinois 37–13–11st
1976 Southern Illinois 39–14–11stMideast Regional
1977 Southern Illinois 41–121stCollege World Series
1978 Southern Illinois 37–141stMidwest Regional
1979 Southern Illinois 37–103rd
1980 Southern Illinois 34–162nd
1981 Southern Illinois 30–177–31st (East)Midwest Regional
1982 Southern Illinois 32–208–82nd (East)Missouri Valley Tournament
1983 Southern Illinois 23–184–22nd (East)Missouri Valley Tournament
1984 Southern Illinois 20–229–41stMissouri Valley Tournament
1985 Southern Illinois 28–295–156th
1986 Southern Illinois 39–22–213–71stCentral Regional
1987 Southern Illinois 36–2110–104thMissouri Valley Tournament
1988 Southern Illinois 40–2211–93rdMissouri Valley Tournament
1989 Southern Illinois 26–386–146thMissouri Valley Tournament
1990 Southern Illinois 49–1414–61stNCAA Regional
Southern Illinois: 738–345–587–78
Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (1991–2005)
1991 Illinois 26–3013–157th
1992 Illinois 36–2016–124thBig Ten Tournament
1993 Illinois 32–2312–16T-8th
1994 Illinois 26–2612–16T-7th
1995 Illinois 25–3114–14T-5th
1996 Illinois 37–2217–11T-3rdBig Ten Tournament
1997 Illinois 32–2717–103rdBig Ten Tournament
1998 Illinois 42–2119–51stSouth I Regional
1999 Illinois 34–2215–123rdBig Ten Tournament
2000 Illinois 41–2317–11T-3rdNCAA Regional
2001 Illinois 29–2813–145thBig Ten Tournament
2002 Illinois 32–1914–15T-6th
2003 Illinois 27–2612–19T-6th
2004 Illinois 22–3311–219th
2005 Illinois 33–23–120–121stBig Ten Tournament
Illinois: 474–373–1222–203
Total:1,240–718–6

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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See also

References
  1. Major League Teams Relying More on Colleges. United Press International, 1985-05-29.
  2. "Illinois bio". Archived from the original on 2014-05-08. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
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