Hamilton Tiger Cats

Jimmy Jones - Quarterback - 1973-79 - USC

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Jimmy Jones came to the CFL from USC where he was a star quarterback and well regarded across the nation. Jones was represented by the same agent as Montreal Alouettes running back Johnny Rodgers and Jones would follow Rodgers and join the Alouettes in 1973.

 

Jimmy quickly adapted to the Canadian game and in 1974 he led the Alouettes all the way to the Grey Cup championship. He was ineffective in the game and was replaced by veteran Sonny Wade who would go on to lead Montreal to a 20-7 victory. Jones friend Rodgers would prophetically proclaim to Jim Proudfoot of the Toronto Star. "Look, Wade did a heckuva good job today, but it was Jimmy Jones who got us here.” said Rodgers. “The sad part is that too many people are going to forget that and Wade will get all the credit.

 

Following the 1975 season Jones would join the Hamilton Tiger Cats as starting quarterback. In 1976 Jones led Hamilton to a 8-8 record and the club would advance to the East final where they

Jimmy Jones     USC                
    Passing           Rushing      
Yr Team Att Cmp Yds Pct. TD Int Lg C Yds Avg Lg TD
1973 Mtl 117 72 912 61.5 6 5 56 43 269 6.3 31 4
1974 Mtl 311 163 2,297 52.4 18 22 70 90 577 6.4 25 5
1975 Mtl 233 120 1,865 51.5 10 11 73 59 301 5.1 32 1
1976 Ham 290 144 1,773 49.7 12 9 76 44 96 2.2 16 1
1977 Ham 302 174 2,156 57.6 9 14 71 58 342 5.9 39 5
1978 Ham 269 159 2,060 59.1 9 11 75 43 204 4.7 28 1
1979 Ott 199 118 1,342 59.3 8 12 53 27 112 4.1 19 1
Total 7 1721 950 12,405 391 72 84 76 364 1,901 5.2 39 18

were defeated by Ottawa the eventual Grey Cup champions 17-15.

 

With his athletic ability his finest season with Hamilton would be 1977 with over 2,000 yards passing; 9 touchdowns through the air and 5 more on the ground with 342 yards rushing. The team would finish a disappointing 5-11 for last place in the East that year but Jones backfield partner Jimmy Edwards would go on to be named the Leagues Most Outstanding Player.

 

Jones would spend his final season in Hamilton in 1978 and the club struggled again finishing the year 5-10-1. In his final season in Canadian football Jones would serve as a back-up to Condredge Holloway in Ottawa seeing limited playing time. He may not have lived up to his potential when he arrived in the CFL but Jones carved out a productive 7 season career in the CFL.