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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| Randy Jones | |
|---|---|
 Jones with the San Diego Padres in 1977 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: January 12, 1950 Fullerton, California, U.S. | |
| Died: November 18, 2025 (aged 75) Escondido, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 16, 1973, for the San Diego Padres | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 7, 1982, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 100–123 |
| Earned run average | 3.42 |
| Strikeouts | 735 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Randall Leo Jones (January 12, 1950 – November 18, 2025), nicknamed "Junkman", was an American professional baseball player who was a left-handed pitcher. He was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the San Diego Padres. A two-time All-Star selection, Jones won the National League (NL) Cy Young Award with San Diego in 1976 after finishing second in 1975. The Padres retired his number, 35.
In his final start in 1976, Jones damaged a nerve in his throwing arm and underwent surgery. He pitched six more seasons, spending the final two with the New York Mets, but never returned to his peak form. Jones was known for his sinker, the large number of groundball outs he induced, and his exceptional control. He was inducted into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame in 1999, its inaugural year.
Jones was born on January 12, 1950, in Fullerton, California. He attended Brea-Olinda High School in Brea, California, where he had an 8–2 win–loss record with a 0.91 earned run average (ERA) and 110 strikeouts as a senior. At Chapman College (now University) in Orange, California,[1] he was the top pitcher for three years and was named an All-American as a senior.[2]
During high school, Jones suffered tendinitis in his pitching arm.[3] He had a fine fastball as a college freshman,[1] but arm problems sapped his velocity.[a] However, he developed the ability to set up hitters with his exceptional control, including moving pitches to different parts of the plate and altering his pitching speeds. Jones came to rely on his sinker and slider rather than his fastball.[3]
From 1969 to 1972 at Chapman, Jones won 27 games and was named the team's most valuable player each year. In Jones's All-American senior year, Chapman recorded 38 wins and finished as the runner-up at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Far West Regionals. Jones set school records for strikeouts in a season with 155 in 1972, and over his college career, he set the school's career strikeout record with 311.[6]
The San Diego Padres selected Jones in the fifth round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.[6] In 1972, the Padres assigned Jones to the Single-A Tri-City Padres, where he played in one game, and the Double-A Alexandria Aces where he started 11 games.[7] He only had a 3–5 record with Alexandria, but had a 2.91 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 68 innings pitched.[8] He began 1973 in Alexandria, where he had a 8–1 record, 2.01 ERA, three complete games, one shutout and 67 strikeouts in 67 innings.[9]
Jones' Double-A pitching coach Warren Hacker suggested Jones work on developing his sinker, which proved successful for Jones. Over the ensuing years, he developed techniques that added to his deceptiveness in throwing velocity and durability as a pitcher.[10] Jones' nickname as a Padre became "Junkman".[11]
Jones made his major league debut with the Padres on June 16, 1973, pitching 1 1/3 innings as a relief pitcher.[12] He started every other game in which he appeared that year (19), and had a 7–6 record, with a 3.16 ERA in his rookie season.[13] In 1974, Jones went 8–22 with a 4.45 ERA.[13] His 22 losses were tied for worst in the National League,[14] with the Padres scoring one or fewer runs in 12 of those losses.[15]
In 1975, Jones was 20–12 and led the National League with a 2.24 ERA,[13][16] earning The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award.[17] He had 18 complete games in 36 starts,[16] and became the first 20-game winner in Padres franchise history.[18] Jones was second in wins and WAR (wins above replacement) (7.5) among pitchers, only behind future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver (22 wins and 7.8 WAR).[19][20] The New York Mets' Seaver finished first in the Cy Young Award voting, receiving 15 first place votes to Jones's seven.[21] Jones felt he lost out due to a lack of exposure to the influential New York media.[22] He was selected to the 1975 NL All-Star team,[23] and finished 10th in NL Most Valuable Player voting.[21]
His best season was in 1976,[24] when he survived a car crash, went 22–14 with a 2.74 ERA, and started the All-Star Game against Mark Fidrych.[25] San Diego won just 73 games that season, with Jones being the winning pitcher in almost 30%.[16] He became the first Padre to win the Cy Young Award,[18] and was also the first in franchise history to receive a postseason award from the Baseball Writers' Association of America.[22] The Sporting News named him their NL Pitcher of the Year,[26] and selected him as the left-handed pitcher on their NL All-Star Team for the second consecutive season.[13] From May 17 to June 22, Jones pitched 68 consecutive innings without allowing a base on balls, tying the 63-year-old NL record set by Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson in 1913.[1][27] Their NL record was broken in 2001 by Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux.[28][29] At the All-Star break in July 1976, Jones' record was 16–3, a first-half win total that set an NL record which no one has equaled since.[b][1][30][36] Sports Illustrated placed him on their cover with the headline "Threat to win 30. San Diego’s confounding Randy Jones".[18] He finished the season as the major league leader in wins, complete games (25), games started (40), and innings pitched (315.1).[18] In addition he was tied for second in the NL with five shutouts.[37] Jones had only 93 strikeouts, an average of 2.7 per nine innings pitched,[38] but walked even fewer (50), while forcing opponents into 35 double plays.[10] As of 2025[update], he was the only pitcher in the past 90 years to pitch 300 innings with fewer that 100 strikeouts.[15] His strikeout rate was even low for his era, ranking 84th out of 88 qualifying starters that season with a strikeout percentage of only 7.4%.[16] He led the NL with a 1.027 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) even though he allowed an NL-high 274 hits.[10]
Jones owns the distinction of recording a save for the NL in the 1975 All-Star Game and being the starting and winning pitcher the next year.[39][40] During his last start of the 1976 season, he injured a nerve in his pitching arm that required surgery, and he was never quite able to regain his Cy Young form.[1] Post-surgery in 1977, he pitched less than half the number of innings he had pitched a year earlier, and ended up with a 6–12 record and 4.58 ERA.[13] On May 4, Jones and his Philadelphia counterpart, Jim Kaat, pitched the fastest game in Padres history at one hour and 29 minutes. San Diego won 4–1, as Jones induced 19 ground-ball outs while striking out one and walking one.[18] He pitched effectively for San Diego in 1978 and 1979, with records of 13–14 and 11–12, 2.88 and 3.63 ERAs and 263 and 257 innings pitched, respectively in those years.[13] In 1980, his record fell to 5–13, with a 3.91 ERA in only 154.1 innings pitched.[13]
On December 15, 1980, Jones was traded to the Mets for José Moreno and John Pacella.[11] After going 1–8 in 1981, he began the 1982 season at 6–2, before struggling and finishing at 7–10 with a 4.60 ERA. He pitched worse at home, surrendering 70 hits and 39 earned runs in 47 innings at Shea Stadium. The Mets released him after the season with two years remaining on his contract for $750,000.[41] Jones signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but was released before the 1983 season started, thus ending his playing career.[11]
After retiring from Major League Baseball, Jones coached young pitchers. His most prominent pupil was Barry Zito,[42] who won the 2002 Cy Young Award with the Oakland Athletics.[43] Another pupil, Joe Musgrove, pitched the first no-hitter in Padres history.[44]
Jones finished his career with a win–loss record of 100–123 (.448) and a 3.42 ERA.[45] He remains the only starting pitcher to win a Cy Young Award but retire with a losing record.[46] In 285 starts, he threw 75 complete games, including 19 shutouts.[45] He rarely walked or struck out batters.[5] Jones's sinker, which "dropped like an anvil", was his default pitch that induced batters to hit ground balls.[3] He was adept at forcing double plays.[5] Pete Rose, MLB's all-time hit leader who only had a .183 lifetime batting average against him,[47] said that Jones threw "a 27-mile-per-hour (43 km/h) fastball".[5] Merv Rettenmund, a former teammate of Jones and Hall of Fame pitchers Jim Palmer and Nolan Ryan, stated that when Jones was at his peak there was no better pitcher he had ever seen.[48]
One of the Padres' first homegrown stars,[18] Jones had his uniform No. 35 retired by the team on May 9, 1997.[3] His starts at home for San Diego spiked attendance by the thousands, and the crowd began a tradition on Opening Day in 1976 of greeting him with a pregame ovation.[49][5] That year, when he won the Cy Young, the Padres drew an average of 27,400 fans in his 21 home starts, compared to 15,769 in their other home games.[45] In its first six years of existence (1969–1974), the franchise never won more than 63 games and finished each season in last place in the six-team NL West, but then won over 70 games in Jones's two peak years, when they finished fourth in 1975 and fifth in 1976.[18][50] He is credited with having put the Padres "on the map".[10]
Jones was inducted into the Chapman Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.[6][51][52] He was enshrined by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1996.[53] He was inducted as part of the inaugural class of the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame in 1999.[54]
Jones was the subject of a malapropism by Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman who once said, "On the mound is Randy Jones, the left-hander with the Karl Marx hairdo." Coleman had intended to say Harpo Marx.[55]
Jones married his high school sweetheart Marie (née Stassi),[24] and they had two daughters.[18] After retiring from playing, he ran a restaurant and catering business in San Diego,[3] where he also operated a string of car washes.[1] He opened the popular Randy Jones BBQ on the concourse of Qualcomm Stadium before moving it to the Padres' new home at Petco Park.[18] In retirement, Jones became an ambassador for the Padres, often meeting and greeting with fans and at times working on pre- and post-game Padres broadcasts.[48]
In 2016, Jones was diagnosed with throat cancer, likely caused by years of using chewing tobacco. His treatment was successful and he was declared cancer-free the following year.[56][57][58]
His post-career projects included the Randy Jones Run/Walk that raises money for Home of Guiding Hands, an organization benefiting the developmentally disabled in the San Diego area, with which Jones worked for many years.[58]
Jones died on November 18, 2025, at the age of 75.[18]
'I lost my balance on a pitch and something snapped,' Jones said. 'I had pulled some tendons ...'
Wilbur Wood, who had 16 wins at the break in 1974, was the last AL pitcher to reach the plateau. Wood, with 18 victories in 1972, holds the major league mark for wins at the break.
Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood won 18 games before the break in 1973, but didn't make the All-Star team (he was 18-14).
Rose had the second most at-bats of anyone Jones faced during his career with 93, but 'Charlie Hustle' managed just 17 hits (a .183 average), with only two being extra-base hits and just three RBIs.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Randall Leo Jones (January 12, 1950 – November 18, 2025), nicknamed "Junkman", was an American professional baseball player who was a left-handed pitcher. He was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the San Diego Padres. A two-time All-Star selection, Jones won the National League (NL) Cy Young Award with San Diego in 1976 after finishing second in 1975. The Padres retired his number, 35. In his final start in 1976, Jones damaged a nerve in his throwing arm and underwent surgery. He pitched six more seasons, spending the final two with the New York Mets, but never returned to his peak form. Jones was known for his sinker, the large number of groundball outs he induced, and his exceptional control. He was inducted into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame in 1999, its inaugural year.
Randy or Randall Jones may refer to:
Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, rapper, and professional baseball player. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Savage was described by sportswriter Bill Simmons as "one of the greatest pro wrestlers who ever lived" – a statement echoed by multiple industry performers. He was recognizable by wrestling fans for his distinctively flamboyant ring attire and raspy voice, intensity exhibited in and out of the ring, use of the finale from "Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1" by Edward Elgar as his entrance music, and signature catchphrase, "Oooh yeah!" For most of his tenures in the WWF and WCW, Savage was managed by his real-life wife, Miss Elizabeth. Savage had ten world championship reigns during his 32-year career, including two as WWF World Heavyweight Champion and four as WCW World Heavyweight Champion. As WWF Champion, he had drawing power equal to that of wrestling great Hulk Hogan. A one-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, he was named by WWE as the greatest titleholder of all time and credited for bringing "a higher level of credibility to the title through his amazing in-ring performances". Savage was the 1987 WWF King of the Ring and the 1995 WCW World War 3 winner. He headlined many pay-per-view events throughout his career, including WrestleMania IV and WrestleMania V, two of the first five SummerSlam shows, the 1988 Survivor Series and Starrcade '95: World Cup of Wrestling. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame upon its inception in 1996, with a posthumous WWE Hall of Fame induction following in 2015.
Andruw Rudolf Jones (Papiamento pronunciation: [ˈandruw ˈdʒonz]; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former professional baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. He also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Jones was a strong defensive player for much of his career, winning the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for outfielders every year from 1998 through 2007. He had a strong throwing arm in addition to his elite fielding. He was an MLB All-Star five times, and he won both the Hank Aaron Award and a Silver Slugger Award for outfielders in 2005. Jones made his MLB debut during the 1996 season with the Atlanta Braves. In the 1996 World Series, he became the youngest player ever to hit a home run in the postseason, and just the second player ever to homer in his first two World Series at-bats. The following season, he finished fifth in voting for Rookie of the Year. He continued to improve his offensive production the next two seasons, and in 2000, he batted .303 with 36 home runs and 104 runs batted in (RBIs), making his first All-Star team. Jones started to draw many comparisons to Willie Mays and was considered one of the top center fielders in baseball. He proved to be a top defensive player, leading all center fielders in putouts and total zone runs five years in a row from 1998 to 2002. In 2001, he again hit more than 30 home runs and drove in 104 runs but his average dipped to .251 while his strikeouts increased. Jones improved with All-Star seasons in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, he failed to hit at least 30 home runs for the first time since 1999 and exceeded 100 strikeouts, which became a regular occurrence thereafter. In 2005, he led the National League (NL) with 51 home runs and 128 RBIs, finishing second to Albert Pujols for NL Most Valuable Player. In subsequent seasons, his average continued to dip and his strikeouts increased. After a productive season in 2006, including a career-high 129 RBIs, in 2007 Jones had his weakest season to that point, batting just .222. During his time with Atlanta, Jones became one of the youngest players in MLB history to reach 300 career home runs. After the 2007 season, Jones signed with the Dodgers as a free agent to a two-year deal, worth $36.2 million. However, Jones struggled with the Dodgers, batting just .158 with three home runs and 14 RBIs. Shortly after the season, Jones was released. Jones concluded his MLB career with brief stints for the Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees, transitioning from a starting center fielder to designated hitter and backup outfielder role. Jones hit his 400th career home run in 2010 while playing for the White Sox. In 2026, Jones was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He became the first Curaçaoan player to be elected into the Hall of Fame.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.
