Jones, "Tad" (Thomas A. D.)
Football
b. Feb. 22, 1887, Excello, OH
d. June 19, 1957
Jones quarterbacked Yale for three seasons, 1905 through 1907, and was named an All-American as a senior. While he called the signals Yale won 28 of 30 games, tying 2. Princeton led at half-time of their 1907 game, 10-0, but Jones helped bring Yale back for a 12-10 victory with a 40-yard punt return to set up a touchdown.
He coached Syracuse University to a 9-9-1 record in 1909 and 1910, then taught and coached at prep schools until 1916, when he returned to Yale as head coach. Yale hadn't beaten Harvard since 1909, but Jones's first team did it, 6-3, and had an 8-1-0 record. The 1917 team played only 3 games because of World War I, winning all of them.
After the season, Jones went to Seattle to help build ships for the war effort, and he remained there until 1920, when he returned to Yale. He coached at Yale through 1927. His 1923 team won all 8 of its games and the 1924 squad was also undefeated, winning 6 and tying 2. Jones's last team won 7 of 8 games.
During his 9 seasons at Yale, the school won 60, lost 15, and tied 4, beating Harvard 6 times while losing 3. His older brother, Howard, also played football at Yale and became a successful college coach.