Nippy Jones
Encyclopedia
Vernal Leroy Jones is a former Major League Baseball
first baseman
who won World Series
rings with the St. Louis Cardinals
in and the Milwaukee Braves in .
, and signed with the Cardinals upon graduation from John C. Fremont High School
in Inglewood, California
in . After batting .304 for the Cardinals' Pacific Coast League
affiliate Sacramento Solons
in 1943, Jones left baseball for two years in order to serve in the United States Marine Corp during World War II
.
He returned in , spending most of the season with the Cardinals' triple A affiliate Rochester Red Wings
. However, he did appear in sixteen games with the Cardinals, and was on their post-season roster. He struck out in his only plate appearance of the 1946 World Series
against the Boston Red Sox
in game five.
He split between St. Louis and Rochester before earning a starting job with the Cards in . Having originally come up with the Cardinals as a second baseman
, he played first base for the 1948 Cardinals, with future Hall of Famer Stan Musial
shifting to the outfield
. He batted .254 with ten home runs and 81 runs batted in in his first full season for the second place Cardinals.
in the rule 5 draft
. He appeared in only eight games for the Phillies in , spending most of the season with their triple A affiliate, the Baltimore Orioles
.
He returned to the Sacramento Solons
in , who were at that point, unaffiliated. He remained with the club through the beginning of the season. The Milwaukee Braves were in second place behind the Cardinals, and purchased Jones' contract when slugging first baseman Joe Adcock
went down with an injury.
. After finishing second to the Brooklyn Dodgers two years in a row, the Braves won the National League
in 1957
, and faced the New York Yankees
in the World Series
.
Jones is remembered for being involved in a controversial "Shoeshine incident" in the 1957 Series, that would be repeated twelve years later by Cleon Jones
in the 1969 World Series
. Jones pinch hit in games one and three of the 1957 World Series
, grounding out both times. Both of which games were also won by the Yankees. Game four went into extra innings
, and when the Yankees took a 5-4 lead in the tenth, the Braves were looking at the possibility of falling three games to one in the series.
Jones led off the Milwaukee half of the tenth inning, pinch hitting for Warren Spahn
. He jumped back from a low pitch that home plate
umpire
Augie Donatelli
called a ball. Jones protested that it had hit his foot, and he was awarded first base after showing Donatelli a shoe polish mark on the ball to prove it. Yankees manager Casey Stengel
vehemently protested the call, but to no avail. The Braves scored three runs in the tenth, including a two run home run by Eddie Mathews
to end the game and even the series at two games apiece. The play was the turning point in the series, as the Braves went on to win the series in seven games.
before retiring in .
Following his retirement from baseball
, Jones worked in public relations and the title-insurance businesses in Sacramento, California
, and became a professional fishing guide.
Jones died of a heart attack
on October 3, . He was survived by his wife of 49 years, Nora, four children and six grandchildren.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
who won World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
rings with the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
in and the Milwaukee Braves in .
St. Louis Cardinals
Jones was born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and signed with the Cardinals upon graduation from John C. Fremont High School
John C. Fremont High School
John C. Fremont Senior High School is a Title 1 co-educational public high school located in Los Angeles, California, United States.Fremont is in a region known as South Los Angeles...
in Inglewood, California
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
in . After batting .304 for the Cardinals' Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
affiliate Sacramento Solons
Sacramento Solons
The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods . The current Sacramento River Cats began play in 2000...
in 1943, Jones left baseball for two years in order to serve in the United States Marine Corp during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
He returned in , spending most of the season with the Cardinals' triple A affiliate Rochester Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...
. However, he did appear in sixteen games with the Cardinals, and was on their post-season roster. He struck out in his only plate appearance of the 1946 World Series
1946 World Series
-Game 1:Sunday, October 6, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, MissouriThe Red Sox won Game 1 when Rudy York hit a home run into the left field bleachers.-Game 2:Monday, October 7, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St...
against the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
in game five.
He split between St. Louis and Rochester before earning a starting job with the Cards in . Having originally come up with the Cardinals as a second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
, he played first base for the 1948 Cardinals, with future Hall of Famer Stan Musial
Stan Musial
Stanley Frank "Stan" Musial is a retired professional baseball player who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals . Nicknamed "Stan the Man", Musial was a record 24-time All-Star selection , and is widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters in baseball...
shifting to the outfield
Outfield
The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...
. He batted .254 with ten home runs and 81 runs batted in in his first full season for the second place Cardinals.
Sacramento Solons
Jones remained with the Cardinals through . Following the season, he was selected by the Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
in the rule 5 draft
Rule 5 draft
The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to...
. He appeared in only eight games for the Phillies in , spending most of the season with their triple A affiliate, the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles (minor league)
The city of Baltimore, Maryland has been home to two minor league baseball teams called the Baltimore Orioles.-Name history:"Orioles" is a traditional name for baseball clubs in Baltimore . It was used by major league teams from 1882 through 1899 in the American Association/National League and by...
.
He returned to the Sacramento Solons
Sacramento Solons
The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods . The current Sacramento River Cats began play in 2000...
in , who were at that point, unaffiliated. He remained with the club through the beginning of the season. The Milwaukee Braves were in second place behind the Cardinals, and purchased Jones' contract when slugging first baseman Joe Adcock
Joe Adcock
Joseph Wilbur "Billy Joe" Adcock was an American first baseman and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the powerful Milwaukee Braves teams of the 1950s, whose career included numerous home run feats...
went down with an injury.
1957 World Series and controversy
The highlight of his season occurred on July 26, when he hit a walk off home run in the eleventh inning to lift the Braves to a 6-3 victory over the New York GiantsSan Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. After finishing second to the Brooklyn Dodgers two years in a row, the Braves won the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
in 1957
1957 Milwaukee Braves season
The Milwaukee Braves season was the year that the team won its first and only World Series championship while based in Milwaukee. The Braves won 95 games and lost 59 to win the National League pennant by eight games over the second-place St. Louis Cardinals....
, and faced the New York Yankees
1957 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was the 55th season for the team in New York, and its 57th season overall. The team finished with a record of 98-56 to win their 23rd pennant, finishing eight games ahead of the Chicago White Sox. New York was managed by Casey Stengel...
in the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
.
Jones is remembered for being involved in a controversial "Shoeshine incident" in the 1957 Series, that would be repeated twelve years later by Cleon Jones
Cleon Jones
Cleon Joseph Jones is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who is best remembered as the man who caught the final out of the "Miracle Mets" improbable World Series Championship over the Baltimore Orioles....
in the 1969 World Series
1969 World Series
The 1969 World Series was played between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, with the Mets prevailing in five games to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history, as that particular Orioles squad was considered to be one of the finest ever...
. Jones pinch hit in games one and three of the 1957 World Series
1957 World Series
The 1957 World Series featured the defending champions, the New York Yankees , playing against the Milwaukee Braves . After finishing just one game behind the N.L. Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, the Braves came back in 1957 to win their first pennant since moving from Boston in 1953...
, grounding out both times. Both of which games were also won by the Yankees. Game four went into extra innings
Extra innings
Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie.Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine innings , each of which is divided into halves: the visiting team bats first, after which the home team takes its turn at bat...
, and when the Yankees took a 5-4 lead in the tenth, the Braves were looking at the possibility of falling three games to one in the series.
Jones led off the Milwaukee half of the tenth inning, pinch hitting for Warren Spahn
Warren Spahn
Warren Edward Spahn was an American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in the National League. He won 20 games each in 13 seasons, including a 23-7 record when he was age 42...
. He jumped back from a low pitch that home plate
Home Plate
Home Plate is the fifth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1975 .-Track listing:#"What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" – 3:19#"Good Enough" – 2:56#"Run Like a Thief" – 3:02...
umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
Augie Donatelli
Augie Donatelli
August Joseph Donatelli was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1950 to 1973. Highly regarded for his ability, he was also known for his inclination to eject players and managers quickly and dramatically.-Biography:Donatelli was born in Heilwood,...
called a ball. Jones protested that it had hit his foot, and he was awarded first base after showing Donatelli a shoe polish mark on the ball to prove it. Yankees manager Casey Stengel
Casey Stengel
Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel , nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ....
vehemently protested the call, but to no avail. The Braves scored three runs in the tenth, including a two run home run by Eddie Mathews
Eddie Mathews
Edwin Lee "Eddie" Mathews was an American Major League Baseball third baseman. He is regarded as one of the greatest third basemen ever to play the game.-Early life:...
to end the game and even the series at two games apiece. The play was the turning point in the series, as the Braves went on to win the series in seven games.
Personal
After the 1957 World Series, Jones returned to the Sacramento Solons, and remained with them until . He spent one season with the Portland BeaversPortland Beavers
The Tucson Padres are a minor league baseball team, representing Tucson, Arizona, in the Pacific Coast League . They are the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team was formerly known as the Portland Beavers and played its last home game at PGE Park on September 6, 2010...
before retiring in .
Following his retirement from baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, Jones worked in public relations and the title-insurance businesses in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, and became a professional fishing guide.
Jones died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on October 3, . He was survived by his wife of 49 years, Nora, four children and six grandchildren.
External Links
- Nippy Jones at Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...