Biff Jones
 Jones from 1941Cornhusker | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 8, 1895 Washington, D.C.,U.S. |
| Died | February 12, 1980(aged 84) Chevy Chase, Maryland,U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1915–1917 | Army |
| Position(s) | Tackle |
| Coaching career (HCunless noted) | |
| 1923–1925 | Army(Line) |
| 1926–1929 | Army |
| 1932–1934 | LSU |
| 1935–1936 | Oklahoma |
| 1937–1941 | Nebraska |
| Administrative career (ADunless noted) | |
| 1931–1932 | Army(Asst. AD) |
| 1935–1936 | Oklahoma |
| 1937–1942 | Nebraska |
| 1942–1947 | Army |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 87–33–15 |
| Bowls | 0–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1SoCon(1932) 2Big Six(1937, 1940) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1954 (profile) | |
Lawrence McCeney "Biff" Jones(October 8, 1895 – February 12, 1980) was an Americancollege footballplayer, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as a head coach at theUnited States Military Academy,Louisiana State University(LSU), theUniversity of Oklahoma,and theUniversity of Nebraska,compiling a career coaching record of 87–33–15. Jones was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fameas a coach in 1954.
Early life
[edit]Jones grew up inWashington, D.C.and attendedCentral High School.[1]He played tackle and guard at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point from 1914 to 1916. He was slated to be captain of the1917 Army Cadets football team,but early graduation prevented him from playing that year. Jones served as an artillery lieutenant in France during the rest ofWorld War Iand after the war was stationed with6th Field Artillery RegimentatFort Hoyle, Maryland.[2]
Coaching career
[edit]Jones returned to West Point in 1923 as an assistant under head football coachJohn McEwan.[3]When McEwan left forOregonafter the 1925 season, Jones was promoted to head coach.[4]He served for four years as head coach of the Cadet football team, then was assigned by the Army toUnited States Army Field Artillery SchoolatFort Sill, Oklahoma.He returned to West Point in 1931 as assistant athletic director, with the expectation that he would succeedPhilip Bracken Flemingthe following year.[5]However, Jones decided to return to coaching and in January 1932 signed a contract withLouisiana State Universityto coach theLSU Tigers footballteam. He was allowed to retain his rank in the United States Army and served as aReserve Officers' Training Corpsinstructor at the school.[6]
Jones was head coach at LSU for three seasons, and led the team to aSouthern ConferenceChampionship in1932.[7]He resigned after the1934 seasonafter a heated exchange with noted LSU supporter, LouisianasenatorHuey P. Long.[8]In the last game of the season, Long was displeased after the team had lost two straight games and was trailing at halftime toOregon.Long decided to give a motivational speech to the team at halftime, but was turned away by Jones at the locker room door.[9]The ensuing argument ended with Jones declaring to resign, effective at the end of the game.[8]LSU won the game 14–13.
Following his resignation, Jones was a highly-sought coaching candidate.[10]In April 5, 1935, Jones was hired by the University of Oklahoma and theUnited States Department of Warapproved his transfer.[11]Jones coached theOklahoma Soonersduring the 1935 and 1936 seasons and taught classes in military science.[12]On November 18, 1936, the Army transferred Jones toUnited States Army Command and General Staff CollegeatFort Leavenworth,which ended his tenure at Oklahoma.[13]
Rather than leave coaching, Jones chose to retire from the Army. He was released from active duty on February 11, 1937, retiring with the rank ofmajor.This allowed him to accept the head coaching position with theNebraska Cornhuskers.[14]Jones remained at Nebraska for five years a tallied a 28–14–4 mark.[15]He led Nebraska to its firstbowl game,the1941 Rose Bowl,and also coached thesecond-ever televised college football game.
Later life
[edit]In 1942, Jones left Nebraska to become athletic director at West Point.[16]He retired in 1948 and chose to return to theDC area.[1]
Biff Jones died February 13, 1980, at his home inChevy Chase, Maryland.His wife had died in 1978.[17]
Head coaching record
[edit]| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | AP# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army Cadets(Independent)(1926–1929) | |||||||||
| 1926 | Army | 7–1–1 | |||||||
| 1927 | Army | 9–1 | |||||||
| 1928 | Army | 8–2 | |||||||
| 1929 | Army | 6–4–1 | |||||||
| Army: | 30–8–2 | ||||||||
| LSU Tigers(Southern Conference)(1932) | |||||||||
| 1932 | LSU | 6–3–1 | 4–0 | T–1st | |||||
| LSU Tigers(Southeastern Conference)(1933–1934) | |||||||||
| 1933 | LSU | 7–0–3 | 3–0–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1934 | LSU | 7–2–2 | 4–2 | 4th | |||||
| LSU: | 20–5–6 | 11–2–2 | |||||||
| Oklahoma Sooners(Big Six Conference)(1935–1936) | |||||||||
| 1935 | Oklahoma | 6–3 | 3–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1936 | Oklahoma | 3–3–3 | 1–2–2 | 4th | |||||
| Oklahoma: | 9–6–3 | 4–4–3 | |||||||
| Nebraska Cornhuskers(Big Six Conference)(1937–1941) | |||||||||
| 1937 | Nebraska | 6–1–2 | 3–0–2 | 1st | 11 | ||||
| 1938 | Nebraska | 3–5–1 | 2–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1939 | Nebraska | 7–1–1 | 4–1 | 2nd | 18 | ||||
| 1940 | Nebraska | 8–2 | 5–0 | 1st | LRose | 7 | |||
| 1941 | Nebraska | 4–5 | 3–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| Nebraska: | 28–14–4 | 17–6–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 87–33–15 | ||||||||
| National championshipConference titleConference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ab"Biff Jones Out At West Point".The Spokesman-Review.July 29, 1947.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^"Biff Jones Chose Coach of the Army Football Team".The Lewiston Daily Sun.January 12, 1926.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^"West Point Names Football Coaches".The New York Times.May 8, 1923.
- ^"Name" Biff "Jones As Army Grid Coach".Berkeley Daily Gazette.December 31, 1925.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^"Biff Jones To Be New Athletic Director".The Norwalk Hour.July 9, 1931.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^"Sport Slants".Times Daily.January 29, 1932.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^"LSU Year-by-Year Records"(PDF).lsusports.net. p. 107. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on January 19, 2018.RetrievedJuly 29,2018.
- ^abVincent 2008,p. 49.
- ^Vincent 2008,p. 48.
- ^"Two Colleges Want Jones".Rochester Evening Journal.December 19, 1934.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^"Oklahoma Gets Capt. Biff Jones".Spokane Daily Chronicle.April 5, 1935.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^"Lawrence 'Biff' Jones." National Football Foundation Member Biography.Accessed March 10, 2016.
- ^"New Appointment for Biff Jones".Rochester Journal.November 18, 1936.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^"Biff Jones To Take Nebraska Gridiron Post".The Portsmouth Times.February 11, 1937.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe originalon May 12, 2009.RetrievedOctober 25,2014.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"Jones Returns To West Point".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.January 24, 1942.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^"Lawrence (Biff) Jones, 84 Football Star, Coach Dies."Washington Post.February 13, 1980.Accessed March 10, 2016.
Bibliography
[edit]- Vincent, Herb (2008).LSU Football Vault: The History of the Fighting Tigers.Whitman Publishing, LLC.ISBN978-0794824280.
External links
[edit]- 1895 births
- 1980 deaths
- American football tackles
- Army Black Knights athletic directors
- Army Black Knights football players
- Army Black Knights football coaches
- LSU Tigers football coaches
- Oklahoma Sooners athletic directors
- Oklahoma Sooners football coaches
- Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic directors
- Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches
- College Football Hall of Fame inductees
- American military personnel of World War I
- United States Army officers
- Coaches of American football from Washington, D.C.
- Players of American football from Washington, D.C.