Cowboy Jones

Albert Edward "Cowboy" Jones (August 23, 1874 – February 9, 1958) was a professional baseball pitcher. He pitched one full season and parts of three others in Major League Baseball from 1898 until 1901 for the Cleveland Spiders and St. Louis Perfectos/Cardinals.

Early life

Cowboy Jones was the son of Evan and Jane Jones, who had immigrated from Beaumaris, Wales and Liverpool, England respectively in 1870. His maternal grandfather, D. L. Williams, served as the Justice of the Peace in Golden, Colorado in 1880s. His father was a mining executive in Colorado and later in New Mexico. He married his wife Nellie in the 1890s while he was on the road pitching for the Spiders. He and his wife never had children.

Professional career

Jones began his professional career in 1896 with the Pueblo Rovers of the Colorado State League. He made his major league debut two years later with the Spiders. Jones was the first player born in Colorado to play in the major leagues, and the only one to do so in the 19th century.^[1]

Following that season, he was among the players moved from the Spiders to the Perfectos for the 1899 season. He pitched three seasons for the Perfectos, who were renamed the Cardinals in 1900. He continued to play minor league baseball until 1915, when he retired at age 41. Jones subsequently coached baseball at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.

Later life

Cowboy Jones settled in the town of his birth, Golden, Colorado, following the end of his professional baseball career. He served in Golden, Colorado and Jefferson County as both an appointed and elected official. He was elected to the Golden City Council and then later was elected Sheriff of Jefferson County as a Republican. Bert was later elected several times as Mayor of Golden and was appointed by Jefferson County as its Water Commissioner.

Later, Jones and his wife moved to Inglewood, California to be near her niece Bertina. He died there on February 9, 1958.

References

↑ List of MLB players born in Colorado

Sources

Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

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