Edgar Jones

Who was Edgar Jones?

Edgar Francis "Special Delivery" Jones was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League and the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference. Jones played college football at the University of Pittsburgh where he finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1941.

Jones grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania and attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a standout on the school's football team. After college, Jones entered the U.S. Navy during World War II. Upon his discharge in 1945, he joined the Bears for one game before he was banned by the NFL's commissioner because he had signed a contract to play for the Browns in the rival AAFC. He joined the Browns in 1946 and remained on the team through the 1949 season; Cleveland won the AAFC championship in each of Jones's four seasons.

In 1950, Jones played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League and set a league scoring record. The following year, Jones began a brief coaching career at Pitt, his alma mater, and with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. Later in life, he worked as a recreation superintendent in Scranton and founded the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.