Pro football Hall of Famer Stan Jones, a standout for the Chicago Bears in the 1950s and ’60s and an innovator of weight training in the NFL, has died. He was 78. After starring at the University of Maryland, where he was a two-way tackle and won a national title in 1953, Jones joined the Chicago Bears in 1954 as a tackle and then switched the guard the next season. One of the first pro players to lift weights, Jones played in seven straight Pro Bowls from 1955-61. In 1960, he played both offense and defense, one of the last 60-minute men in the NFL. Jones, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991, also spent more than two decades coaching in the NFL, including 18 seasons with the Denver Broncos.
Born in Altoona, Penn., on Nov. 24, 1931, Jones grew up in the Harrisburg area, where he was introduced to the York Barbell Co.’s weights, which he began using to transform himself from a skinny 140-pound boy into an elite offensive lineman who packed 265 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame – big for his day, small by today’s standards. “He was ahead of his time,” his daughter said. “In high school and college, his friends and teammates used to make fun of him because he was in the gym while they were out dancing and chasing girls. He first got hooked on weights because he grew up near York, Pa., where York Barbells were made. He figured that was the way to go. from umterps.com
No comments have been posted yet, be the first!
Post a comment by filling out the form below.
