David Jones (baseball)

David Jones
Catcher / Outfielder
Born: (1861-04-05)April 5, 1861
Utica, New York, U.S.
Died: May 1, 1937(1937-05-01) (aged 76)
Utica, New York, U.S.
Batted: Unknown
Threw: Unknown
MLB debut
May 17, 1882, for the Baltimore Orioles
Last MLB appearance
July 1, 1882, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
Batting average.067
Home runs0
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Teams

David E. Jones (April 5, 1861 – May 1, 1937) was an American professional baseball player. He appeared in four games for the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association in 1882. Until 2017, his statistics were mistakenly attributed to Bill Jones, a fellow 19th-century catcher from New York.[1]

In 2000, a man contacted researchers at SABR and claimed his grandfather, David Jones, had played for the Baltimore Orioles. This was not confirmed until seventeen years later when researcher Justin McKinney found a single sentence in an 1882 edition of the Utica Daily Press[2] indicating that a David Jones of Ilion was going to be catching for the Orioles as well as a 1937 obituary in the Utica Observer Dispatch confirming that the David Jones who had recently died in that city had been a professional ballplayer.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "David Jones" (PDF). SABR Biographical Research Committee Report (July/August 2017): 2. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  2. ^ "The Riot at Fort Plain" (PDF). Utica Daily Press. April 10, 1882. Retrieved 2 March 2026.