Tony Jones (wide receiver)

{{Short description|American football player (born 1965)}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Tony Jones

| number = 82, 83, 4

| position = Wide receiver

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|12|30}}

| birth_place = Grapeland, Texas, U.S.

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 7

| weight_lb = 142

| high_school = Grapeland

| college = Texas

| draftyear = 1990

| draftround = 6

| draftpick = 153

| pastteams =

• Houston Oilers ({{NFL Year|1990|1991}})
• Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|1992}})
• Houston Oilers ({{NFL Year|1993}})
• Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|1994}})*
• Sacramento Gold Miners ({{CFL Year|1994}})
• Frankfurt Galaxy (1995)
• Arizona Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1996}})*
• Amsterdam Admirals (1996)

| highlights =

• All-American Track and Field - 1987, 1988 - 400m Relay
• 1987 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl Offensive MVP
• First-team All-SWC (1988)
• Second-team All-SWC (1987)
• 1987 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl Champion

| statlabel1 = Receptions

| statvalue1 = 63

| statlabel2 = Receiving yards

| statvalue2 = 798

| statlabel3 = Touchdowns

| statvalue3 = 9

| pfr = J/JoneTo00

}}

Anthony Bernard Jones (born December 30, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Houston Oilers, Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals; one season in the Canadian Football League with the Sacramento Gold Miners and two season in the World League of American Football with the Frankfurt Galaxy and the Amsterdam Admirals. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, earning all-conference honors in the Southwest Conference and the 1988 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl Offensive MVP.

Jones attended Grapeland High School, where he was a member of the 2A state champion basketball team in 1985.[https://www.uiltexas.org/files/leaguer/leaguer-archives/LE-1985-11.pdf 'The Leaguer, November 1985']. University Interscholastic League. p. 13.

He went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where played football and ran track. In Football he was a 3x letterman, a 2x All-Conference Wide Receiver and a team captain. He set several school records including career receiver yards, most receiving yards in a game by a sophomore (still current), most receiving yards in a game, and most receiving yards and TD receptions in a bowl game.{{cite web |title=Texas Football Record Book |url=https://texaslonghorns.com/documents/2024/8/8/Football_Record_Book.pdf |access-date=6 November 2024}} In track, he was an All-American.[https://www.grapelandisd.net/Page/195 'The Next Level / Tony Jones - 1981-1985']. Grapeland Independent School District. At the 1987 Southwest Conference championships, Jones ran the 200 m in 20.28 seconds, a record that stood at the University of Texas for 32 years until it was broken in 2019 by Micaiah Harris, who ran a 20.21.[https://texassports.com/news/2019/5/26/track-field-cross-country-texas-track-field-concludes-west-prelims-with-20-entries-qualified-for-ncaa-championship.aspx 'Track & Field concludes West Prelims with 20 entries qualified for NCAA Championship']. University of Texas Athletics. May 25, 2019.

After college he played in the 1990 East-West Shrine game.{{cite web |title=Texas Football Honors |url=https://texaslonghorns.com/documents/2024/8/8/Football_History___Honors.pdf |access-date=6 November 2024}}

Drafted by the Houston Oilers in the sixth round of the 1990 NFL draft, Jones was one of the smallest players in the league, weighing as little as 139 lb (63 kg) during his professional career.[https://oklahoman.com/article/2381494/in-the-nfl-bulk-is-in-293-players-on-veteran-rosters-weigh-275-or-more 'In the NFL, Bulk Is In 293 Players on Veteran Rosters Weigh 275 or More']. The Oklahoman. January 12, 1992.{{Cite web |title=1990 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1990/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He was signed by the Oilers in 1990 and played for them for 2 seasons, racking up 660 receiving yards, before becoming a free agent. He was then signed by the Atlanta Falcons before the 1992 season, but only played in 10 games due to multiple injuries. He returned to the Oilers in 1993 and was cut at the end of camp, but then re-signed in the middle of the season and played 2 more games for them. He again became a free agent and was again signed by the Falcons in 1994, but cut by them before the camp started.{{cite web |title=Tony Jones NFL Transactions |url=https://profootballarchives.com/transactions/j/jone22800.html |access-date=6 November 2024}}

After being release by the Falcons in 1994, Jones signed with the Sacramento Gold Miners of the CFL and played both receiver and returner. The next year he played for the Frankfurt Galaxy of the WLAF and helped them to World Bowl '95 which they lost. In 1996 he played for the Amsterdam Admirals, but only caught three passes.{{cite web |title=Tony Jones |url=https://profootballarchives.com/players/j/jone22800.html |access-date=6 November 2024}} During the 1996 WLAF season he was signed by the Arizona Cardinals who then released him during camp.