The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorn Legend and college athletics icon “T” Jones passes away
09.15.2020 | Football
A former star quarterback at UT, member of the Texas Athletics Hall of Fame and Longhorn assistant coach, Jones was 89.
A memorial service is planned for Friday, Sept. 25, at 1 p.m. at the Church of Horseshoe Bay (600 Hi Ridge Road). The service will be live-streamed and may be accessed at www.church-hsb.org where a tab on the website will appear with T Jones Memorial Service.
By Bill Little
Texas Media Relations
The legend is simple, and the story is true.
James Carroll Jones lived almost 90 years with a nickname that was a single letter:
"T"
Some thought it came from his time as a "T" formation All-Southwest Conference quarterback for the Texas Longhorns. Others, thought it was "T" as in "T" for Texas. His birth certificate, dated January 10, 1931, simply reads "Baby Boy Jones." The moniker had a simpler origin, however. His older brother, Charles, used to proudly point to his young sibling and say "Tee the baby!"
And for the rest of his life, that's who T Jones was.
The journey ended Tuesday, when Jones' long battle with assorted maladies of aging ended at his home in Horseshoe Bay, where he had lived with his wife, Phyllis, since he retired as the athletics director at Texas Tech in 1996.
It is, however, impossible to quantify the impact of Jones' career in athletics in the Southwest. He took the phrase "first class" to another level. Whether it was in his time as an All-SWC football player, or as an assistant coach to an aging Ed Price and a young Darrell Royal, or as a banker or businessman or as the powerful associate athletics director at Texas or the AD at Texas Tech, Jones "just made you proud of who you were," as a longtime friend once said. As the athletics director in Lubbock, he was a strong force in the stabilizing of the Southwest Conference and the creation of the Big 12.
Whether it was building buildings, designing classic logos or impeccable pen and ink signatures, Jones reflected class.
A career which began as a star high school player in Childress, Texas, carried "T" to membership in the Halls of Honor of both Texas and Texas Tech and the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame. It included honors and records, but most of all, it included lifelong friendships that were marked with respect and caring.
He was named the SWC's Most Valuable Player in 1952, when he quarterbacked the Horns to a 9-2 season, a conference title and Top 10 ranking. He helped Texas cap that year with a 16-0 victory over No. 8 Tennessee in the Cotton Bowl. In two seasons as UT's starting quarterback, he was 14-3.
After his playing career, he fulfilled his military obligation to the Korean War effort, and in 1956 he joined the coaching staff of Ed Price as an assistant. He was retained by Darrell Royal when Royal took the Texas job in 1957, and stayed with the staff through the 1962 season, after which he spent 18 years in banking and private business. In 1980, he returned to college athletics as an assistant athletics director at Texas, and in 1986, he was named athletics director at Texas Tech.
He was the last surviving member of Royal's first coaching staff at Texas. That bond even carried on in his personal life. In 1969, when Royal's team was winning its second National Championship, the coach's TV show was sponsored by City Bank, where Jones was VP for marketing. It was produced by a public relations company where Phyllis Todd worked. And for 44 years until Tuesday, the stunning blonde lady and the handsome former quarterback were happily married.
The word "gracious" never had a better showcase. In the end, "T" Jones was a man of integrity. He was tenacious, funny, bright, kind and generous. He was every bit as much at home in a ballroom in New York or at Dirty's grabbing a burger.
He was a man who had your back, and at the same time stood beside you. Never was that more evident than with his good friend DeLoss Dodds, who in 1981 was chosen for the athletics director's job which many thought was destined to become Jones'.
But where there could have been bitterness, there was camaraderie. Where there could have been jealousy, there was respect, and a genuine love.
That doesn't happen very often, certainly not often enough. But "T" was a man who stood for what he believed, and he never waivered in that. And that is why those of us who worked with him, find it difficult to say goodbye. Because saying goodbye is too often a sad time.
It is healed only by the memories, and the celebration, of a time that is to be cherished.
It is, after all, a salute to a life well-lived.
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The family has suggested that memorials may be made to the Darrell K Royal Fund for Alzheimer's Research, or the Sharon Dykes Alzheimer's Foundation, c/o First Capital Bank, 6811 Indiana Ave., Lubbock, TX 79413. Memorial service is planned for Friday September 25th at 1 p.m. at the Church of Horseshoe Bay (600 Hi Ridge Road). Service will be live-streamed and may be accessed at: www.church-hsb.org A tab on the website will appear with T Jones Memorial Service.
