100 Greatest Phillies: 65 – Willie Jones

Posted by Tim Malcolm, Wed, January 21, 2009 05:44 PM

Willie Jones
Third Baseman
1947-1959

Career w/Phillies: .258 AVG / 180 HR / 753 RBI / 39 SB

Willie “Puddin’ Head” Jones. Yes, the best nickname in Phillies history – Jones got the name from a popular 1930s song, “‘Wooden Head, Puddin’ Head Jones.” Well, that stinks. Still, Jones was a pretty solid offensive popular, and helped the Whiz Kids as a 24-year-old, scoring 100 runs for the only time in his career and reaching a career-high 163 hits and 25 home runs. Because of his 13-year tenure with the Phillies, Jones ranks 15th in team history in hits and 10th in home runs, though he’ll soon be surpassed by Ryan Howard, who is just three behind him. He was also a great clutch hitter, but most of all, he was a fantastic glove. He led third basemen in fielding percentage seven consecutive years, and is among all-time leaders in putouts.

Comment: I could probably rank Jones in the top 50, but his offense was merely average, taking some of the shine off his superb defense. I will say that with the listing of Jones, we’re staring to enter solid territory.

Permalink Comments (7) | Trackback (0)

7 Responses to “100 Greatest Phillies: 65 – Willie Jones”

  1. Manny Says:
    January 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 am

    Tim, is this (Puddin’ Head) the one with the greatest nickname? haha

  2. Woody Woodland Says:
    February 18th, 2009 at 8:09 pm

    Willie Jones was my favorite player when I was a kid on Long Island. I met him twice at Ebbets Field and he was very nice to me. I was happy to come across this information. Thank you for remembering a good player and a good man.

  3. whizkidfanatic Says:
    March 1st, 2009 at 7:06 pm

    Pud was a real character. It was said of him,”… he liked to have a good time and he had plenty of them…”. Charming, popular and easygoing off the field, on it he was quick as a cat at third and a tough out at the plate. Robin Roberts, who has seen them all, is on record saying Puddinhead was second only to Brooks Robinson among third baseman. This is enough to convince me he should be ranked higher than this.

  4. Al Hamblen Says:
    September 13th, 2009 at 12:06 am

    Willie played in my hometown for the Terre Haute (Indiana) Phillies prior to going to the majors. A great player at 3rd.

  5. Courtney Says:
    December 20th, 2009 at 9:09 pm

    This is my grandpa’s brother… he said he was amazing! i wish i was born then! The nickname came from his mama…. my gramps is lil pud!

  6. Eddie Mayo Says:
    January 28th, 2010 at 11:36 am

    My Dad, Eddie Mayo, coached third base for the Phillies ‘52-’54, and as a teenager I got to live a dream, working out every day as a scrubeenie infielder with the Phillies. I was treated wonderfully by Granny Hamner, Robin Roberts, Steve Ridzik — and particularly by Willie Jones. Willie gave me one of his gloves, and I used it for the rest of my baseball “career”, such as it was. I play now for a vintage baseball team in Michigan, and I chose “Puddin’ Head” as my team nickname. I remember Willie as others have described him — easy-going, friendly, genuine, great sense of humor. And I used to love watching him come up in clutch situations — and watching him play, my memory tells me, error-less ball at the hot corner.

  7. blackhat forum Says:
    June 23rd, 2010 at 11:09 am

    I love your website! did you create this yourself or did you outsource it? Im looking for a blog design thats similar so thats the only reason I’m asking. Either way keep up the nice work I was impressed :)

Leave a Reply

Ashburn Award


2010 Phillies

Partner:

ad:

Harry Kalas Tribute:


Share your memories of Harry with fellow fans of the great man.

tickets:

Buy MLB baseball tickets online! For the best seats in Philadelphia get Phillies tickets, Flyers tickets, Eagles tickets, 76ers tickets and World Series tickets from Coast to Coast Tickets. Find Concert tickets, theater tickets, NASCAR tickets, baseball playoffs tickets, and NCAA tickets right here. We are your source for Philadelphia event tickets.

phillies tickets:

Looking for Philadelphia Phillies tickets? We have tickets to every Philadelphia Phillies game at home at Citizen's Bank Park and on the road. We also have tickets to other Philadelphia sporting events, including the Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia Flyers. In fact, we are your source for sports tickets, concert tickets and theater tickets.

tickets:

Philadelphia Phillies Tickets
Nationals Tickets
World Series Tickets
Red Sox Tickets
Yankees Tickets
White Sox Tickets
Braves Tickets
Orioles Tickets
Padres Tickets
Philadelphia Eagles Tickets
Citizens Bank Park History

advertising:

Philadelphia Phillies Tickets
MLB Tickets
St. Louis Cardinals Tickets
Philadelphia Ticket Broker
Philadelphia Flyers Tickets
Villanova Wildcats
Basketball Tickets
Chicago White Sox Tickets
Boston Red Sox Tickets
New York Yankees Tickets
Concert Tickets

bladvertising:

Philadelphia Phillies tickets, Boston Red Sox Tickets, NY Yankees Tickets, Chicago Cubs Tickets, Baseball Tickets, Philadelphia Ticket Broker, Jimmy Buffett Tickets, Shakira Tickets, Dave Matthews Tickets, Eric Clapton tickets, Bruce Springsteen Tickets, Rolling Stones Tour, Philadelphia Eagles Tickets, Chicago Bears Tickets, Football Tickets, Super Bowl Tickets, Theater Tickets

the googles:

tags:

message boards:

PhillySportsline
Sports-Boards
ProSportsDaily
Baseball Fever
Phillies Phans.com
Philly.com
ESPN.com
NJ.com
Phillies.com
Phillies Fan Page
Talk Baseball - Phillies

Phils news:

MLB.com: Phillies Update
Phils Trade Rumors
ESPN News
MLB Trade Rumors
Inquirer Phillies News
Phillies Transactions
Phillies Free Agent Tracker
Scout.com - Phillies

academic:

Baseball Diplomacy
Baseball and the American City
Gospel on the Mound: Our National Pastime and the Culture of Religion

Mitchell Nathanson
Economic Issues in Sports
Business of Baseball Data and Documents
Baseball Hall of Fame Research Department
Phillies Wikipedia

2010 salaries:

Player Payroll: $138,178,379
Charlie Manuel
$3 million
Ryan Howard
$19 million
Roy Halladay
$9.75 million (+ $6 million from Blue Jays)
Chase Utley
$15.286 million
Roy Oswalt
$9.5 million (+ $5.5 million from Astros)
Raul Ibanez
$12.17 million
Brad Lidge
$12 million
Jimmy Rollins
$8.5 million
Jayson Werth
$7.5 million
Joe Blanton
$7 million
Cole Hamels
$6.65 million
Jamie Moyer
$6.5 million
Placido Polanco
$5.17 million
Shane Victorino
$5 million
Ryan Madson
$4.83 million
J.C. Romero
$4.25 million
Danys Baez
$2.5 million
Chad Durbin
$2.12 million
Carlos Ruiz
$1.9 million
Jose Contreras
$1.5 million
Greg Dobbs
$1.35 million
(Geoff Jenkins)
$1.25 million
Brian Schneider
$1.2 million
Ross Gload
$1 million
Juan Castro
$700,000
(Adam Eaton)
$500,000
(Pedro Feliz)
$500,000
Kyle Kendrick
$480,000
Ben Francisco
$470,000
J.A. Happ
$470,000
Antonio Bastardo
$405,000
Drew Carpenter
$401,000
David Herndon
$400,000

Phillies Contracts and Salaries

advertising:

Front Row USA has premium concert tickets for your favorite artists - The Eagles Tickets, Madonna Tickets and Robert Plant Tickets. Check out our inventory of Philadelphia Phillies Tickets, Florida Marlins Tickets, Miami Dolphins Tickets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tickets and Orange Bowl Tickets.

advertising:

Ticket Brokers is your premier ticket broker for Broadway theatre tickets, baseball tickets, football tickets, basketball tickets and concert tickets. Buy Cubs playoffs tickets behind home plate, or enjoy an afternoon in the Cubbies bleacher seats. We are also a Super Bowl Ticket Broker, with a large inventory of Bears Tickets.

advertising:

Phillies tickets
Pirates tickets
MLB All Star Game tickets
Cubs tickets
Yankees tickets
Steelers tickets
Eagles tickets
Patriots tickets
Giants tickets
Chargers tickets
76ers tickets
Flyers tickets,
Penguins tickets

tickets:

AC Milan Tickets
Real Madrid Tickets
Rugby Tickets
Ashes Tickets
Six Nations Tickets
O2 Arena
Michael Jackson Tickets
Theatre Tickets
Killers Tickets
Concert Tickets

advertising:

Live Football Tickets.com is the premier website for UK football tickets. Buy Champions League Final tickets, Community Shield tickets, FA Cup final tickets and Carling Cup tickets. This brand new website also offers England football tickets, World Cup 2010 tickets and Real Madrid tickets for La Liga.

advertising:

Looking for Football tickets?
1st4footballtickets.com has top Premiership tickets available such as Manchester United tickets, Arsenal tickets, Chelsea tickets and Liverpool tickets. But also international tickets such as Real Madrid tickets, Barcelona tickets, Champions League tickets and FA Cup tickets and much more!

bladvertising:

Sports Tickets
Football Tickets
Cricket Tickets
Corporate Hospitality
Grand Prix Tickets
Six Nations Tickets
Jimmy Carr Tickets
Boxing Tickets
Concert Tickets
London Theatre Tickets
Killers Tickets
Depeche Mode Tickets
Rugby Union Tickets

bladvertising:

Celebrity Seats
Philadelphia Ticket Broker
Philadelphia Phillies Tickets
Philadelphia 76ers Tickets
Philadelphia Flyers Tickets
Philadelphia Eagles Tickets
Baseball Tickets
Boston Red Sox Tickets
NY Yankees Tickets
Cleveland Indians Tickets
Detroit Tigers Tickets
World Series Tickets
Concert Tickets
Theatre Tickets

Text Links:

United Specialties - Arizona Landscaping - Credit Counseling - Credit Card Consolidation

Baseball Games:

Ever wondered what baseball and slots had in common?

advertising: