Lenoir-Rhyne University Athletics

Paul "Cooter" Jones graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College in 1952 after playing four seasons on the baseball team.  Jones was a four-time All-North State Conference selection, as well as being named to the All-State team each season by the Greensboro Daily News.  Jones led the Bears with a .351 batting average in 1951 and batted .372 in 1952 as he helped guide Lenoir-Rhyne to the 1952 North State Conference title.  After Lenoir-Rhyne, Jones signed a professional baseball contract with the Cleveland Indians in 1952.  After a stint in the military, Jones played in the minor leagues for eight seasons for the Indians, including a run with the Double AA Reading (Pa.) Indians of the Eastern League.  After retiring from baseball in 1959, Jones began his teaching career with the Reading School District in 1962.  Besides teaching, Jones also was a junior high school basketball and baseball coach.  In 1973, Jones became the head baseball coach at Reading High School.  In his 23 years at Reading, his teams finished with a 327-196 (.625 winning percentage) record and won eight divisional titles, six league championships and won the 1983 PIAA Class AAA Championship.  Jones retired from teaching in 1992 and from coaching after the 1996 season.  Jones was inducted into the Reading Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996 and into the Berks Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.