Carbondale Reporter

The Southern Illinois Athletics Department will host a Celebration of Life service for Richard "Itchy" Jones on Saturday, October 25, 2025, at 11 a.m. CT. The event is scheduled to take place at Itchy Jones Stadium, with the Charles Helleny Pavilion inside Banterra Center serving as the backup location in case of bad weather.

The memorial will include speakers, followed by a reception with an open microphone session. Refreshments and a cash bar will be available during the reception. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early and use parking in Lot 56 or on The Hill.

Richard "Itchy" Jones died on February 17, 2025, at age 87. He was recognized as one of college baseball's most successful coaches, having coached for 39 years at MacMurray, Southern Illinois, and Illinois. At the time of his retirement, he ranked among the top-20 all-time winningest coaches in college baseball and is currently listed as the 27th winningest coach in NCAA history with a career record of 1,242-752-6.

Jones was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. During his tenure as head coach at Southern Illinois University (SIU), he led the Salukis to national prominence with a record of 738-345-5 over 21 years. His teams made ten NCAA Tournament appearances and reached the NCAA College World Series three times.

In his second year at SIU in 1971, Jones guided the team to finish second in the College World Series. The Salukis also placed third in both the 1974 and 1977 tournaments under his leadership.

Jones led SIU to have the best regular-season record in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) seven times and won five MVC Tournament titles during his tenure. In his final season with SIU in 1990, he led them to a 49-14 record and an appearance in the NCAA Regionals.

He received several coaching honors including being named NCAA Division I Diamond Baseball Coach of the Year in 1990, Adirondack National Coach of the Year in 1971, and The Sporting News Coach of the Year in 1978.

During his time at SIU, Jones coached several future major league players such as Dave Stieb, Steve Finley, and Derek Shelton.

As a player himself, Jones was named SIU’s baseball MVP in 1957 and earned All-Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors three times before playing professionally within the Baltimore Orioles minor league system.

After leaving SIU, Jones continued coaching at Illinois where he led teams to notable achievements including winning a Big Ten Tournament title in 2000 and securing their first regular season Big Ten Championship since 1963 during his best season there in 1998.

Jones is honored by membership in nine different Halls of Fame related to high school and collegiate athletics across Illinois and beyond.

A $4 million renovation project resulted in Abe Martin Field being renamed Abe Martin Field at Richard "Itchy" Jones Stadium for its reopening ahead of the 2014 season. His jersey number one was retired by Southern Illinois University Athletics in 2022. He contributed financially to SIU both during his coaching career and after retirement.