Paul Jones

Hails from Hickory, North Carolina, and is a graduate of Lenoir Rhyne College and Temple University. In high school, he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. At Lenoir Rhyne College, he captained the baseball team, earned four years of All-North Carolina Conference All-Star honors, and was named an All-State college player. Jones played professionally in the Cleveland Indians farm system during the 1950s with Spartanburg and Reading. He taught in the Reading School District for 30 years (1962–1992) and served as head coach at Northeast Jr. High School in basketball for ten years, baseball for three years, and as an assistant in football for 17 years and baseball for six years. He later became head coach of Reading High School’s baseball team for 24 years (1973–1996), compiling a varsity record of 327 wins and 196 losses, along with an 8–2 record for the JV team. During his tenure, his teams won five East Penn titles (five times runner-up), three Berks League Division titles, three League Championships, a District III title, and the PIAA State title in 1983. Jones was also a member of the Reading Hot Stovers and was inducted into the Reading Phillies Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

Deceased