REGGIE JONES

Reggie Jones played football and basketball while at Saginaw High School but his headlines came from his prowess as a track star. As a junior in 1972, the speedy sprinter capture two state titles at the Class A championship meet in the 100 and 220-yard dashes, ringing up winning times of :9.8 and :21.6. He duplicated those state titles a year later and added a third win to help lead Saginaw High to the Class A state title – the Trojans first state championship since 1954. Jones recorded victories in the 100 (:9.6) and 220 (:21.1). His 100-yard dash effort tied the state mark Marshall Dill set in 1971. He also teamed with Bob Chapman, Larry Foster and Willie Dawkins on the wining 880-yard relay team that was clocked in 1:28.8. Jones capped his senior season by being the first Saginaw County trackster to capture back-to-back Most Valuable Athlete awards at the Herb Korf track and field meet. He signed a full-ride scholarship to the University of Tennessee, a school he selected over the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Texas and UCLA. As a freshman, Jones ran a :9.2 100-yard dash and was named MVP at Tennessee’s Dogwood Relays. Tennessee would go on to win the NCAA title, the school’s first championship. He would go on to be named a nine-time All-American in the sprints and sprint relays along with winning two NCAA titles. In July of 1974, Jones ran for the United States in a dual meet against the powerful Soviet Union. Jones responded by winning the 100-meters and anchored the 400-meter relay team. He came back to win the 200-meters against Soviet Olympic champion Valery Borzov. Jones made a bid for the 1976 Olympic Games but fell short as injuries hampered him all season long. His left leg bothered him during the indoor season and acted up again during the outdoor campaign. Jones originally injured his knee playing football during his junior year in high school. Later that year he underwent knee surgery that forced him to miss the entire season. In 1977 he was named captain of the Tennessee track team. Jones holds school records in the following events: 100-yard dash (:9.2), 100-meter dash (:9.9), 220-yard dash (:20.8) and the 200-meter dash (:20.4). In addition, he was a two-time winner (1975-76) of the Tony Wilson Memorial Trophy; given each year at the Dogwood Relays to the most outstanding athlete, while also winning the Outstanding Athlete Award at the 1976 Penn Relays.