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Mack F. Jones
Montreal Expos
Outfield
Born: November 6, 1938, Atlanta, GA
Signed: Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent before 1958 season
Major League Teams: Milwaukee Braves 1961-63, 1965; Atlanta Braves 1966-67; Cincinnati Reds 1968; Montreal Expos 1969-71
Died: June 8, 2004, Atlanta, GA (age 65)
Mack Jones spent the first three seasons of his big league career as a back-up outfielder for the Braves before getting the chance to start every day as their regular center fielder in 1965. He enjoyed a career year that season, batting .262 with 31 home runs and 75 RBIs. That was the same season the Braves set a National League record by having six players with at least 20 home runs including Jones, Henry Aaron (#100), Eddie Mathews, Joe Torre (#460), Felipe Alou (#300) and Gene Oliver (#247). Jones played two more seasons with the Braves after they relocated to his hometown of Atlanta. Following a year with the Reds in 1968, Jones was selected by the Expos as the fourth overall pick in the expansion draft. He was the first left fielder in Expos team history, sharing the outfield on opening day 1969 with Don Hahn in center field and Rusty Staub (#230) in right field. Jones, Staub and third baseman Coco Laboy (#524) were the top sluggers for the Expos in their inaugural year, as Jones was second on the team in home runs (22) behind Staub. The popular Jones was released by the Expos on July 8, 1971 after a prolonged slump.
Mack Jones spent the first three seasons of his big league career as a back-up outfielder for the Braves before getting the chance to start every day as their regular center fielder in 1965. He enjoyed a career year that season, batting .262 with 31 home runs and 75 RBIs. That was the same season the Braves set a National League record by having six players with at least 20 home runs including Jones, Henry Aaron (#100), Eddie Mathews, Joe Torre (#460), Felipe Alou (#300) and Gene Oliver (#247). Jones played two more seasons with the Braves after they relocated to his hometown of Atlanta. Following a year with the Reds in 1968, Jones was selected by the Expos as the fourth overall pick in the expansion draft. He was the first left fielder in Expos team history, sharing the outfield on opening day 1969 with Don Hahn in center field and Rusty Staub (#230) in right field. Jones, Staub and third baseman Coco Laboy (#524) were the top sluggers for the Expos in their inaugural year, as Jones was second on the team in home runs (22) behind Staub. The popular Jones was released by the Expos on July 8, 1971 after a prolonged slump.
Jones collected 778 hits, 133 home runs and 415 RBIs over 1,002 career games while batting .252. Prior to his break-out season in 1965, he was loaned by the Braves to the Detroit Tigers' Triple-A team in Syracuse. With the Syracuse Chiefs in 1964, Jones had one of the best Triple-A single-season performances ever (.317, 39 home runs 102 RBIs) and his big season led to his induction into the Syracuse Wall of Fame in 2000 and posthumously into the International League Hall of Fame in 2013.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #517
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
The Card / Expos Team Set / Accuracy Index +10
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was one of Jones' top years in the majors. As the regular left fielder for the Expos, Jones played in 135 games, collecting 123 hits and batting .270 with 22 home runs and 79 RBIs. Jones hit the first major league home run on Canadian soil, homering off the Cardinals' Nelson Briles (#60) in the Expos' home opener at Jarry Park on April 14th. From that day forward, the left field bleachers were affectionately known as Jonesville.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #186
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1962-63, 1965-71
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #277
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 57 in the Beckett online database as of 5/30/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Building the Set / Card #517
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the 73rd of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than $3.
The Card / Expos Team Set / Accuracy Index +10
Jones is shown modeling the new Expos uniforms at spring training in 1969. The cartoon highlights his success in 1964 while playing for Syracuse in the International League.
Accuracy Index: Jones' card gets a high score of +10 for the expansion uniform.
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was one of Jones' top years in the majors. As the regular left fielder for the Expos, Jones played in 135 games, collecting 123 hits and batting .270 with 22 home runs and 79 RBIs. Jones hit the first major league home run on Canadian soil, homering off the Cardinals' Nelson Briles (#60) in the Expos' home opener at Jarry Park on April 14th. From that day forward, the left field bleachers were affectionately known as Jonesville.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #186
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1962-63, 1965-71
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #277
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 57 in the Beckett online database as of 5/30/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#624 N.L. Rookie Stars / #626 Gene Michael - New York Yankees
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