Dave Jones, A 1989 Malone graduate majoring in Business Administration, takes his place in the Malone Athletics Hall of Fame as a four-year standout on the Pioneer baseball team from 1986 to 1989. A 1985 graduate of Union Local High School, Dave was an outstanding athlete in high school and truly excelled on the diamond prior to coming to Malone.
If there was one word to describe Dave Jones it would have to be...“intense”. So says his good friend, colleague and his presenter for tonight, Tom Crank, Malone’s current head baseball coach and former Pioneer teammate of Dave’s. “Dave was one of the most intense guys we had on our teams,” recalled Crank. “Everything he did was with passion and high intensity. An example of this, which happened regularly, was right after his at-bats during our games. If Dave got a hit three times out of four at-bats in a game, he would be furious about the one at-bat that he didn’t get a hit. He was so competitive that when he didn’t get a hit, he would take his helmet off and bang it on his head repeatedly. And he would often also yell out…“stupid”. Even though these were serious moments for Dave at the time, I can’t help but look back on them now and laugh.”
Rob Roberts, another friend and former Malone teammate of Dave’s, remembers this about him. “You always knew if Dave liked you or not because if he did, you would be on the receiving end of one of his patented head butts.”
At Malone, Dave was an excellent defensive outfielder but was best known for his hitting skills. As a sophomore, he posted a team-best .371 batting average and went on to pocket averages of .331 as a junior and .363 as a senior, for a career batting average of .327. As a senior, he was selected as a First Team All Mid-Ohio Conference recipient and as an All-NAIA District 22 Honorable Mention honoree. In his four years at Malone, the Pioneers posted an overall record of 94-72-2 including a 30-16 season in Jones’ junior year. At the time, that 30-win season tied the school record for most wins in a season and Dave certainly played a big part in that special season.
While Dave had an excellent career as a player at Malone, he has continued his association with the University through the years. He is currently entering his 10th season as an assistant baseball coach at Malone and he is now in an impressive 19th season as a coach at the collegiate level. As the hitting coach, his work with the current group of young Malone hitters resulted in the best one-year team batting average increase in school history (a .345 average in 2008). In addition, he was on the Pioneer staff that directed Malone to the 2006 NCCAA national championship and to the most wins in school history (47) last season. A Malone fixture, Dave was also a member of the coaching staff for Malone’s first football team in 1993. After college, he continued playing competitive baseball, spending twelve seasons in the Canton Class “A” League and playing on nine championship teams in those 12 campaigns. In 2006, he was inducted into the Stark County Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.
Malone professor Dr. Barb Easlick, of the Health and Human Performance Dept., had this to say about Dave. “I’ve known Dave for many years as an advisee and as a student-athlete at Malone and he has always conducted himself in a very professional manner,” commented Easlick. “He always demonstrated a mature and enthusiastic attitude toward the educational process and was a highly motivated individual. His leadership abilities were evident both in the classroom and on the baseball field. He has learned from one of the best and most well-respected baseball coaches in the nation, Bob Starcher, and if he were alive today, I’m sure he would be very pleased with Dave’s induction tonight.”
In addition to his assistant coaching duties at Malone, Dave is employed as a sales representative for Castings USA, Inc. He and his wife, Kelly, reside in Canton and they have three children, Shelby, Ty, and Logan.
