#178 Dalton Jones

If you look closely, you can see the manufacturer's seal/logo on the barrel of Dalton Jones' bat (this was also the case for our last card). Do you suppose it's a Louisville Slugger?

Fun facts about Dalton Jones:

-Born in McComb, MS, Dalton was highly sought after as a high school athlete. He was enticed to sign with the Red Sox in 1961 for a $60,000 bonus - partially due to the recruiting efforts of the great Ted Williams, who was his childhood hero.

-Debuted with Boston in 1964 at age 20, playing primarily at second base. Over his career, he would prove his value as a utility player, logging significant time at first, second, and third base and also playing a few games in the outfield and at shortstop.

-Hit .270 in 367 at-bats in his sophomore season.

-Helped the Red Sox win the A.L. pennant in 1967 with a league-best 13 pinch hits. His tenth-inning home run on September 18 allowed the Sox to beat the Tigers and draw into a first-place tie with the boys from Motown.

-Drove in a career-high five runs on September 24, 1967 in an 11-7 win over the Orioles.

-Even though the Cardinals outlasted Boston in the World Series, Jones excelled in defeat, hitting .389 (7-for-18) in the Fall Classic.

-Was traded to Detroit after the 1969 season. Despite playing just six seasons in Beantown, he is still the club's all-time leader in pinch hits with 55.

-In his first season with the Tigers, Dalton had an infamous pinch-hitting appearance on July 9. In the bottom of the seventh, he faced Vicente Romo with the bases loaded and deposited a pitch into the right field overhang for a grand slam...but teammate Don Wert had stayed close to first base to see if the towering fly would be caught, and Jones was called out for passing him. Instead of a grand slam, he was credited with a three-run single!

-Wrapped up his major league career by playing for his idol Ted Williams in Texas in 1972. In nine seasons, he was a .235 hitter (.261 as a pinch hitter) with 91 doubles, 41 home runs, and 237 RBI.

-Post-baseball, he worked for Exxon and spent some time in banking and mutual fund and investment sales. He also saw 17 games of action as a player-coach with the Winter Haven Super Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. He hit .162...not so bad for a guy in his mid-fifties.