BATON ROUGE – Bert Jones, the first all-America quarterback in LSU history, will have his jersey retired, the school announced on Wednesday.
The LSU Athletic Hall of Fame Committee unanimously approved Jones’ jersey retirement. His No. 7 jersey will be retired on Nov. 14 when LSU hosts Texas in Tiger Stadium.
The No. 7 worn by Jones will join the Billy Cannon’s No. 20, Tommy Casanova’s No. 37, Jerry Stovall’s No. 21 and Charles Alexander’s No. 4 as retired jerseys in the LSU football program. All retired jersey numbers are displayed on the façade in the south end zone of Tiger Stadium. All but Cannon’s No. 20 are still worn by current players. Cannon has the only retired number in LSU football history.
“I had no idea that there was anything in the works so this is totally unsuspecting,” Jones said. “I have been the beneficiary of a lot of good things and received a lot of accolades and a lot of awards, but this is at the top of the list.
“To be (name and number) hung up in Tiger Stadium, where my father played, my brother played and cousins played, is special and what’s even equally as special is that I will be up there with my LSU roommate Tommy Casanova.”
Jones and Casanova, a defensive back and return specialist, played together for three years (1969-71). Casanova, who remains the only three-time first-team all-American in school history, had his jersey retired in 2009. Jones and Casanova are both members of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Jones is also a member of the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Jones, a native of Ruston and a starter for the Tigers from 1970-72, compiled a 26-6-1 mark at quarterback for LSU, leading the program to three bowl games and the 1970 SEC Championship. During his three seasons at LSU, the Tigers won nine games each year.
He capped his career as the school’s record holder at the time for passing yards (3,255), touchdown passes (28), attempts (418) and completions (220). In 1972, Jones became the first quarterback in LSU history to top the 3,000-yard mark for passing yards in a career.
He also set the school mark for passing yards in a game (242 vs. Alabama, 1972) and passing yards in a season (1,446 in 1972). His 14 passing TDs in 1972 was a school record and he became only the sixth player in program history to pass for three touchdowns in a game, doing it three times – vs. Auburn, 1972, vs. Texas A&M, 1972 and vs. Tulane, 1971.
After directing the Tigers to a 9-2-1 mark in 1972, Jones became the first player in LSU history to earn first-team all-America honors as a quarterback. He went on to finish fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting that year.
Nicknamed “The Ruston Rifle”, Jones earned first-team All-SEC honors as a senior in 1972 after leading the league in completion percentage (51.8), touchdown passes (14), total yards (1,464) and TDs responsible for (18). LSU finished the year with a 9-2-1 mark which included wins over Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Auburn, and Ole Miss.
Jones went on to be selected No. 2 overall in the 1973 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts. During his 10-year NFL career, Jones appeared in 102 games with 96 starts. He led the Colts to an 11-3 regular-season mark in 1976 on his way to earning NFL MVP honors.
A neck injury forced Jones to retire from the NFL following the 1982 season after passing for 17,7663 yards and 122 touchdowns in a career that spanned nine years with the Colts and one season with the Rams.
** LSU Press Release
