Saluki Baseball held a celebration of life for the late, great Richard “Itchy” Jones on Saturday, Oct.25, at the baseball stadium named after him. Jones died in February of this year at the age of 87.

Jones was the head coach for Saluki Baseball from 1970-1990 and guided the program to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances as well as three trips to Omaha for the College World Series, where the Salukis would finish as the runners-up in 1970 and took home third in 1974 and 1977.

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The main event of the celebration featured stories from five alumni who had either player with or for Jones. Scott Bridges, Dan Hartleb, Steve Finley, Dewey Robinson and Bob Hardcastle all shared what Jones’ influence meant to them.

First to speak was Bridges, who played for SIU from 1981-84. He shared how his father’s connection to Jones as teammates at SIU helped make the team as a walk-on and how grateful he was to be given the opportunity.

“This was World Series Saluki baseball, I’m not sure Itch was really interested in a little kid from Chester, but he honored his friendship with my dad and allowed me to walk on,” Bridges said. “He never promised me anything more than a spot on the team or to put a jersey on, but he treated me fairly and he treated me just like the stars he recruited.”

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Finley followed after him and shared how Jones’ coaching helped build him into a star and how his teachings echoed in his ear throughout a 19-year MLB career.

Third to speak was Hartleb, who was brought to tears at the podium while sharing how Jones was more than just a baseball coach for him. Jones’ guidance has made him the man he is today, he said.

“Itch was like a second father to me. He was a baseball and a life mentor,” Hartleb said. “Without Itch my life would be different. I don’t know what that would mean or what it would look like, but it would be different.”

Hardcastle, who played with Jones in 1959-60, shared stories from their playing days together and how much it meant to have a friend like Jones on the baseball team.

“We had more fun than any of the other kids on the team,” Hardcastle said.

Dewey Robinson was the last of the alumni to speak. He talked about how Jones’ influence helped lead him to a career as a baseball coach and mentor, working as an advisor of pitching development for the Pittsburgh Pirates today.

“I’ve been blessed to be coaching my whole entire adult life. I have Itch to thank for that,” Robinson said.

Former voice of Saluki Radio Mike Reis concluded this part of the celebration to announce the plans for a statue of Jones to be built at the baseball stadium.

In attendance on Saturday was the current Saluki baseball team and coaching staff, who got to learn a lot about the man whose footsteps they now follow playing and coaching at SIU.

SIU hitting coach Seth McLemore said he took away from the stories shared how to conduct himself as a coach to help bring the best out of his players.

“As a young coach, I think that’s the cool thing to me, is to follow the examples of somebody so good, that left a legacy that you would want to follow,” McLemore said. “That’s one of the coolest things for me is almost an example of how you should go about your work and how to impact these guys because that’s why we’re here.”

The celebration of life was attended by Jones’ family, including his wife, Sue, and his kids, Susan and Michael Jones, with Susan sharing what it meant to have so many people attending.

“It shows how much he was respected and cared for with the number of people that wanted to be present, and the effort and the time they took to put such a great event together in his honor,” she said.

Susan Jones also shared her appreciation for Saluki Athletics for helping to set the event up for a man who meant so much to SIU as a whole.

“I really want to thank SIU and the staff, all the guys that put this together for my dad. It was a great honor,” she said.

Sports Reporter Nick Pfannkuche can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook and X @dailyegyptian.

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