'Too Tall' lived his dream with Dallas

Former Dallas Cowboy Ed "Too Tall" Jones participates in a news conference before the IndyCar auto race Saturday, June 9, 2018, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Former Dallas Cowboy Ed "Too Tall" Jones participates in a news conference before the IndyCar auto race Saturday, June 9, 2018, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Playing for the Dallas Cowboys was a dream come true for Ed "Too Tall" Jones.

Jones, 68, spoke at the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday afternoon about his NFL career -- all with the Cowboys -- as well as his childhood in Tennessee and how his football career started after playing baseball and basketball.

Jones, 6-9, was the No. 1 overall selection in the 1974 NFL Draft by the Cowboys. He played two stints with the Cowboys (1974-1978; 1980-1989) and took the 1979 season off to concentrate on a boxing career, in which he went 6-0.

During his career, Jones was a three-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection in 1981-1983. He helped lead the Cowboys to a Super Bowl title in the 1977 season in Super Bowl XII against the Denver Broncos.

"It was my childhood dream team," Jones said. "I still pinch myself sometimes to see if it's all real."

Jones was going to play baseball at Arizona State, but his father died during his senior year of high school. Jones instead went to Tennessee State on a basketball scholarship.

But Jones left the basketball team after two seasons to join the football team. During his first football practice when he tried on a pair of football pants, they wouldn't fit. A teammate told him he was too tall to play football and that's where the "Too Tall" nickname came from, Jones said.

To get into football shape, Jones worked out with the school's track and field team.

Playing at Tennessee State was the best thing that happened to Jones, he said.

"I absolutely loved it," Jones said. "If I had gone to a Division I school, there was no way they would have devoted the attention that I needed. I was a raw talent. Division I schools have the best talent in the country, so I would have been just a number.

"At Tennessee State, they took me under their wing. I was the first one at practice and the last one to leave every day."

Jones credited Cowboys teammate Bob Lilly for teaching him how to be a professional football player. Lilly, Jones said, would lead the Cowboys' defensive line film room and would pick out opponents' strengths and weaknesses. Jones appreciated Lilly by noting that players like Jones were coming to take their jobs, but that Lilly's character was solid.

It was an approach that Jones wanted to take in the 1980s when Jim Jeffcoat was drafted by the Cowboys. Jeffcoat went on to record 102.5 sacks in 15 years in the NFL, 12 with the Cowboys and 3 with the Buffalo Bills.

Jones recalled a conversation with Jeffcoat after he retired, and Jeffcoat told Jones how thankful he was for him in his career.

"Thank you for teaching me and working with me when I was young," Jeffcoat told Jones.

Jones never missed a game with the Cowboys, and he missed just one practice to attend his mother's funeral.

"I wanted to try to be the most conditioned player, even in the pros," said Jones, who played 224 games for the Cowboys.

Sports on 09/25/2018

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