Jones was born in Los Angeles, and signed with the Cardinals upon graduation from John C. Fremont High School in Inglewood, California, in 1943. After batting .304 for the Cardinals\' Pacific Coast League affiliate Sacramento Solons in 1943, Jones left baseball for two years in order to serve in the United States Marine Corps during World War II.\n', '

He returned in 1946, spending most of the season with the Cardinals\' triple A affiliate Rochester Red Wings. However, he did appear in sixteen games with the Cardinals, and was on their post-season roster. He struck out in his only plate appearance of the 1946 World Series against the Boston Red Sox in game five.\n', '

He split 1947 between St. Louis and Rochester before earning a starting job with the Cards in 1948. Having originally come up with the Cardinals as a second baseman, he played first base for the 1948 Cardinals, with future Hall of Famer Stan Musial shifting to the outfield. He batted .254 with ten home runs and 81 runs batted in in his first full season for the second place Cardinals.\n', '

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