Leroy Jones

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Leroy Jones (b. February 20, 1958) is a jazz trumpeter from New Orleans, Louisiana. Jones began playing trumpet at the age of ten, and by the time he was 12 was leading the Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band, a group of young musicians organized by guitar- and banjo-player Danny Barker. When the musicians' union forced Barker to disband the group in 1974, Jones became a union musician and took over the running of the group, renamed the Hurricane Brass Band, himself. In 1975 or 1976 he left the group, touring for a time with Eddie Vinson and Della Reese before forming his own group, the Leroy Jones Quintet. In 1991 Jones joined the big band of Harry Connick, Jr., and the exposure with Connick's band (including the opportunity for the Leroy Jones Quintet to open for Connick, which they did in 1994), led to Jones' releasing his first album under his own name; Mo' Cream From The Crop came out on the Columbia Records label in 1994. The Leroy Jones Quintet continues to tour and record, and since 2004 Jones has also appeared with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Dr. John.

Leroy Jones (disambiguation)

Leroy Jones may refer to:

Leroy Jones (American football)

Leroy Jones (born September 29, 1950) is a former American football player who played defensive end. He played the majority of his 10-year career with the San Diego Chargers in the National Football League (NFL).

Jones played both basketball and football in high school, and continued with both sports while attending college at Norfolk State University. He began his professional career in 1974 with the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League (CFL), and they won the Grey Cup championship in his second season. Jones was drafted in the 1975 NFL Draft in the second round with the 48th overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams, who traded him in 1976 to San Diego, where he played through 1983.

Early life

Jones was a standout at both football and basketball in high school at Amanda Elszy in Greenwood, Mississippi. He led his teams to multiple championships.

College career

Jones attended Norfolk State University, where he was the center on three Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) tournament basketball teams. He was named to the All-CIAA Tournament team each year. As a sophomore in 1972, he was named to the Associated Press All-State first team, and was named to the second team as a junior. Jones also played football, and he was named All-CIAA annually as a defensive end. Before the 1974 football season, Jones learned he would be academically ineligible to play due to poor grades. He dropped out of Norfolk State and signed a three-year contract to play football professionally in Canada.

Leroy Jones (boxer)

Leroy Jones (February 10, 1950 - July 11, 2010) was a heavyweight boxer who won the NABF heavyweight championship and challenged Larry Holmes for the WBC heavyweight title in 1980.

Boxing career

Jones' professional career began with a third round knockout of John Scroggins on July 30, 1973. He put together 24 wins with 12 knockouts, including a 12 round points win over future world heavyweight champion Mike Weaver. The Weaver fight won Jones the NABF heavyweight championship, essentially the American title.

During his professional career it became apparent that Jones had a problem with conditioning, as he fought at weights ranging from 228 pounds in 1973 to 271 pounds in 1977.

On March 31, 1980, Jones got his weight down to 254.5 pounds to challenge Larry Holmes for the WBC heavyweight title. Jones was stopped in 8 rounds, on an eye injury that effectively ended his career.

Leroy Jones died in Los Angeles on July 11, 2010.

Professional boxing record

External links