{{Short description|American basketball player (1926–2014)}} {{for|the musician|Wallace Jones (musician)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Wallace Jones | image = | width = | caption = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 4 | weight_lb = 225 | birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1926|07|14}} | birth_place = Harlan, Kentucky, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2014|07|27|1926|07|14}} | death_place = Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. | high_school = Harlan (Harlan, Kentucky) | college = Kentucky (1945–1949) | draft_year = 1949 | draft_league = BAA | draft_round = 1 | draft_pick = 8 | draft_team = Washington Capitols | career_start = 1949 | career_end = 1952 | career_number = 17 | career_position = Power forward | years1 = {{nbay|1949|start}}–{{nbay|1951|end}} | team1 = Indianapolis Olympians | highlights = * 2× NCAA champion (1948, 1949) * Consensus second-team All-American (1949) * First-team All-SEC (1949) | stats_league = NBA | stat1label = Points | stat1value = 1,428 (10.2 ppg) | stat2label = Rebounds | stat2value = 408 (5.1 rpg) | stat3label = Assists | stat3value = 429 (3.1 apg) | bbr = joneswa01 | medal_templates = {{MedalSport|Men's basketball}} {{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }} {{MedalOlympics}} {{MedalGold|1948 London | Team competition}} }} '''Wallace Clayton "Wah Wah" Jones''' (July 14, 1926 – July 27, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1949 to 1952 with the Indianapolis Olympians.
==Biography== Jones was born in Harlan, Kentucky. He attended Harlan High School, where he set a national scoring record in basketball and led his school to a state championship. He was all-state in football, basketball and baseball.<ref name=UKAth_obit>{{cite web|title='Wah Wah' Jones Passes Away|url=http://www.ukathletics.com/genrel/072814aaa.html|publisher=University of Kentucky|access-date=July 31, 2014|archive-date=August 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810141903/http://www.ukathletics.com/genrel/072814aaa.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Jones attended the University of Kentucky, where he continued to play varsity football, basketball and baseball. He was twice All-SEC in football. In basketball, he was a three time All-American and four time All-SEC. He led the Wildcats to two NCAA Championships, in 1948 and 1949. Jones was a member of the 1948 Olympic Gold medal-winning team with Adolph Rupp's "Fabulous Five" and the Phillips 66ers. During his four years at Kentucky, the basketball team had a combined record of 130–10 and won the SEC championship every year.<ref name=UKAth_obit/><ref name="SportsRef">{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/jo/wally-jones-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418075751/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/jo/wally-jones-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |title=Wallace Jones Olympic Results |access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>
He holds the unique distinction of being an All-American under both legends, Adolph Rupp (basketball) and Bear Bryant (football) when both coached at Kentucky. He is the only player to have his number retired in both football and basketball at Kentucky.<ref name=martin>{{citation |last=Martin |first=Douglas |title=Wah Wah Jones, Versatile Kentucky Athlete, Dies at 88 | newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 28, 2014 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/sports/29jones.html}}</ref> At the University of Kentucky, Jones was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.straitpinkie.com/kentucky-2/all-time-kentucky-team-starting-pg-12-ralph-beard/|title= All-Time Kentucky Team (Starting PG): #12 Ralph Beard|publisher= straitpinkie.com|access-date= May 27, 2013|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131005231849/http://www.straitpinkie.com/kentucky-2/all-time-kentucky-team-starting-pg-12-ralph-beard/|archive-date= October 5, 2013}}</ref> Jones was selected in the seventh round of the 1949 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, but did not play in the league.<ref name="dbF">{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=CHI&yr=1949&lg=nfl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905163755/http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=CHI&yr=1949&lg=nfl |title=1949 Chicago Bears |website=databaseFootball.com |archive-date=September 5, 2007 |url-status=usurped |access-date=July 16, 2020}}</ref>
[[File:Wallace-Jones-jersey.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A jersey honoring Jones hangs in Rupp Arena.]] In 1953, Jones was elected the sheriff of Fayette County, Kentucky.<ref name=Story>[http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2010/09/05/farmers-political-rise-recalls-another-former-cats/ Story, Mark, ''Farmer's political rise recalls another former Cat's''] Lexington Herald-Leader. September 5, 2010.</ref> In 1956, Jones was the Republican nominee for Kentucky's 6th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives. Though Dwight Eisenhower, heading the Republican ticket, carried the state, Jones lost the election to Democrat John C. Watts.<ref name=Story />
In 1978, Jones started a charter bus company called "Blue Grass Tours" that is contracted to the UK Athletics department. Blue Grass Tours is currently run by his son Wallace (Wah) Jones and grandson Corey Jones, and manages a fleet of coach busses for the use of the athletic teams.<ref name=HLObit/>
==="Wah Wah"=== Known as Wallace in his early years, Jones acquired the nickname, "Wah Wah", when his younger sister Jackie, just learning to talk, could not pronounce his name.<ref name=HLObit>[http://www.kentucky.com/2014/07/27/3354327/legendary-uk-basketball-and-football.html Legendary UK basketball and football star Wah Wah Jones dies] Lexington Herald-Leader. July 27, 2014.</ref>
===Death=== Jones died in Lexington on July 27, 2014, at the age of 88.<ref name=HLObit/> {{clear}}
==Career statistics== {{NBA player statistics legend}}
===NBA=== Source<ref>{{cite web|url=http://basketball-reference.com/players/j/joneswa01.html|title=Wah Wah Jones|website=Basketball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference|accessdate=10 February 2023}}</ref>
====Regular season==== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" |- ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG |- |style="text-align:left;"| 1949–50 |style="text-align:left;"| Indianapolis | '''60''' || – || .374 || .751 || – || 3.2 || '''12.5''' |- |style="text-align:left;"| 1950–51 |style="text-align:left;"| Indianapolis | 22 || – || '''.392''' || '''.792''' || '''5.7''' || '''3.9''' || 11.2 |- |style="text-align:left;"| 1951–52 |style="text-align:left;"| Indianapolis | 58 || 22.8 || .313 || .750 || 4.9 || 2.6 || 7.4 |- class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 140 || 22.8 || .355 || .757 || 5.1 || 3.1 || 10.2 |}
====Playoffs==== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" |- ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1950 | style="text-align:left;"| Indianapolis | '''5''' || || .301 || '''.853''' || || '''4.4''' || '''14.6''' |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1952 | style="text-align:left;"| Indianapolis | 1 || 8.0 || '''.333''' || – || .0 || .0 || 2.0 |- class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 6 || 8.0 || .303 || .853 || .0 || 3.7 || 12.5 |- |}
==Head coaching record== {{NBA coach statistics start}} |- | style="text-align:left;"|Indianapolis | style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1950}} | 12||7||5||{{Winning percentage|7|5}}|| style="text-align:center;"|4th in Western||3||1||2||{{winpct|1|2}} | style="text-align:center;"|Lost in division semifinals |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 12||7||5||{{Winning percentage|7|5}}|| ||3||1||2||{{Winning percentage|1|2}}|| {{s-end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/joneswa01.html Stats]
{{Navboxes | list1 = {{Indianapolis Olympians coach navbox}} {{Footer 1948 Olympic Champions Basketball Men}} {{1948 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball navbox}} {{1949 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball navbox}} {{1949 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans}} {{1949 BAA Draft}} {{Bears1949DraftPicks}} }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Wallace}} Category:1926 births Category:2014 deaths Category:All-American college men's basketball players Category:American men's basketball players Category:Basketball coaches from Kentucky Category:Basketball players at the 1948 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from Kentucky Category:Indianapolis Olympians coaches Category:Indianapolis Olympians players Category:Kentucky Republicans Category:Kentucky Wildcats football players Category:Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Category:Kentucky Wildcats baseball players Category:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Category:People from Harlan, Kentucky Category:Power forwards Category:United States men's national basketball team players Category:Washington Capitols draft picks Category:20th-century American sportsmen