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.

The Milwaukee Braves were in second place behind the Cardinals, and purchased Jones' contract when slugging first baseman Joe Adcock went down with an injury.

The highlight of his season occurred on July 26, when he hit a walk off home run in the eleventh inning to lift the Braves to a 6–3 victory over the New York Giants.

[2] After finishing second to the Brooklyn Dodgers two years in a row, the Braves won the National League in 1957, and faced the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Jones protested that it had hit his foot, and he was awarded first base after showing Donatelli a shoe polish mark on the ball to prove it.

Following his retirement from baseball, Jones worked in public relations and title-insurance businesses in Sacramento, California, and became a professional fishing guide.