The tributes are pouring in today for Tyrone Jones, one of the most gifted defensive players to ever take to a CFL field and one of the most respected Blue Bombers to ever play for the blue and gold.
Jones passed away from brain cancer on Tuesday at a Georgia hospice, taken away far too young at age 46 but yet outliving many a medical prediction of his demise and taking on his disease with courage and on a timetable of his own making.
The eight year veteran of the Blue Bombers reigned supreme on two Grey Cup champion squads, as he and James West laid waste to many an opposing offensive line and backfield. While he had stops in Saskatchewan and British Columbia during his colourful CFL career, he will forever be remembered as one of the key cogs in the Blue Bomber machines of the eighties.
His records are numerous in the CFL history books, his persona larger than life among those that have played the game. And yet, in one of the more puzzling omissions, he was never named to the CFL Hall of Fame, a terrible oversight that could not be remedied before his passing.
One hopes that as we pause to remember his achievements in the three down game, the movement to enshrine him in the Hamilton hall will take on a new momentum.
What is being remembered today is the energy and enthusiasm that Jones brought to the dressing room and field during his CFL days, a leader among a very talented team that is still talked about with reverence in Winnipeg.
But just as much as his exploits on the field are being remembered today, so to is the battle that he waged for the last three and a half years, a courageous fight against a foe that in the end won’t be denied.
He never went in for self pity they say, and just faced his latest challenge head on.
Like those many days on the CFL battlefields of yesterday, Jones once again has proven that he was a warrior to the end.
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Condolences to the family can be left on the Tyrone Jones appreciation site.
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Winnipeg Free Press-- Tyrone Jones dies of brain cancer
Winnipeg Free Press-- He never gave an inch
Winnipeg Sun-- Tyrone Jones dies
CBS Sportsline-- Former CFL, Southern linebacker Tyrone Jones dies at 46
Blue Bombers.com-- Tyrone Jones 1961-2008
CFL homepage-- The Bombers mourn the passing of Tyrone Jones
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