Henry Jones played 12 seasons as a safety in the NFL, 10 with the Buffalo Bills. He was All-Pro in 1992 and appeared in three consecutive Super Bowls. In his career as a safety, he made 18 interceptions, four of which resulted in touchdowns. He once made a key interception of Joe Montana in a playoff game with the Chiefs that helped propel the Bills to the Super Bowl.
And he learned to play the game of football at St. Louis University High School.
That’s what he told the student body in a Sept. 16 pep rally before the CBC game that night. He told them how his mom wouldn’t let him play the game as a kid, so he learned it in Forest Park and in the same stadium in which the game would be played that night.
“Coach Martel, Coach Kornfeld, Coach Wehner, they taught me how to play,” he told the students, nearly choking up. He talked about how his mom, a nurse, and his dad, a concrete finisher, sacrificed to send him to a private school, and how he walked the same halls as they did.
After the students left, he addressed the football team and told them four things: Be disciplined. Be accountable. Play your heart out. Expect to win.
“And beat CBC,” he said.
Later, in a ceremony before the game, SLUH retired Jones’ jersey No. 42 with his family, his old coach Paul Martel, and about 3,000 onlookers who had to fight the traffic of the nearby Forest Park Balloon Glow. The highlight of the ceremony was the unveiling of the number 42 permanently placed on the press box — a surprise to Jones, who looked up and reacted with genuine emotion.
It would be a great story if the game had followed suit and SLUH had rallied to beat the area’s No. 1 team. It started out looking as it might, as Trevor McDonough orchestrated a game-opening drive with near-precision and SLUH jumped out to a 7-0 lead.
But the night didn’t have a storybook ending. CBC responded with 34 unanswered points and beat the Jr. Bills 34-7.
Those three Super Bowls Jones played in didn’t have storybook endings either. But now, the players have a reminder of what hard work and discipline can do. They can remember the student that went from the Jr. Bills to the Buffalo Bills. From the field, all they’ll have to do is look up.
See more game photos from Nancy Winkelmann at nancywinkelmann.zenfolio.com/varsitypix
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