As the National Football League (NFL) training camps gear up for their next season, it’s a good time to note that there are two Coronado families with the current two oldest living NFL players in their midst. William Augustus “Dub” Jones was born in December 1924, and at 98 is the oldest. He is the father of Coronado resident Schumpert “Hoss” Jones, USAF Ret. The second oldest living NFL player is Dr. Bill McColl, born in April 1930, now age 93, who is the father of long-time resident Carrie O’Brien.
There are similarities in the men’s journeys with each having large families and both with sons who also played in the NFL. Jones spent most of his career with the Cleveland Browns, McColl was with the Chicago Bears his entire career, and each went on to have successful careers outside of football.
William Augustus “Dub” Jones
Athletic in high school Jones, who played both offense and defense, got a full scholarship to Louisiana State University (LSU) but was only there one year when he went into the Navy, under its V-12 Navy College Training Program, as a submarine firefighter, and was then sent to Tulane University.
Jones was drafted in the first round of the 1946 NFL draft as the second overall pick and highest paid draft choice at $1200 a game. This came after playing in the 1946 College All-Star Game, with quarterback and future teammate Otto Graham, a game won by the College All-Stars 16-0 over the defending NFL champions Los Angeles Rams, and being discovered by Paul Brown. He played briefly for several teams before being traded to the Cleveland Browns in 1948.
In 1951, Jones had his best game ever as he scored six touchdowns in a game against the Chicago Bears. To this day, he still shares the NFL record for most touchdowns scored in a game with Ernie Nevers in 1929, Gale Sayers in 1965, and most recently Alvin Kamara in 2020.
After retiring from the NFL after the 1955 season, Jones and his wife Schump raised their seven children in Ruston, Louisiana, where he ran a general contracting business. They have 23 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren. His son Bert Jones also played 10 seasons in the NFL, starting in 1973, as a quarterback with the Baltimore Colts and later the Los Angeles Rams.
Dub returned to the Cleveland Browns in 1963 as an offensive coordinator, where he coached several future Hall of Famers including Jim Brown. He was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame. Through the years, he continued to receive fan mail and always signed autographs.
Dr. William “Bill” Frazer McColl Jr.
At 93, Bill McColl still gets together with his close-knit family twice a week to enjoy dinner and brunch. Born in Mercy Hospital in San Diego on April 2, 1930, he attended Hoover High School where he was All-State in track, basketball, football, and baseball. Recruited by several major universities, he chose Stanford University, where he studied pre-med and played tight end and defensive tackle on the football team. Drafted in the 1952 NFL draft, he comments, “I wrote them letters and told them I had to focus on my medical studies.” But Coach Halas of the Chicago Bears wouldn’t take no for an answer and offered him a spot on the team that would allow him to continue his medical school studies simultaneously.
Quite a feat was accomplished playing for the Chicago Bears from 1952-1959, through medical school and his orthopedic residency. He and his wife of now 70 years, Barbara, had all six of their children during these years. After completing his orthopedic surgery residency, the family packed up and moved to Korea, where Bill and Barbara worked as medical missionaries at Teague Presbyterian Hospital, Orphan Children’s Hospital, and the Leprosy Hospital.
When asked if he liked playing football or practicing medicine more, he laughed and said, “I like them both equally.” His dad stressed scholastics first, then athletics. He noted that football was not the end, but the means to the end.
Bill’s son Milt also went to Stanford University Medical School; and he played eight years with the San Francisco 49ers and has two Super Bowl rings. Milt vividly remembers his dad putting square toes on their shoes to kick field goals growing up. When Milt was born, Bill found out when it was announced during the NFL game in which he was playing. Carrie, who played intramural flag football, and her sisters were cheerleaders, but had a good understanding of football. She and her twin sister were born while her dad was playing in the championship game against the New York Giants.
After Korea, the family settled in West Covina where Bill had a successful orthopedic practice. They moved to La Jolla while all of their children attended Stanford University.
Bill and Barbara still watch games and root for the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers, and she even has a “49er mom” license plate. They take daily walks and are avid readers. They are philanthropic and regularly give to the San Diego Opera, eldercare, McColl Center at St. Paul’s Senior Center, Patrons of the Prado, and other organizations.
The McColls often get together with family, which includes 20 grandchildren, 10 great children, and dozens of cousins; and every Christmas Day, no less than 75 family members gather and wear their McColl tartan plaid kilts. Each year, Bill has special plaques made for the family members with his favorite quote, saying, or scripture of the year that he wants to impart, for example, “It’s not about winning and losing, but how you play the game.”
His family shared that he offered grandkids $200 if they could get a score of 800 or better on the SAT math test, so he also studied for it in his 70s to keep his mind sharp.
Bill’s greatest achievements: he was included as one of the 10 Outstanding Young Men of America in 1964, inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1965, inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame for Service to Humanity in 1973, and named on the Stanford University Team in 1991. To this day fans continue to send him letters asking for autographs to which he always responds, and I was lucky enough to get one.
