Bill Jones
*Bill Jones was born on this date in 1914. He was a pioneering Black professional basketball player.
From Toledo, OH., William McNeil Jones was the son of William Allen Jones and Jessie L. Gatliff. Jones attended Woodward High School and played collegiately at the University of Toledo. He played in all five games for the National Basketball League's (NBL) Toledo Jim White Chevrolets before the team disbanded early into the 1942–43 season. He barnstormed with teams and the Harlem Globetrotters.
He eventually moved to Los Angeles, California. Jones was among the earliest African American players in the NBL and is considered a pioneer of integration in professional basketball. William Jones died on April 9, 2006.
