1979–1981 UCF Weight 88 kg College Penn State Height 1.8 m | CFL status International Role American football player Status Retired Name Don Jonas Positions Quarterback | |
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Date of birth (1938-12-03) December 3, 1938 (age 77) Education Pennsylvania State University | ||
Place of birth Scranton, Pennsylvania | ||
Under the lights with don jonas feature
Donald Walter Jonas (born December 3, 1938) is a former American football player and coach. Jonas played in the American minor leagues (semi-pro) and the Canadian Football League. He was also the first head coach of the UCF Knights (1979–1981).
Contents
- Under the lights with don jonas feature
- College football
- Semi pro football
- Canadian Football League
- Coaching career
- Later years
- References
College football
Jonas played college football at Penn State University. His first season was 1958, and he did not play (was red-shirted) in 1959. In 1960, as a running back, he ran 49 times for 238 yards (4.9 yard average) and two touchdowns. He also caught six passes, completed 3 of 7 passes, intercepted three opponent passes and returned seven punts. In 1961, he gained 149 yards in 31 attempts (4.8 average) and caught five passes, scoring two touchdowns. He also returned punts and kickoffs.
Proving to be a versatile player, he was drafted by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in the 13th round (182nd overall) of the 1961 NFL Draft. His time with the Eagles was very short. He played in only one game in the 1962 season.
Coincidentally, his Penn State quarterback Peter Liske would also go on to star in the CFL, playing against Jonas and himself winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in 1967.
Semi-pro football
Jonas turned to minor league football after his brief stint in the NFL; in the 1960s, the days before big player salaries, this was a viable option for a football player. Both semi-pro teams and the CFL offered Jonas playing time and competitive money.
His career minor league stats were 1032 completions in 2085 attempts for 17,183 yards and 171 TDs and 130 interceptions, with 4 MVP awards. His only weakness was his somewhat low completion percentage. In 1967, the NFL’s Denver Broncos offered him a contract, but it most certainly paid him less than his MVP Orlando salary. And, by the time the Continental Football League folded, Jonas was the over the age of 30, so Canada was his best option.
Canadian Football League
Jonas’ first season in the Canadian Football League, 1970, was with the Toronto Argonauts, where he was teamed up with Tom Wilkinson. His 124 completions, 256 passes for 2041 yards (and 17 TDs versus 25 ints) did not help the 8-6 team win the Grey Cup as the Argos lost to the eventual Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes 16-7 in the divisional semi-final.
Moving to the Western Division with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1971, he hit 253 of 485 passes for a stunning 4036 yards with 27 TDs and 31 interceptions. Jonas won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award.
He would play two more full seasons for the Bombers before being traded midway through the 1974 season to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for their quarterback, Chuck Ealey. His 12,291 passing yards is fifth best for a franchise that has many great quarterbacks. None of Jonas’ CFL teams, however, would get to the Grey Cup championship with him at the helm.
His final CFL totals are 977 completions on 1930 attempts for 15064 yards and 98 TDs versus 130 interceptions.
Coaching career
Jonas continued on in football as the voluntary, then permanent head coach of the new football program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. The Knights won six of their eight games in 1979, but only won eight in the next two seasons. At the time Jonas coached, the Knights were in NCAA Division II.
Later years
Jonas is now semi-retired, working part-time at an auto-glass replacement shop and playing golf. He has done radio broadcasts of Central Florida football games and had a radio sports talk show for three years.