Keeping Up with the Jones
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
March 31, 1998
She always sits behind the Oakland A's dugout, near the runway to the clubhouse. Row 119, seat 11; she's the elderly woman wearing dark shades and a boating cap adorned with pins and buttons.
From this perch, an easy catcall from the field at the Coliseum, 71-year-old Louise Irvin-Jones lives her life, one pitch at a time.
A proud critic of the game with a voice that travels like a scud missile, Irvin-Jones perhaps the Athletics' most devoted fan has been sitting in the same orange plastic seat at the Oakland Coliseum for more than 20 years.
The veteran fan, who once had an A's pennant bitten in half by a crazed Yankees addict, has attended more than 1,750 ballgames since 1975. She's skipped just six home dates during that time.
"I guess there are fixtures in every stadium," said Irvin-Jones, who has a bedroom at her Danville home crammed wall-to-wall with A's memorabilia. "When you're in Oakland, you know I'll be there."
And oh, how you'll know. Irvin-Jones has made friends with nearly every A's player since 1972, winning over some of the game's most notorious personalities (she loved Dave Kingman, Jose Canseco and Billy Martin) with her charm and unwavering devotion.
The organization has taken notice; Irvin-Jones has tossed out the ceremonial first pitch on two occasions.
"The last time, I asked (Dave) Magadan to run up and catch the ball -- it still got a grass stain on it," she said.
Growing up on a 10,000-acre ranch in New Mexico's Santa Fe National Forest, Irvin-Jones was never that intrigued by baseball until she met Hugh Jones, her husband of 26 years.
Hugh, 78, lost a son in Vietnam and it seemed nothing would heal his loneliness. Things changed when he met Louise.
After they were married in 1972, the couple were lured to the ballpark. They lost themselves in long, idle afternoons. The diversion changed their lives: Louise had discovered a passion that restored her youth and Hugh, a successful yacht broker, wrestled free from depression.
"It was good for him to go out in the sun and enjoy himself again," Louise said. "And I love it. When spring training comes around, it's almost like being rejuvenated I made it through the winter."
And keeping up with the Joneses requires some work. With baseball as their subject, sentences that started one story quickly dissolve into another.
When Rickey Henderson was traded to the New York Yankees in 1985, Louise and Hugh followed, booking a short trip back East to watch him play. Louise climbed to the third deck at Yankee Stadium -- nearly a parachute ride down to the field -- and roared at her favorite player.
"Her voice was so loud, he just gave a big wave to her from left field," said Hugh, whose 55-foot Tayana cruising sailboat has entertained several A's players during the off-season.
"He came up as just a kid and was always so great to the fans," Louise said of Henderson, currently enjoying his fourth stint with the A's. "He's so exciting to watch."
Former A's catcher Mike Heath was scolded by Louise after "dogging it" to first base on a fly ball one afternoon.
Heath whirled around on his way back to the dugout, approached the stands and began his first sentence with an expletive. Then his eyes settled on the proud woman sitting in row 119, seat 11, with a boating cap and large sunglasses. Heath recoiled.
"He didn't know who was yelling at him," Louise said, "and when he found out it was me, he said Oh, Louise I didn't know it was you!' "
Contra Costa Newspapers
March 31, 1998
She always sits behind the Oakland A's dugout, near the runway to the clubhouse. Row 119, seat 11; she's the elderly woman wearing dark shades and a boating cap adorned with pins and buttons.
From this perch, an easy catcall from the field at the Coliseum, 71-year-old Louise Irvin-Jones lives her life, one pitch at a time.
A proud critic of the game with a voice that travels like a scud missile, Irvin-Jones perhaps the Athletics' most devoted fan has been sitting in the same orange plastic seat at the Oakland Coliseum for more than 20 years.
The veteran fan, who once had an A's pennant bitten in half by a crazed Yankees addict, has attended more than 1,750 ballgames since 1975. She's skipped just six home dates during that time.
"I guess there are fixtures in every stadium," said Irvin-Jones, who has a bedroom at her Danville home crammed wall-to-wall with A's memorabilia. "When you're in Oakland, you know I'll be there."
And oh, how you'll know. Irvin-Jones has made friends with nearly every A's player since 1972, winning over some of the game's most notorious personalities (she loved Dave Kingman, Jose Canseco and Billy Martin) with her charm and unwavering devotion.
The organization has taken notice; Irvin-Jones has tossed out the ceremonial first pitch on two occasions.
"The last time, I asked (Dave) Magadan to run up and catch the ball -- it still got a grass stain on it," she said.
Growing up on a 10,000-acre ranch in New Mexico's Santa Fe National Forest, Irvin-Jones was never that intrigued by baseball until she met Hugh Jones, her husband of 26 years.
Hugh, 78, lost a son in Vietnam and it seemed nothing would heal his loneliness. Things changed when he met Louise.
After they were married in 1972, the couple were lured to the ballpark. They lost themselves in long, idle afternoons. The diversion changed their lives: Louise had discovered a passion that restored her youth and Hugh, a successful yacht broker, wrestled free from depression.
"It was good for him to go out in the sun and enjoy himself again," Louise said. "And I love it. When spring training comes around, it's almost like being rejuvenated I made it through the winter."
And keeping up with the Joneses requires some work. With baseball as their subject, sentences that started one story quickly dissolve into another.
When Rickey Henderson was traded to the New York Yankees in 1985, Louise and Hugh followed, booking a short trip back East to watch him play. Louise climbed to the third deck at Yankee Stadium -- nearly a parachute ride down to the field -- and roared at her favorite player.
"Her voice was so loud, he just gave a big wave to her from left field," said Hugh, whose 55-foot Tayana cruising sailboat has entertained several A's players during the off-season.
"He came up as just a kid and was always so great to the fans," Louise said of Henderson, currently enjoying his fourth stint with the A's. "He's so exciting to watch."
Former A's catcher Mike Heath was scolded by Louise after "dogging it" to first base on a fly ball one afternoon.
Heath whirled around on his way back to the dugout, approached the stands and began his first sentence with an expletive. Then his eyes settled on the proud woman sitting in row 119, seat 11, with a boating cap and large sunglasses. Heath recoiled.
"He didn't know who was yelling at him," Louise said, "and when he found out it was me, he said Oh, Louise I didn't know it was you!' "
posted by Corey at 2:01 PM
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