In the case of Brent Jones and his development from an average football player in Leland High School's class of 1981 to stardom as a professional with the San Francisco 49ers, and now as a 2005 inductee into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame--neither was true.

In reflecting upon his career, Jones says that there were a few breaks along the way that created opportunities that he worked hard to take advantage of. But he readily points out that it was the people that he had with him on the journey that really made the difference.

"I'm grateful for my coaches throughout my career, but especially Steve Cox at Leland," Jones said. "I learned 80 percent of what I know about receiving while I was in high school."

"My parents were particularly supportive, and my dad, who was a football coach himself, would not let me give up when things were tough. I spent a lot of hours with him learning the craft of receiving which ironically, at the time, seemed like there would be no platform to use it."

Another key individual that Jones pointed out was Terry Malley, the offensive coordinator at Santa Clara University. According to Jones, Malley was the one who "discovered" him and was primarily responsible for getting him to Santa Clara. Malley encouraged his father, Pat, who was the athletic director and head football coach at Santa Clara, to give Jones a scholarship. Jones found out later that the younger Malley had informed his dad that Jones was an all-league receiver in high school, which really wasn't accurate in light of the fact that Jones was a reserve player at Leland. The truth did not come out until later when Jones had already begun to prove himself on the field at Santa Clara.

"I also met my wife, Dana, while I was at Santa Clara and she became an instrumental part of my support system and was very helpful," Jones said.

"In addition to the people, I have to say also that my faith was the greatest strength in my life," Jones added. "Even though there were a lot of setbacks, I never thought I would fail. I just felt like God put a determination in me so that I refused to have a door shut on me.

"People were key and there were tons along the way. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have had no chance to be where I am without them."

Jones' football career was one that almost never got started. He did show promise early on when, as a sophomore at Leland, he was the starting wide receiver. However, he broke his arm a few games into the season and was unable to return. He suffered from back problems as a junior and did not play. When his senior season came along, Jones was third on the depth chart at wide receiver and only got a little playing time in a couple of games.

It was during those times that Jones developed his determination and worked hard in practice to learn and improve his receiving skills. He also developed into an outstanding baseball catcher and, truth be told, baseball was a greater love early on than football.

There were no colleges knocking on his door at graduation so Jones' plan was to attend junior college and continue to pursue a baseball career. That all took a sudden turn north when Malley came into the picture in late July with the offer of a half football and half baseball scholarship to play at Santa Clara. Jones jumped at the chance and became a Bronco.

Jones red-shirted as a freshman and focussed on developing his skills. It paid off when he returned for his second year and became the starting a wide receiver for the first time ever in his football career. The injury bug bit again near the end of the season, though, when he dislocated his shoulder and surgery was required. This caused Jones to miss the baseball season as well and resulted in him losing his baseball scholarship.

Jones was ready to leave Santa Clara and transfer to USC because of his desire to play baseball, but Malley entered the picture again. He offered to provide a full football scholarship if Jones would stay and move to the tight end position--the coach believed Jones had the potential to go pro as a tight end. Jones decided to stay, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of his life.

For three consecutive years (1983-85), Jones was a first team All Western Football Conference selection and led the Broncos to two conference championships. As a senior in 1985, he was chosen as the conference's Offensive Player of the Year. That season he was also an All-American selection by Kodak, the Associated Press and Football News magazine.

Jones ranks second all-time in Santa Clara history with 137 career receptions. He was also inducted into the Division II Football Hall of Fame (2001) and the College Football Hall of Fame (2002).

Jones' success resulted in an opportunity to play in the 1985 East-West Shrine game, which was special for him because he was a "guy from a small school playing with the big boys." It also gave him valuable exposure to pro scouts. It was at that time that Chuck Knoll, the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, became interested in Jones. The Steelers made Jones their fifth-round choice in the 1986 draft and it looked like the sky was the limit.

However, only two weeks later Jones was involved in an unfortunate car accident resulting in a herniated disc. He was unable to heal in time to participate in the Steelers training camp. Pittsburgh became impatient and released Jones a month or so into the season. Once again Jones turned what looked like a disappointment into an opportunity. He continued to work hard, got healthy and was ready when the San Francisco 49ers called in early 1987.

It was not a walk down easy street when he arrived at the 49ers facilities. He was designated as the eighth tight end on the depth chart. He didn't get much action that first year, was injured late in the season and had to fight back from reconstructive surgery on his knee. But Jones was determined to hang around and when starting tight end John Frank went down with a broken hand the next season, he was ready once again to step in and take advantage of the opportunity.

Jones went on to a brilliant 11-year career with the 49ers. He was named All-Pro four consecutive years from 1992 through 1995 and played on three Super Bowl championship teams in 1989, 1990 and 1995. He also set a 49ers record for most career receiving yards by a tight end with 747. He is No. 5 on the all-time career receptions list for the 49ers with 417.

Jones' story really is the classic script of "local boy makes it big" but in his case the local never left the boy. "I couldn't have asked for anything more than to grow up in my hometown, go to school there, play for my hometown teams and win championships. Plus, I got to share it all with my family and those closest to me.

"That is really cool."

Brent Jones will join longtime Saratoga football coach Benny Pierce, former PGA pro Ken Venturi and tennis stars Barbara and Kathy Jordan as the new inductees in the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame. The five new members will be honored at a dinner ceremony at the H.P. Pavilion in November. The date of the induction is yet to be determined, but dinner tickets will begin at $150 apiece. To reserve a seat call 408.288.2936.