CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — A legendary former baseball coach for the Fighting Illini died on Monday.

Richard “Itch” “Itchy” Jones died after a three-year-long battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He was originally given seven months to live.

Illinois Athletics says few, if any, coaches had the impact players and colleagues Jones did.

“Itch leaves an unfillable void in our world and the baseball community,” Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said in a statement from Illinois Athletics. “He was ahead of his time with his baseball teachings and innovative drills. He was blessed with one of the best minds in the game of baseball. A teacher, clinician, entertainer, and champion.”

Many of his former players, including current Fighting Illini head baseball coach Dan Hartleb, went on to have careers in baseball.

“He was an outstanding father, husband, brother, and coach. Itch was a second father to me, a lifelong baseball and life mentor,” Hartleb told Illinois Athletics. “Many of the things we do in our program to this day – both on and off the field – are based on the fundamentals and values that Itch taught and instilled in me.

Jones earned the nickname “Itchy” from his cousin, after breaking his leg in third grade. He used the handle of a fly swatter to relieve the itchiness between the cast and his skin, and the nickname stuck.

It changed, however, from “Itchy” to “Itch” after Jones was named the head coach at the University of Illinois in 1991. It helped him differentiate the people he knew from Southern Illinois University and the start of his new home in Champaign-Urbana, according to U of I athletics.

Itch Jones’ coaching record stands at 1,240-718-6, including 474 victories in 15 years at Illinois.

Before that however, he 21 seasons at Southern Illinois University, and three seasons as head coach at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Jones retired from coaching in 2005. His best season at Illinois was in 1998 when the Illini won the regular season Big Ten Championship for the first time in 35 years. He also led Illinois to the Big Ten regular-season title in his final season in 2005 and to a Big Ten Tournament championship in 2000.

During his 39-year coaching career, more than 22 of his players made it to the Major Leagues, and over 100 players played professional baseball.

Jones has membership in nine Hall of Fames, including Jacksonville High School, MacMurray College and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.

Jones leaves behind his wife, Sue, of 62 years, children Michael (Carol) Jones of Louisville, Kentucky, and Susan Jones, of Gore, Oklahoma, and grandchildren Richard Jones and Micah Jones. Jones was born Feb. 15, 1938, the son of Jinx “Jiggs” and Rosine Jones and was a brother to R.A. “Cowboy” Jones, a 50-plus year jockey who raced in the United States and Canada.

A Celebration of Life will be held later in 2025.