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Jones High School celebrates Tiger Pride Day with NFL alumni

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Published  February 22, 2025 5:50pm EST
Orange County
FOX 35 Orlando

Jones High School celebrates Tiger Pride Day with NFL alumni

Jones High School celebrated its annual Tiger Pride Day on Saturday with the help of NFL alumni Kerby Joseph, who played football at Jones.

The Brief

    • Jones High School celebrated its annual Tiger Pride Day on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the school.
    • The celebration took place with the help of NFL alumni Kerby Joseph, who played football at the school.
    • School alumni said they were proud to reconnect with friends and see the next generations at the event.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - It was a party on Saturday at Jones High School in Orlando. 

The school was celebrating its annual Tiger Pride Day. 

And the school wasn't alone in their festivities — they were joined by NFL alumni Kerby Joseph.

Celebrating Tiger Pride

Local perspective:

Jones alumni from across the decades come out to show their tiger pride at the annual event. 

Graduating classes had their own tents along the football field, along with community vendors.

Andrew Anderson, assistant head football coach, said the start of Tiger Pride coincided with the return of their gridiron greatness.

Bringing community together

What they're saying:

Anderson said he'd seen the event grow over the years. 

"The first year it was actually behind the school," he said "I think we had two or three hundred people. Last year, it was like two thousand. … The alumni or booster club decided let's have a celebration, because the football team was obviously back from the early 80's or 90's when it wasn't so good. So, that's kind of how it all started."

After playing football at Jones, Joseph went on to the University of Illinois and then the Detroit Lions, where he played safety. 

On stage, Joseph and his partners made a special presentation. 

NFL player Kirby Joseph, a Jones High School alumni, attended the Tiger Pride Day. 

"Today, we're proud to celebrate the realization of that vision with the Kerby Joseph Center, a place where the community will have access to quality, affordable health care," one of the partners said.

Joseph's partners said they expected to cut the ribbon on his clinic in April. 

"I wanted to do something to give back to the community," he said. "So, I've been working on this project for a long time. I'm just so happy to see it come to life."

Jones High School alumni and NFL player Kirby Joseph attended the event with his partners. 

Jones alumni said they were proud to reconnect with friends and see the next generations. 

"Our parents went to Jones High," said Victor Jackson, a 1981 graduate of the school, said. "Our nieces and nephews went to Jones High, so it's a generational thing for us. We love it."

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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by Jones High School. 

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