Eric Jones (footballer, born 1915)

Eric Norman Jones (5 February 1915 – 2 October 1985) was an English footballer who played for Kidderminster Harriers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Portsmouth, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Brentford, and Crewe Alexandra. After the war he managed BSC Young Boys (Switzerland), Beerschot (Belgium), and De Graafschap (Netherlands).

Eric Jones
Personal information
Full name Eric Norman Jones[1]
Date of birth (1915-02-15)15 February 1915
Place of birth Aston, England
Date of death 2 October 1985(1985-10-02) (aged 70)[1]
Place of death Lincoln, England[1]
Position(s) Outside right
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1934 Stourport Power Station
1934– Kidderminster Harriers
0000–1936 Jack Mould's Athletic
1936 Kidderminster Harriers
1936–1937 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 (0)
1937–1938 Portsmouth 1 (0)
1938–1939 Stoke City 0 (0)
1939–1945 West Bromwich Albion 0 (0)
1945–1946 Brentford 0 (0)
1946–1947 Crewe Alexandra 53 (15)
1946 Macclesfield 1 (0)
1947–1948 Kidderminster Harriers
Total 57+ (15+)
Teams managed
1949–1951 BSC Young Boys
1953–1955 Beerschot
1960–1962 De Graafschap
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Jones played for Kidderminster Harriers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Portsmouth, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion.[1][2][3] During the war he guested for Portsmouth, Chelsea, Watford, Southend United, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers, Crystal Palace, Northampton Town, Fulham and Exeter City.[4] After the war he continued his career with Brentford and then Crewe Alexandra.[1][5]

Management career

Jones managed Swiss side BSC Young Boys, leading the club to a seventh-place finish in the Nationalliga A in 1950–51.[6] After leaving the Wankdorf Stadium, he took charge at Belgian club Beerschot.[7] He later took charge at Dutch Tweede Divisie club De Graafschap.[8]

He was appointed Port Vale's trainer-coach in June 1962, introducing revolutionary intensive training sessions for the players.[9] He had to be taken off the pitch during his first match with the club after being struck by a bottle thrown from the crowd at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground.[9] In his autobiography, Colin Grainger claimed that Jones were extremely unpopular with the squad and that the bottle had actually been thrown by a player.[10] His approach of strict discipline was apparently not favoured by the board either and he resigned his post at Vale Park for domestic reasons in October 1962.[9]

Personal life

Jones served in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War.[11]

Career statistics
Club Season Division League FA Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1936–37[12] First Division 300030
Portsmouth 1937–38[13] First Division 100010
Stoke City 1938–39[12] First Division 000000
Brentford 1945–46[5] — — 4040
Crewe Alexandra 1946–47[12] Third Division North 3914104014
1947–48[12] 14141182
Total 5315515816
Macclesfield 1946–47[3] Cheshire County League 1 0 — 1 0
Career total 5815916716

References
  1. "Eric Jones". Barry Hugman's Footballers.
  2. "Albion Till We Die – An Independent West Bromwich Albion Website". www.albiontillwedie.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  3. "Player Profiles – J". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  4. "Jones, Eric – The Grecian Archive". grecianarchive.exeter.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  5. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 378. ISBN 0951526200.
  6. "A few facts on...BSC Young Boys 6 August 2010 - News - tottenhamhotspur.com". www.tottenhamhotspur.com. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  7. "Coaches". beerschot.wimmel.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  8. "Historie – De Graafschap". Betaald voetbal De Graafschap B.V. (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  9. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 156. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  10. Grainger, Colin; Jawád, Hyder (2019). The Singing Winger. deCoubertin. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-909245-95-2.
  11. "Another Brentford Player Transferred". Middlesex Chronicle. 29 June 1946.
  12. Eric Jones at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  13. "PompeyRama – Eric Jones". Retrieved 11 January 2017.
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