Charles Jones (12 December 1899 – April 1966) was a Welsh international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. Born in Troedyrhiw,

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

, Jones started his career at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, but was released in the summer of 1921 after just one appearance, a 1–0 defeat to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

. He joined

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

, and in his first season at the club ( 1921–22) won a

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

medal and promotion to the Second Division. He moved in March 1923 to First Division

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

, but the club were relegated to the Second Division soon after he joined; Jones spent another two seasons with the Latics in the second flight, and then joined fellow Second Division side

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

in the summer of 1925. Jones steadily made a name for himself as a talented

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

with Forest, making over 100 appearances for them in three years. It was also while there that he picked up the first of his eight caps for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, excelling in a 3–1 victory over

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

on 1 March 1926. In addition, he went on to captain his country several times. Jones was signed by

Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English Association football, football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful manage ...

for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in May 1928, and often played as one of the forwards as Chapman introduced the

WM formation In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a Association football pitch, pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the excepti ...

. He missed only three league games in 1929–30, although he was not selected for the Gunners' 1930

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

-winning side. However, Jones proved his versatility by moving to right half, and became known as a tenacious ball-winner and committed tackler in the Arsenal midfield. With Arsenal he won three First Division winners' medals (in 1930–31, 1932–33 and 1933–34), and played in the 1931–32 FA Cup final (which Arsenal lost controversially to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

). He also won the

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

. Towards the end of his career his age was starting to catch up with him, and competition for midfield places was fierce; with players such as Bob John and Frank Hill in the Arsenal squad, Jones only played 16 matches in 1932–33. However his knowledge of the game and tactical sense were still appreciated by Arsenal managers Herbert Chapman and Joe Shaw; this meant he was a regular in the 1933–34 season, at the end of which he retired from the game, at the age of 34. In all he played 195 games for Arsenal, scoring eight goals. Jones was manager of

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

from May 1934 to December 1935.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Charlie 1899 births 1966 deaths Footballers from Merthyr Tydfil Cardiff City F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Notts County F.C. managers People from Troed-y-rhiw Footballers from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Wales men's international footballers Welsh men's footballers Men's association football wingers Date of death missing Place of death missing Welsh football managers