Leslie Jenkin Jones (1 July 1911 – January 1981) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

professional footballer.

Career

Born in

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

, as a youngster Jones began his career at his local side Aberdare Athletic, while also working at his father's butchers shop, before signing for Cardiff City in 1929. He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat during a

South Wales derby The South Wales derby is a local derby between Welsh association football clubs Cardiff City and Swansea City. The fixture has been described by ''The Independent'' as one of the fiercest rivalries in British football. Although based in Wales, ...

against Swansea Town. Despite Cardiff struggling and falling down the league during his time there he scored 31 goals in 142 league games. He earned the first of his eleven caps for

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

in the 1932–33 season. He eventually moved to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

in January 1934 and went on to score 27 goals in his first full season for the club. His impressive scoring record at

Highfield Road Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City F.C. for 106 years. History It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game o ...

– seventy goals in 138 games – meant Jones attracted interest from various clubs and Coventry managed to resist a £7,000 offer from

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

but couldn't resist an even higher offer from

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 1937, with

Bobby Davidson Robert Holley "Bobby" Davidson (19 July 1928 – 17 December 1993) was a Scottish Association football, football Referee (association football), referee who also operated for FIFA. Career He was Scotland's representative at the 1962 FIFA World ...

going the other way.Bobby Davidson
Arsenal FC Jones made his Arsenal debut against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

on 6 November 1937, scoring in a 2–1 defeat, and he helped the club to a league title in the 1937–38 season; Jones played as a withdrawn

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for Arsenal and consequently scored fewer goals – just three in 31 appearances that season. He won a Charity Shield medal the following season but his career at Arsenal was limited due to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During the war he served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

but still found time to play 71 wartime games and five wartime internationals for Wales. By the time the war ended, he was 35 and his final game for Arsenal was against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

on 9 January 1946. In total he played 50 times for the club, scoring three goals. In June 1940, he was one of five Arsenal players who guested for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in a victory over

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

. He was released by Arsenal on a free transfer in 1946 and joined Swansea Town as a player-coach. His stay at the

Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a football stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the club moved to the newly built Liberty Stadium in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 at ...

was short and he left to take over as player-manager at non-league side Barry Town before returning to the Football League with his final club,

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

, before retiring. In June 1950 he was appointed manager of Scunthorpe United, becoming the club's first Football League manager and guided them to a twelfth-place finish in their first season in the League. Towards the end of the season his relationship with the board deteriorated and he resigned at the end of the season.

Honours

* First Division: 1937–38 *

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 Le ...

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Leslie 1911 births 1981 deaths Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. managers Southampton F.C. wartime guest players Men's association football forwards Welsh football managers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Aberdare Athletic F.C. players