Kenneth Jones (2 January 1936 – 18 January 2013) 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 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 ...

. A goalkeeper, he was part of the Wales squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden.

Career

Jones began his career at Cardiff City, developing a reputation for his long goal kicks which would often reach the opposition goal. After losing his place in the first team to Ron Nicholls, he moved to Scunthorpe United in December 1958 where he went on to spend the majority of his career at the club. In 1959, while still a Scunthorpe player, he received a single vote for the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...

, the prize for the best footballer in Europe. After leaving the club in 1964, he had spells at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

and

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

before moving into non-league with

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

. During one match for Yeovil in 1968, he was once substituted after conceding 5 goals in 11 minutes. In November 2009, Jones was honoured with a long service award by the

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...

. Jones died at the age of 77 on 18 January 2013, presumably of natural causes.

References

1936 births 2013 deaths Welsh footballers Wales under-23 international footballers Footballers from Aberdare 1958 FIFA World Cup players Cardiff City F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players English Football League players Association football goalkeepers {{Wales-footy-goalkeeper-stub