Ray Jones (4 June 1944 – July 2007) was an English professional footballer who played as a full back. He was born and died in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, made 170

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearances for

, and also played and managed in non-league football.

Playing and Managerial Career

Jones joined Chester as a schoolboy, making his first-team debut in a 1–0 win over

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

on 7 December 1962 in the number 2 shirt. By the 1964–65 season Jones was a regular in the side, performing well when asked to mark

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester Un ...

in an

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 ...

tie against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in January 1965. Unfortunately, Jones and his namesake and fellow full-back Bryn Jones suffered fractured legs in a match against

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

twelve months later. The pair missed the remainder of the season as Chester fell out of promotion contention, with Ray not returning to action until October. He remained at the club until the end of the 1968–69 season, with his final game being a 1–0 home defeat to

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

on 19 April 1969. That was to be the last

match played by Jones, as he joined non–league side

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

. He followed it up by playing for Oswestry Town, Bethesda Athletic and

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

, where he became player–manager. He went on to have spells as manager of

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

, where he achieved three promotions, and

Connah's Quay Nomads Connah's Quay Nomads Football Club () is a Welsh professional association football, football club based in Connah's Quay, Flintshire. They play in the . The club was founded in 1946 as Connah's Quay Juniors and adopted the Connah's Quay Nomads ...

. Away from football he worked as an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

. Jones died in July 2007 at the Hospice of the Good Shepherd near

References

External links

Chester City obituaryRhyl Journal obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ray (Footballer Born 1944) 1944 births 2007 deaths Footballers from Chester English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks English Football League players Chester City F.C. players Runcorn F.C. Halton players Oswestry Town F.C. players Bethesda Athletic F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. managers Rhyl F.C. managers Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. managers English football managers 20th-century English sportsmen