Keith Jones (Welsh footballer)
{{short description|Welsh footballer}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Keith Jones
| image =
| caption =
| fullname = Keith Jones{{Hugman|10447|accessdate=9 March 2017}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|10|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = Nantyglo, Wales
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2007|8|25|1928|10|23}}{{hugman|10447|accessdate=23 October 2016}}
| death_place = Redditch, England
| height =
| position = Goalkeeper
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Stourport Swifts
| youthyears2 = | youthclubs2 = West Bromwich Albion
| youthyears3 = | youthclubs3 = Kidderminster Harriers
| years1 = 1946–1957| clubs1 = Aston Villa| caps1 = 185| goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1957–1959| clubs2 = Port Vale| caps2 = 64| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 1959–1960| clubs3 = Crewe Alexandra| caps3 = 46| goals3 =0
| totalcaps = 295| totalgoals = 0
| nationalyears1 = 1949| nationalteam1 = Wales| nationalcaps1 = 1| nationalgoals1 = 0
}}
Keith Jones (23 October 1928 – 25 August 2007) was a Welsh international footballer. A goalkeeper, he made 295 league appearances in a 13-year career in the Football League and won one cap for Wales in 1949.
He spent May 1946 to July 1957 at Aston Villa and made 199 appearances in all competitions, though he was usually the club's second-choice goalkeeper. He was sold on to Port Vale for £3,500 and helped the "Valiants" to win the Fourth Division title in 1958–59. He moved on to Crewe Alexandra in April 1959 before leaving the club the following year.
Club career
Jones played for Stourport Swifts, West Bromwich Albion, and Kidderminster Harriers, before signing with Aston Villa in May 1946.{{cite web|title=Villa stats|url=http://www.astonvillaplayerdatabase.com/722.html|work=astonvillaplayerdatabase.com|accessdate=15 April 2012}} As Joe Rutherford's understudy, he did not feature in 1946–47, but made 19 appearances in 1947–48, as the "Villans" posted a sixth-place finish in the First Division. He played 13 games in 1948–49 and ten games in 1949–50 as Villa finished 10th and 12th in manager Alex Massie's last seasons in charge. Jones remained the club's back-up goalkeeper under new boss George Martin, playing 15, 11 and 20 matches respectively, as Villa finished 15th in 1950–51, sixth in 1951–52, and 11th in 1952–53. New boss Eric Houghton then made Jones the club's regular custodian, as he featured 34, 41 and 35 times respectively as Villa finished 13th in 1953–54, sixth in 1954–55 and 20th in 1955–56. However, he played just the one game in 1956–57 as Villa finished tenth. Nigel Sims was the goalkeeper in the 1957 FA Cup final victory over Manchester United. In eleven years at Villa Park, Jones played 185 league and 14 FA Cup games.
He was sold to Port Vale in July 1957 for £3,500.{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=157|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0}} He went straight into the first-team, ahead of back-up 'keeper John Poole, and made 46 appearances in 1957–58, the last ever season of Third Division South football. However, by December 1958 he had lost his place in the team to Ken Hancock, and was transferred to nearby Crewe Alexandra in April 1959. Norman Low's "Valiants" went on to finish as champions of the newly created Fourth Division in 1958–59. Harry Ware's "Railwaymen" struggled near the football of the Football League in 1958–59 and 1959–60. After that point, Jones departed Gresty Road.
International career
Jones received his sole Wales cap on 9 November 1949, in a 2–0 defeat to Scotland at Hampden Park.{{cite web|title=match|url=http://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=6567|work=eu-football.info|accessdate=15 April 2012}}
Career statistics
Source:{{ENFA}}{{cite web|title=stats|url=http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player4/keithjones.html|work=neilbrown.newcastlefans.com|accessdate=15 April 2012}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|FA Cup !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="11"|Aston Villa
|18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| 1948–49
|First Division |13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 1949–50
|First Division |10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1950–51
|First Division |13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 1951–52
|First Division |11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| 1952–53
|First Division |20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| 1953–54
|First Division |33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 1954–55
|First Division |34 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| 1955–56
|First Division |32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| 1956–57
|First Division |1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!185 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 199 | 0 | |
| rowspan="3"|Port Vale
|43 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| 1958–59
|21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!64 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 68 | 0 | |
| rowspan="3"|Crewe Alexandra
|Fourth Division |4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1959–60
|Fourth Division |42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!46 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 0 | |
| colspan="3"|Career total
!295 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 317 | 0 |
Honours
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Keith}}
Category:Welsh men's footballers
Category:Wales men's international footballers
Category:Men's association football goalkeepers
Category:Stourport Swifts F.C. players
Category:West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
Category:Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players
Category:Aston Villa F.C. players
Category:Port Vale F.C. players