Harry Jones Player Profile

Biography

Jones was a college student when he began his career with hometown club Towyn Rovers. His undoubted talent soon brought him to the attention of the Welsh Amateur international selectors and in January 1910 he was chosen to play in a trial match staged at the Racecourse. A left-sided forward who could play both inside and out wide, he impressed sufficiently to make his debut against England at Huddersfield and was arguably the side’s best player in a 6-0 defeat. Wrexham quickly offered him the chance to play Birmingham League football and Jones made quite an impact, including a goal in just his second start against Wolves Reserves. His display that day paved the way for a summer move to Molineux, but Harry struggled to make his mark amongst the professional ranks.

The move to Port Vale in July 1911 proved pivotal for the Welshman’s career when, after alternating between left half-back and outside-left in the first six games of their Central League campaign, he was given a trial at left-back. The switch proved to be a great success and the Staffordshire Sentinel described him as “a tower of strength to the defence” in their end of season review. Jones helped Vale to lift the Staffordshire Cup in that first season and the Birmingham Senior Cup twelve months later, clocking up over 125 appearances before his surprise departure in January 1915.

The outbreak of war in July 1914 had seen attendances plummet and the Port Vale players accepted a 20-percent wage reduction in the November in a bid to help the club’s finances. Three months later the directors asked the players to take a further cut and this proved the final straw for Jones and his team-mates Tommy Yule and Harold Leese who all left the club. Vale continued to hold the player’s registration until he returned to Wrexham for a trial spell in August 1920. That lasted three months with Jones making a solitary first-team start before departing for a short spell with Macclesfield Town where he finished his senior career.