Charlie Jones
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For other people named Charles Jones, see Charles Jones (disambiguation).
Charles "Charlie" Jones (December 12, 1899 – April 1966) was a Welsh footballer.
Born in Troedyrhiw, Jones started his career at Cardiff City, but was released in the summer of 1921. He joined Stockport County, and in his first season at the club won a Third Division North medal. He moved in March 1923 to First Division Oldham Athletic, but the club were relegated to the Second Division soon after he joined; Jones spent another two seasons with the Latics in the second flight, and then joined Second Division Nottingham Forest in the summer of 1925.
Jones steadily made a name for himself as a talented left winger, and picked up the first of his eight caps for Wales, excelling in a 3-1 victory over England at Selhurst Park on March 1, 1926. He went on to captain his country several times.
Jones returned to the top flight when he was signed by Herbert Chapman for Arsenal in the summer of 1928, and he immediately became a regular, making his debut on the opening day of the season, against Sheffield Wednesday. He was a near ever-present for his first two seasons at the club, but the arrival of Alex James and Cliff Bastin in 1929 meant that Jones was squeezed out of the attacking lineup. He moved to right half, and became known as a tenacious ballwinner and committed tackler in the Arsenal midfield.
Jones was left out of the Gunners' 1930 FA Cup-winning side, but did win three First Division winners' medals (in 1931, 1933 and 1934), and reached the 1932 FA Cup final (which Arsenal lost controversially to Newcastle United). Towards the end of his career his age was starting to catch up with him, and competition for midfield places was fierce (with players such as Bob John, Frank Hill and Jack Crayston in the Arsenal squad), but his knowledge of the game and tactical sense were still appreciated by Arsenal managers Herbert Chapman and Joe Shaw; this meant he was still a regular in the side up until his retirement from the game in 1934 at the age of 33. In all he played 195 games for Arsenal, scoring 8 goals.
After retiring from playing, Jones was briefly manager of Notts County. However, he soon quit and decided to leave football entirely, and became a successful businessman. He died in 1966 at the age of 66.
