Jones Wilson Image 4 Birmingham City 1946

Description

Pentre Broughton, Wrexham born centre forward Wilson Jones played junior football for Brymbo Green in 1930 and had unsuccessful trials with Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers before he signed professional with hometown club Wrexham in August 1932, making his Football League debut at Hartlepools United that September. Despite only playing 7 first team games in the next two years, First Division Birmingham City saw his potential and signed him in September 1934, and he was Birmingham’s top scorer in three of the next five seasons, scoring a hat-trick in his debut season in a 3-2 win over Derby County in March 1935 and 20 goals in 1935-36, the best return of his career, which also included a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday in April 1936.

He won his first cap for Wales on 27th March 1935 against Ireland at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, when he scored the first goal in a 3-1 win, and his second in a 1-1 draw against France in Paris on 20th May 1939.

When the Second World War intervened he was 25 years old but well over 30 at its conclusion. However he resumed peacetime football with Birmingham and scored 5 goals in their 1945-46 FA Cup run, playing 10 games (scoring 6 goals) in the first post-war League season, 1946-47. He then signed for Nottingham Forest in September 1947 after 71 goals in 150 appearances for The Blues, playing 7 games in a month between September and October for Forest scoring 5 goals (3 of which were penalties), before joining non league Kidderminster Harriers in 1948. He later joined Redditch Town in 1949 before his eventual retirement.