Ken Jones 1965-70 RIP
Ken Jones ex-Saints full-back from the 60s has died over Xmas. Here is what I was planning to publish about him next year but on a personal note I would like to add a nicer man you could not wish to meet. So helpful towards us historians too - always ready for a chat or to lend a photo. My sympathies to his wife and family.
Ken Jones was widely regarded as the best full-back playing in Division 4 when Ted Bates decided he wanted his services to bolster Southampton’s ambitions to finally gain promotion to the top-flight. His first contract was interesting because he was not only offered £27 a week but also a pound for every 1000 above 20,000 in attendance at home games. A tidy and unflappable defender, he initially jousted with Stuart Williams for the right to wear the nos 2 shirt and then Tommy Hare, but all three lost out when Ted returned to the market in March 1966 to bring in David Webb and with the crew-cutted Londoner now ensconced at right-back, the team reached Division 1 by remaining unbeaten in their last 12 matches. The next season the versatile Ken made 19 League appearances all but one of them at left-back and played his part in the consolidation process as the club strived to hold onto their newly found position among the country’s elite. His best season was 1968-69 when he alternated between both back positions at the expense of Joe Kirkup or Denis Hollywood as Saints qualified for Europe but by the following year Bob McCarthy and Tony Byrne had joined the full-back selection fray and Ken fell further behind in the pecking order. He joined Cardiff then being managed by Jimmy Scoular his old Bradford PA manager but injuries preceded a retirement to a job in Southampton Docks, a resting place for quite a few other Saints players of the era. He settled in Chandlers Ford but was not lost to the sporting pages of the Southern Daily Echo as he forged quite a name for himself as an accomplished snooker player/ coach.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by david in sweden
Bookmarks