Ben Watts-Jones
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Watts Jones[1]
Date of birth 7 January 1885
Place of birth Swansea, Wales
Date of death 3 July 1949 (aged 64)
Place of death Swansea, Wales
Managerial career
Years Team
1934–1937 Cardiff City

Benjamin Watts-Jones (7 January 1885[2] – 3 July 1949) was a Welsh football manager and chairman.[3]

Jones originated from Swansea and was the eldest son of Swansea mayor Ben Jones. For many years he worked as a draper.[3]

He was founder, director and chairman of Swansea Town, helping them gain admission to The Football League in 1921, as well as serving on the selection committee of the Football Association of Wales when he was appointed manager of Cardiff City in February 1934, taking charge as the club was in its lowest position since entering the Football League in 1920 after finishing bottom of Division Three South.[4]

At the start of the 1934–35 season, Jones released all but five of the clubs professional players and brought in 17 new players in their place but had little cash to spend and struggled to turn the side around. In 1936 he appointed former Wales international Bill Jennings as a coach and would eventually step down as manager in order for Jennings to take over in 1937.[5] He instead took a place on the board which he held until the outbreak of World War II.

He died suddenly of a heart attack at his home in Swansea.[3]

Managerial statistics

Team Country From To Record
G W D L Win %
Cardiff City Wales 3 March 1934[6] April 1937 141 41 29 71 29.08
Total 141 41 29 71 29.08

References

  1. ^ "FAW Memorandum". FAW.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  2. ^ 1939 England and Wales Register
  3. ^ a b c "Welsh Soccer Chief Dead". Western Mail. 4 July 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  4. ^ "The Roaring Twenties". cardiffcityfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-06-26. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
  5. ^ "B Watts-Jones". League Managers Association. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  6. ^ "The Cardiff City Club Officially Announced". Western Daily Press. 5 March 1934. Retrieved 19 April 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

External links

Cardiff City F.C. – managers
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