Jones (back row, third from right) in a Manchester United team photo in 1957
Jones signed for Manchester United as an apprentice on leaving school in 1948, and also worked an apprentice bricklayer for a while afterwards. He made his first two senior appearances for United in the 1950–51 season, aged 17, and by the time of United's title glory in 1955–56 he was a regular first team player, although he often found himself out of the team in favour of Jackie Blanchflower (who was originally a wing-half or an inside-forward), having previously been understudy to the veteran Allenby Chilton. By the time United won the league title in 1956, he was a regular member of the first team, and collected another league title medal the following year.[1]
He missed the 1957 FA Cup Final defeat to Aston Villa because of an eye injury, although he did collect a second successive league title medal that season and helped United reach the semi-finals of the European Cup. He played a total of 120 first team games for United (103 of them in the league), and scored once. He was selected in an England senior squad once, but did not take to the field. Many observers believe that he would have been capped by England had he not died at Munich. He came close to international action, having been selected on the substitutes' bench, but his hopes of a breakthrough were not helped by the fact that his career coincided with that of Billy Wright. He was seen by many observers as a likely successor to Wright in the centre of the England defence.[2]
Legacy
Jones is buried in Wombwell near Barnsley, his birthplace. He had moved from there in the early 1950s after turning professional with Manchester United and moving to Flixton.
He was survived by his wife, June, and their two-year-old son, Gary. His daughter, Lynne, was born four months after the Munich air disaster, and June later remarried to a man called Herbert Barker. She died in February 2007 and was buried next to Jones. His son Gary had a trial with Manchester United in the early 1970s but was not taken on by the club.
Jones was often nicknamed Dan Archer by his teammates, in reference to his pipe-smoking habit similar to that of the character in the radio serial The Archers.
He was portrayed in a 2011 BBC film, United, by actor Thomas Howes. The producers mistakenly cast him as the team captain, when in fact Roger Byrne was captain of the United side at the time.[3]
