Jimmy Jones (Northern Irish footballer)

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Jimmy Jones, from Lurgan in County Armagh, Northern Ireland was an Irish League footballer in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. Jones played for Belfast Celtic in an infamous game in 1948 against Linfield at Windsor Park. There was rioting at the end of the game and Jones was thrown over the wall which surrounded the pitch. He suffered a broken leg and Belfast Celtic withdrew from Irish football. Celtic Park in Belfast is now a shopping centre.

Jones joined Glenavon in Lurgan and, contrary to the myth which suggested that his career was ruined by his broken leg, was the leading Irish League goalscorer for some years in the fifties. He scored three goals in the Irish League team which defeated the Football League 5 - 3 at Windsor Park in 1953. Jones played in two full international games for Northern Ireland, the last in 1956 when Northern Ireland drew 1 - 1 with England at Windsor Park in the now defunct British Home Championship.