´óÏó´«Ã½

Former professional footballer Gwyn Jones who helped Wolverhampton Wanderers win two successive First Division titles in the 1950s has died at the age of 85.

A former Bristol Rovers player, Jones had been diagnosed with dementia.

As well as winning two titles with Wolves, Jones helped to uncover a betting scandal in the 1960s.

Jones helped to expose team-mate Esmond Million, and was banned for life.

Born in the village of Llandwrog in Gwynedd in 1935, Jones began his playing career with Caernarfon Town, with dreams of becoming a teacher, before fate intervened.

He played in a charity match for a Bangor Select XI against the Wolves first-team, and did enough to impress then-director Jim Marshall, who offered him the opportunity to play for the club.

In those days he earned £15 a week and would get a £2 bonus for a win and a £1 bonus for a draw.

Within three months, the full-back made his first-team debut in a 3-2 home win over rivals West Bromwich Albion in December 1955.

Further appearances for the senior side followed, with Jones featuring in wins over Aston Villa and Chelsea, and a 4-0 victory against Manchester United, as Wolves claimed the First Division title in the 1957/58 season.

Jones was also part of the squad which would lift a second successive league trophy in 1958/59 and was part of the starting line-up in the 1959 FA Charity Shield final at Molineux, as Wolves ran out 3-1 winners over Nottingham Forest.

"Gwyn was one of our earliest members and a much-loved part of the most successful Wolves squad in history, winning two league titles, a Charity Shield and FA Cup," said Richard Green, a member of the Wolves Former Players Association.

"His contributions on and off the pitch at Wolves will never be forgotten and he will be greatly missed."

At the end of his seven seasons at Molineux, Jones joined Bristol Rovers, going on to play more than 150 league games and becoming Rovers captain.

During his time at Rovers, Jones was a whistle-blower in a betting scandal which rocked English football in the early 1960s, speaking out after he declined a bung to help throw a game.

After retiring from football in 1966, Jones - a fully qualified football coach and accomplished pianist - moved to live in Valley.

He spent 22 years working in the clerical department of Anglesey Aluminium near Holyhead, before taking early retirement at the age of 57.

Jones, who was being cared for at Pendine Park's Bryn Seiont Newydd care home in Caernarfon, will be laid to rest with his late wife Margaretta in Llandwrog.

Debbie Parry, a senior nurse at the care home, who by coincidence is a Wolves supporter, said Jones' passion for his former clubs never diminished.

"We enjoyed long conversations about Wolves right up until the last few weeks of his life.

"Last season I was attending games and watching them on TV and Gwyn was always keen to talk about the games.

"He had a Wolves and Bristol Rovers badge on his bedroom door either side of his name. He always referred to his days playing for Wolves as the 'good old days'."