T.G. Jones biography shortlisted for Sports Biography of the Year

Thursday, 10 May, 2018 4comments | Jump to most recent

Rob Sawyer's brilliant biography of legendary Everton defender T.G. Jones is up for 2018 Sports Biography of the Year.

Published in 2017 by DeCoubertin Books to coincide with Jones's centenary year, The Prince Of Centre-Halves: The Life Of Tommy TG Jones uncovers the true story of this enigmatic football figure who played 178 times for the Toffees either side of World War II.

Utilising a mixture of archive material and interviews with those who knew Jones and saw him play, Rob paints a compelling picture of a brilliant footballer and outspoken and complicated man.

Rebel, pioneer and football genius this is the definitive story of one of the game's forgotten heroes.

The shortlists for this year's Sports Books of the Year awards were announced at a ceremony in London this morning and the winners will be announced at a dinner at Lords on 7th June.

The winners of each category then go to an overall Sports Book of the Year award vote, overseen by The Times.

A noted Everton historian and member of the Everton Heritage Society, Rob is, of course, a lifelong fourth-generation Evertonian and a historical columnist at ToffeeWeb.

The Prince Of Centre-Halves is available for purchase from DeCoubertin Books for £15.99

Reader Comments (4)

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Matthew Williams
1 Posted 10/05/2018 at 14:44:22

A REAL footballer and Blues Legend.

Hope the book scoops the prize... be nice to win something!

John Raftery
2 Posted 10/05/2018 at 23:41:08

Well deserved recognition for a terrific read.

Peter Mills
3 Posted 11/05/2018 at 08:04:57

Well done Rob, and DeCoubertin Books.

Hywel Owen
5 Posted 18/05/2018 at 23:26:39

When I was a young lad in the early 60s, Tommy Jones (as we knew him) was the manager of Bangor City FC. He turned out occasionally for the reserves and his positioning, football brain, and use of the ball were a joy to watch.

One of his skills was to tie a child's hoop to the angle of post and crossbar and then play a standing ball through the hoop with each kick being taken from further back. He could put the ball through the hoop from the halfway line!!!

Good as Koeman was with free kicks, he wasn't as good as Tommy. Well into his eighties, he would swim for an hour every morning at Bangor Pool. He was the manager when we beat AC Napoli 2-0 in the Cup Winners Cup (first leg) in 1962. A true legend.

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