Jack Mansell was born on 22 August 1927 in Salford. Jack made 274 appearances in the Football League as a fullback for Brighton & Hove Albion (1949-51, 122 appearances, 11 goals) and Portsmouth.
After retiring as a player, he joined the coaching staff at Sheffield Wednesday. There, in early April 1964, he became interim manager after the sacking of Vic Buckingham. He coached many clubs with his longest spell being at Reading.