Patrick Anthony Jennings (born 12 June 1945) is a Northern Irish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He played 119 international matches for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in an international career which lasted for over 22 years. During his career, Jennings played for

Newry Town Newry City Football Club was a Northern Irish football club founded in 1918 and dissolved in 2012. It was based in Newry, County Down and played its home matches at the Showgrounds. Club colours were blue and white. The club was relegated fro ...

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

and in the top division with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, winning the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

with both of the north London

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

. In total, Jennings made over 1,000 top level appearances, and despite being a goalkeeper he scored in the 1967 FA Charity Shield.

Club career

Newry Town & Watford

After playing for

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

' under-18 side at the age of 11, Jennings concentrated on

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

until he was sixteen years old, when he made his soccer comeback with his hometown side

. After impressing with the team he moved to English Third Division side

in May 1963. Jennings again impressed in his first season in England, playing every league game for his club, and making two international appearances that season. He was signed by

for £27,000 in June 1964.

Tottenham Hotspur

Jennings spent thirteen years at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

, where he played in 472 league games for Spurs, and 591 in all competitions. He won the

in 1967, the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

in 1971 and 1973, and the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

in 1972. He also scored once, in the 1967 Charity Shield, from his own area, kicking the ball from his hands and sending a large punt down the field that bounced over

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

goalkeeper Alex Stepney and into the net. In 1973 the

Football Writers' Association The Football Writers' Association (FWA) is an association of football journalists and correspondents writing for English newspapers and agencies. It presents the Footballer of the Year Award, the oldest and most distinguished award given in the d ...

named him as its footballer of the year. Three years later he won PFA's version of the

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

– he was the first goalkeeper to receive this accolade, and to this date remains only one of two, along with

Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...

Arsenal

On 6 August 1977, he was transferred to Tottenham's arch-rivals,

, with Tottenham thinking he was nearing the end of his career. However, Jennings saw off rivals for the goalkeeper's jersey to play for Arsenal for another eight years. Whilst at

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

, he helped Arsenal to four Cup finals in three successive years; the FA Cup final in 1978, 1979, and 1980, as well as the

European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourna ...

final that year. However, Arsenal only managed to win the second of these finals, a 3–2 victory against

. In total, Jennings made 327 appearances for Arsenal, 237 of them in the League, between 1977 and his eventual retirement from first-team club football in 1985. On 26 February 1983, he became the first player in

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

to make 1,000 senior appearances, celebrating this milestone with a clean sheet in a goalless league draw for Arsenal at

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

. Jennings played his last game in the League for Arsenal against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

25 November 1984, and he was finally replaced by

John Lukic Jovan "John" Lukic ( Serbian: Јован "Џон" Лукић, ''Jovan "Džon" Lukić''; born 11 December 1960) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper from 1978 to 2001 and spent his entire pro ...

as the first choice keeper. A Farewell match for Jennings was played against Tottenham Hotspur 8 May 1985 at Highbury.

Later career

After his retirement, Jennings returned to Tottenham Hotspur, playing mostly in their reserve side to maintain his match sharpness for Northern Ireland's 1986 World Cup campaign. His final appearance for Tottenham was in the

Football League Super Cup The Football League Super Cup (known for sponsorship reasons as the ScreenSport Super Cup) was a one-off football club competition held in England in the 1985–86 season. It was organised by the Football League and was intended as a form of fina ...

against Liverpool in January 1986. He was also briefly on Everton's books, having been signed as goalkeeping cover for the

1986 FA Cup Final The 1986 FA Cup Final was the 105th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 10 May 1986 at Wembley Stadium and was a Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton. The match was played seven days after Liverpool had secured the league title, ...

against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Neville Southall Neville Southall (born 16 September 1958) is a Welsh former international footballer. He has been described as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation and won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1985. He joined Bury from Winsford ...

having been injured playing for Wales.

International career

Netherlands v Northern Ireland, 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (Rotterdam, 1976) - Pat Jennings

Jennings made his

debut as an eighteen-year-old, whilst playing for Watford. This game, on 15 April 1964, was a

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

match against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, Northern Ireland won the game 3–2;

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...

made his international debut in the same game. Despite retiring from club football in 1985, Jennings played his final international game at the 1986 World Cup, on his 41st birthday, making him at the time the World Cup's oldest-ever participant. The match was Northern Ireland's final group game, a 3–0 defeat against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In total, Jennings participated in the qualifying stages of six World Cups between 1966 and 1986.

Retirement

Following his retirement Jennings has worked as a goalkeeping coach. He has worked at Tottenham in this capacity since 1993. In 2003 Jennings was inducted into the

English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and man ...

in recognition of the skills he demonstrated in the English league. His son, also named Pat, is also a goalkeeper, having played for

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

clubs

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, Derry City,

and

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

club Glenavon. Jennings and his family have lived for many years in

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, where his son attended

The Broxbourne School The Broxbourne School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status located in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England. The school began life in 1959 with just under 50 pupils as a grammar school (Broxbourne Grammar Schoo ...

along with the sons of fellow Spurs players

Chris Hughton Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team. After making his professional debut aged 20, Hughton spen ...

Osvaldo Ardiles Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), often referred to in Britain as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former midfielder who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as part of the Argentina national team. He now runs his ...

and

Ray Clemence Raymond Neal Clemence, (5 August 1948 – 15 November 2020) was an England international football goalkeeper and part of the Liverpool team of the 1970s. He is one of only 31 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances, and holds the r ...

. He is still associated with Spurs and hosts Corporate Hospitality fans in the Pat Jennings Lounges at White Hart Lane and Windsor Park, Belfast.

Personal life

Jennings married Eleanor Toner, a singer from Newry, in 1967. They have four children: Mairead, Siobhan, Ciara and Patrick Junior, a goalkeeper.

Honours

Club

Tottenham Hotspur *

: 1966–67 *

: 1970–71, 1972–73 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

: 1971–72 Arsenal *FA Cup: 1978–79

Individual

FWA Footballer of the Year The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...

: 1972–73 *

PFA Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...

: 1975–76 * PFA First Division Team of the Year: 1973–74, 1975–76 *

FWA Tribute Award The Football Writers' Association Tribute Award (often called the FWA Tribute Award, or simply the Tribute Award) is given by the Football Writers Association to an individual that the committee feels has made an outstanding contribution to the na ...

: 1986 *

Football League 100 Legends The Football League 100 Legends is a list of 100 great association football players who played part or all of their professional career in English Football League and Premier League football. The players were selected in 1998 by a panel of journa ...

: 1998 *

: 2003

References

External links

!colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;", World Cup records , - * *
Pat Jennings
Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
BBC Archive Collections:Football Legends – Pat Jennings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Pat 1945 births Living people Arsenal F.C. players Association football goalkeepers Sportspeople from Newry Northern Ireland international footballers Association footballers from Northern Ireland Officers of the Order of the British Empire Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff Watford F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. guest players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Golden Players FIFA Century Club English Football Hall of Fame inductees English Football League players Down Gaelic footballers UEFA Cup winning players FA Cup Final players