Reginald Jenkins (7 October 1938 – 29 January 2013) was an English

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 lea ...

who played as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

between the 1950s and 1970s. Jenkins was born in

Millbrook, Cornwall Millbrook () is a civil parish and village in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the Rame Peninsula four miles (6.5 km) south of Saltash. The population of Millbrook was 2,033 in the 2001 census, increa ...

. After short spells with

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

and

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, he joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in the 1961–62 season, and went on to make 88 league appearances for the Gulls. He joined

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

in 1964–65 and went on to play for them for nine seasons. He became Rochdale's record goalscorer, scored 119 league goals for the club, and made 305 appearances a then record, surpassed a year later by Graham Smith. In 2004, he was voted Rochdale's greatest-ever player by the club's fans. While recuperating from a knee operation in

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, Spain, Jenkins died in January 2013 at the age of 74. A year after his death, in February 2014, his home-town club, Millbrook, renamed their ground in honour of Jenkins.''Millbrook rename home to celebrate modest life of 'Big' Reg Jenkins''

Plymouth Herald ''The Herald'' is a Reach plc newspaper serving Plymouth. Its website and social media were rebranded as ''Plymouth Live'' in 2018. Print and online presence The newspaper's average circulation was 3,872 in the second half of 2023, made up of 2, ...

The ground, formerly known as Mill Park, is now officially referred to as Jenkins Park. In October 2016, the club renovated the main stand to reflect the name change.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Reg 1938 births 2013 deaths English Football League players Men's association football inside forwards Truro City F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Footballers from Cornwall English men's footballers 20th-century English sportsmen