John Ignatius "Sonny" Feehan (17 September 1926 – 11 March 1995) was an Irish

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 a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

for several clubs in both Ireland and England. Born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Feehan began his football career as an amateur with Dublin-based

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

. He turned professional two years later, when he signed for

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. After four years with Waterford, he crossed the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

to England to play for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in November 1948. He was brought in as understudy to United's regular goalkeeper, Jack Crompton, and it took him a whole year to make his debut. His first appearance for the club came on 5 November 1949, keeping goal in a 6–0 home win over

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. An injury to Crompton later in the season afforded Feehan with an extended run in the team, including a 3–1 win over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Fifth Round replay in February 1950, but he was plagued by inconsistency and was transferred to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

in August 1950. Feehan spent two seasons at Northampton, playing in almost 40 league matches, but he then dropped out of the game for two years before being picked up by

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

. However, his appearances for Brentford were sporadic, making just 30 appearances in five seasons with the Bees. Feehan died on 11 March 1995.

References

External links

Profile
at StretfordEnd.co.uk

at MUFCInfo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Feehan, Sonny 1926 births Association footballers from Dublin (city) 1995 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Bohemian F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Brentford F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century Irish sportsmen