Pat Jennings, OBE, joins our talent roster and is widely regarded as having been one of the best British goalkeepers in history. Hailing from Northern Ireland, he made a record-breaking 199 appearances for his national team and enjoyed a very successful career playing for two top division North London rivals – Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. During this time, he won the FA Cup final with both teams. In 2003, his extensive contribution to football was recognised when Jennings was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, and we proudly welcome him to the MN2S booking agency.
Jennings began his amateur career playing for his local under-19s team – Shamrock Rovers – at an incredible 11 years old, with fellow teammates almost twice his age. His Catholic School only offered Gaelic football, and he developed his skills in the sport before leaving school at the age of 16. However, it wasn’t long before he progressed on to play for his hometown side of Newry United, with whom he won the Irish FA’s Junior Cup.
Jennings later spent valuable time with Newry City F.C. (then named Newry Town) before playing for Watford, then an English Third Division team, in 1963. Jennings would play every league game that Watford had, as well as making two international appearances in his first season. He was received very well by the team during his time at Watford, impressing many of his peers. However, he would really begin to make his mark on English football later on with Tottenham Hotspur.
In the summer of 1964, Spurs signed Jennings for £27,000, marking the beginning of a fruitful thirteen-year tenure for both Pat and the club. Jennings played a mammoth 472 league games for the team and would share many victories such as winning the FA Cup in 1967, the League Cup in both 1971 and 1973 and the UEFA Cup in the interim year of 1972.
He even managed to score for the club in 1967 in the Community Shield (then the Charity Shield) with a huge punt whilst remaining in the goal area, beating Alex Stepney (then goalkeeper for Manchester United). Jennings’ consistently stellar performances with Tottenham Hotspur earned him the accolade of FWA Footballer of the Year in 1973. Three years later, he won yet another prestigious title, this time from the Professional Footballers’ Association, of Player of the Year – the first goalkeeper to ever win this award.
In 1977 Jennings made the controversial move from Tottenham Hotspur to the club’s primary North London rivals, Arsenal. Despite many thinking that Jennings would retire soon after the move, he would go on to play for the following 8 years for Arsenal. With Jennings in the goal, the team triumphed in FA Cup finals in 1978, 1979 and 1980 and also won the European Cup in the latter year. After 327 appearances for Arsenal, Jennings eventually retired in 1985. During his time with the team, he became the first player in English football to make over a thousand senior appearances.
After retiring, Jennings returned to Tottenham Hotspur to play for their reserve team. This helped him stay sharp for his international ventures when playing for Northern Ireland, such as the 1986 World Cup, in which he was the tournament’s oldest participant at 41 years old. Jennings continues to contribute to his footballing legacy through his work as a goalkeeping coach for Tottenham Hotspur which he started in 1993, and the Pat Jennings Lounge at White Hart Lane sees him heavily involved in their hospitality and corporate events.
To enquire about Pat Jennings, please contact the MN2S Talent Agency.