Patrick Anthony ‘Pat’ Jennings was a legendary Northern Irish footballer during his long career and is now a popular guest speaker who shares lots of amusing and insightful stories from his time at the top of the game. Born in County Down, Pat played 119 games in goal for Northern Ireland – at the time it was a world record number of caps and to this day it remains a Northern Irish record. His career lasted an amazing 22 years and in domestic terms in that time, Pat turned out for Newry Town, Watford, and in the top division with Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. Interestingly, Pat won the FA Cup with both Arsenal and Tottenham and in all he made more than 1, 000 appearances and even managed to score in the 1967 FA Charity Shield despite being a goalie!
Jennings made his debut for Northern Ireland aged 18 and was still playing on his 41st birthday, making him the World Cup’s oldest ever participant at that time. After retiring from the game in 1986, Pat has been in much demand as a goalkeeper coach and worked at Tottenham in this capacity since 1993. In 2003 he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame and his son, Pat, is now also a goalie. Nowadays Pat is still associated with Tottenham Hotspur and hosts Corporate Hospitality fans in the Pat Jennings Lounge at White Hart Lane.