Sam Jennings
{{short description|English footballer and manager}}
{{For|the English-born American politician|Samuel Jennings}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Sam Jennings
| image = Sam Jennings.jpg
| caption = Jennings in 1929
| fullname = Samuel Jennings
| birth_date = {{birth date|1898|12|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = Cinderhill, Nottinghamshire, England{{cite web |title=Samuel Jennings |url=http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=360&united=Samuel_Jennings |website=www.westhamstats.info |access-date=1 November 2022}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1944|08|21|1898|12|26|df=y}}
| death_place = Robertsbridge, England
| height =
| position = Centre-forward
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Highbury Vale Methodists
| youthyears2 = | youthclubs2 = Basford United
| youthyears3 = | youthclubs3 = 5th Reserve Battalion Coldstream Guards
| youthyears4 = | youthclubs4 = Basford National Ordnance Factory
| years1= 1919–1920| clubs1= Norwich City| caps1 =| goals1 =
| years2= 1920–1921| clubs2= Middlesbrough| caps2 =10| goals2 =2
| years3= 1921–1924| clubs3= Reading| caps3 =110| goals3 =45
| years4= 1924–1925| clubs4= West Ham United| caps4 =9| goals4 =3
| years5= 1925–1928| clubs5= Brighton & Hove Albion| caps5 =110| goals5 =61
| years6= 1928–1929| clubs6= Nottingham Forest| caps6 =27| goals6 =15
| years7= 1929–1931| clubs7= Port Vale| caps7 =63| goals7 =42
| years8= 1931–1932|clubs8= Stockport County|caps8 =14| goals8 =2
| years9= 1932| clubs9= Burnley| caps9 =6| goals9 =2
| years10= 1932–1933| clubs10= Olympique de Marseille| caps10 =14| goals10 =4
| years11= 1933–1934| clubs11= Club Français| caps11 =| goals11 =
| years12= 1934–1935| clubs12= Scarborough| caps12 =| goals12 =
| years13 = 1935–1936| clubs13= Wisbech Town| caps13 =| goals13 =
| totalcaps =363| totalgoals =176
| manageryears1 = 1936–1938| managerclubs1 = Glentoran
| manageryears2 = 1937–1938| managerclubs2 = Rochdale
}}
Samuel Jennings (26 December 1898 – 21 August 1944) was an English footballer and football manager. A tall player, he was a goal-scoring centre-forward, with a ratio of a goal every two games.
After playing for various amateur sides, he joined Norwich City in 1919, moving on to Middlesbrough the following year. In 1921, he signed with Reading, where he would make his name over a three-year stay with 45 goals in 110 league games. After a season with West Ham United, he signed with Brighton & Hove Albion in 1925. Again prolific, he scored 61 goals in 110 games and won a transfer to Nottingham Forest in 1928. Moving on to Port Vale in 1929, he bagged 42 goals in 63 league games. In the 1930s, he enjoyed short spells at Stockport County and Burnley before settling in France with Olympique de Marseille and Club Français. He later returned to England to turn out for non-League sides Scarborough and Wisbech Town.
After retiring as a player, he took charge at Glentoran in 1936 before taking charge of Rochdale the following year. He also served as a coach across France and England.
Playing career
Jennings played for Highbury Vale Methodists, Basford United, 5th Reserve Battalion Coldstream Guards, and Basford National Ordnance Factory before joining Norwich City in 1919. The "Canaries" finished 12th in the Southern League in 1919–20. He then moved on to Middlesbrough and scored twice in ten First Division appearances in 1920–21. Jennings then signed with Reading, who went on to finish the 1921–22 campaign 13th in the Third Division South. The "Royals" then dropped to 19th and 18th in 1922–23 and 1923–24. In his three years at Elm Park, he scored 45 goals in 110 league games.
He returned to the top flight with West Ham United but was limited to three goals in nine games in 1924–25. He quickly returned to the Third Division South with Brighton & Hove Albion, who posted a fifth-place finish in 1925–26. He finished as the club's top scorer in 1926–27 and 1927–28 with 20 and 27 goals respectively, as the "Seagulls" finished in fourth position. He spent 1928–29 with Nottingham Forest, and was the club's top scorer in 1928–29 with 17 goals in league and cup competitions.
He joined Port Vale in May 1929 and scored twice on his debut in a 2–1 win over Halifax Town at The Shay.{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=151|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0}} He built up a successful partnership with Albert Pynegar despite the pair falling out off the pitch.{{cite news |last1=Fielding |first1=Rob |title=Five of the best – Port Vale strikers of the 1930s |url=https://www.onevalefan.co.uk/2021/04/five-of-the-best-port-vale-strikers-of-the-1930s/ |access-date=16 April 2021 |work=onevalefan.co.uk |date=15 April 2021}} He bagged a hat-trick in a 3–0 win over South Shields at The Old Recreation Ground on 8 March 1930. He finished as the club's top scorer for the 1929–30 season with 27 goals in just 33 games, helping the club to the Third Division North title. He scored four goals in an 8–2 thrashing of Bradford Park Avenue on 22 September 1930 and ended up with 17 goals in 32 games in 1930–31 to become club's leading marksman for a second successive campaign. He hit two goals on the opening day of the 1931–32 season, in a 3–1 win over Plymouth Argyle at Home Park. He would train by throwing the ball up the pitch and race his greyhound to where it landed.{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Tales: A Collection of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories|publisher=Witan Books|date=December 1991|pages=105|isbn=0-9508981-6-3}}
He was transferred to Third Division North side Stockport County in September 1931, later returning to the Second Division with Burnley in 1931–32. He then travelled to France for the first ever season of the Ligue de Football Professionnel. He scored four goals in 14 games, as Marseilles finished second behind Olympique Lillois. Jennings moved on to Club Français of Ligue 2 before returning to England to play for Scarborough and Wisbech Town.[http://www.wisbechtown.co.uk/history.asp?text=history Brief History of Wisbech Town] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123014717/http://www.wisbechtown.co.uk/history.asp?text=history |date=23 November 2010 }} Wisbech Town FC
Coaching and management career
Jennings became an instructor at Olympique de Marseille. He later became secretary-coach at Wisbech Town and a coach at Glentoran. He was also manager of Rochdale, and led the club to a 17th-place finish in the Third Division North in 1937–38.
World War II
He fought in World War II. He died at Darvel Hall in Robertsbridge on 21 August 1944 – he had two bouts of pneumonia which made him prone to chills – and was buried at Hastings crematorium eight days later.{{cite news|last1=Baggaley|first1=Michael|title=Tribute to Port Vale players who gave their lives in the World Wars|url=http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/tribute-port-vale-players-who-762312|access-date=12 November 2017|work=Stoke Sentinel|date=12 November 2017}}
Career statistics
=Playing statistics=
Source:{{ENFA}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|FA Cup !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="3"|Middlesbrough
|4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1920–21
|First Division |6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | |
| rowspan="4"|Reading
|35 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 13 | |
| 1922–23
|Third Division South |34 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 13 | |
| 1923–24
|Third Division South |41 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 19 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!110 | 45 | 3 | 0 | 113 | 45 | |
| West Ham United
|First Division |9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | |
| rowspan="5"|Brighton & Hove Albion
|Third Division South |11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 8 | |
| 1925–26
|Third Division South |41 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 20 | |
| 1926–27
|Third Division South |41 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 27 | |
| 1927–28
|Third Division South |17 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 8 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!110 | 61 | 5 | 2 | 115 | 63 | |
| Nottingham Forest
|27 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 16 | |
| rowspan="4"|Port Vale
|30 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 26 | |
| 1930–31
|Second Division |31 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 17 | |
| 1931–32
|Second Division |2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!63 | 42 | 3 | 3 | 66 | 45 | |
| Stockport County
|Third Division North |14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 2 | |
| Burnley
|Second Division |6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | |
| colspan="3"|Career total
!349 | 172 | 13 | 6 | 362 | 178 |
=Managerial statistics=
| class=wikitable style="text-align: center"
|+ Managerial record by team and tenure | ||||
| rowspan=2|Team
!rowspan=2|From !rowspan=2|To !colspan=5|Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{abbr|P|Matches played}} | {{abbr|W|Matches won}} | {{abbr|D|Matches drawn}} | {{abbr|L|Matches lost}} | {{abbr|Win %|Win percentage}} |
| align=left|Rochdale
|align=left|1 October 1937 |align=left|1 September 1938 {{WDL|38|11|10|17|decimals=1}} | ||||
| colspan=3|Total
{{WDLtot|38|11|10|17|decimals=1}} |
Honours
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Glentoran F.C. managers}}
{{Rochdale A.F.C. managers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Sam}}
Category:People from Nottingham (district)
Category:Footballers from Nottinghamshire
Category:People from Robertsbridge
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Men's association football forwards
Category:Norwich City F.C. players
Category:Middlesbrough F.C. players
Category:West Ham United F.C. players
Category:Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
Category:Nottingham Forest F.C. players
Category:Notts County F.C. wartime guest players
Category:Port Vale F.C. players
Category:Stockport County F.C. players
Category:English expatriate men's footballers
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in France
Category:Olympique de Marseille players
Category:Club Français players
Category:Scarborough F.C. players
Category:Wisbech Town F.C. players
Category:Southern Football League players
Category:English Football League players
Category:English football coaches
Category:English football managers
Category:Glentoran F.C. managers
Category:Rochdale A.F.C. managers
Category:English Football League managers
Category:Military personnel from Nottingham
Category:Burials in East Sussex
Category:British military personnel of World War II
Category:Deaths from pneumonia in England