| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William John Jennings | ||
| Date of birth | (1952-02-20)20 February 1952 (age 73) | ||
| Place of birth | Hackney,London, England[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1974 | Watford | 93 | (33) |
| 1974–1979 | West Ham United | 99 | (34) |
| 1977 | →Chicago Sting (loan)[2] | 19 | (6) |
| 1979–1982 | Orient | 67 | (21) |
| 1982 | Luton Town | 2 | (1) |
| Dagenham | |||
| Bishop's Stortford | |||
| Heybridge Swifts | |||
| Total | 280 | (95) | |
| International career | |||
| England Youth | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Billy Jennings (born 20 February 1952) is an English formerfootballer who played as astriker in theFootball League forWatford,West Ham United,Orient andLuton Town. He also played in theNorth American Soccer League forChicago Sting.
A former youth player withWatford, Jennings made his professional debut for the Hornets on 10 April 1970, a third place play-off game againstManchester United in the1969–70 FA Cup campaign atHighbury which the team lost 2–0. He made 10 League appearances that season, 16 in 1971–72, and 19 in 1972–73.[3]
The 1973–74 season ended with Jennings asThird Division top scorer on 26 goals,[4] andWatford Player of the Season.[5] After 100 appearances for Watford,[3] andEngland Youth international honours, Jennings signed forWest Ham United for £110,000 in September 1974,[1][6] an early signing for new managerJohn Lyall.[7] The fee was almost double Watford's previous record for a received transfer fee, and was £5,000 less than West Ham's record spend.[8]
Jennings scored on his Hammers debut on 7 September 1974, againstSheffield United, and was a member of theFA Cup winning team of1974–75. The following season, West Ham got to the Final of theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup, with Jennings scoring two goals in the away leg of club's quarter-final. The second-leg home game againstADO Den Haag saw the Hammers score three, to bring the aggregate score to 5–5, and go through onaway goals.[1][9]
In 1977, Jennings spent three months on loan atNASL clubChicago Sting, playing with fellow EnglishmanRonnie Moore and ScotWillie Morgan.[10] On his return, he suffers anAchilles injury, after which he failed to hold on to a regular place in the West Ham team. After 127 league and cup appearances and 41 goals for West Ham, he moved toOrient in August 1979.[1][11][12]
Jennings scored 26 goals in 78 appearances for Orient before moving toLuton Town. Although he retired after twosubstitute appearances for the Hatters, he later played forIsthmian League clubsDagenham,Bishop's Stortford andHeybridge Swifts.[1][3]
Jennings later worked as afootball agent, running the Premier Management agency, whose clients included former West Ham playersHayden Mullins andKevin Nolan. He left the company in 2005.[1][13][14]
West Ham United