Joseph Peter Kennedy (15 November 1925 – 17 September 1986) was an English professional

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 le ...

who played at centre half for the majority of his career, virtually all of which was spent at

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

Career

Club career

Born in Cleator Moor,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, Kennedy represented St. Patrick's School in

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

, as well as Whitehaven & District Boys. He joined Cleator Moor Celtic in 1941, then

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

the following year. Kennedy had trials at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and Millwall in 1943 and 1944 respectively, before moving to non-league Gravesend for the 1944–45 season. He joined Freelands F.C. in August 1945, before signing for

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

in April 1946.Matthews (2005) p131–132 He made one appearance for the Altrincham 1st team, a 4–2 defeat to

Winsford United Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...

. Kennedy turned professional in December 1948, when he signed for

for a £750 fee. He made his debut away against Luton Town in Division Two on 9 April 1949,Matthews (1987) p270. less than two months after his first game for the reserve team. Kennedy initially played at inside-right and then right-half, but later switched to centre-half as successor to Jack Vernon. In 1952 the Birmingham Mail claimed that Kennedy was the highest paid footballer in the country, due to him receiving maximum club wages, regular win bonuses and various representative honours.Wright p90. Kennedy suffered a leg injury in 1953–54 and lost his place to

Jimmy Dugdale James Robert Dugdale (15 January 1932 – 26 February 2008) was an English professional footballer best known for his career with Aston Villa, with whom he won a F.A. Cup winner's medal in 1957, 2nd Division Championship 1960, Inaugural League C ...

. However, he was called upon to replace the injured right-back

Stan Rickaby Stanley Rickaby (12 March 1924 – 8 February 2014) was an English association football, footballer who played as a right-back. Career Rickaby was born in Stockton-on-Tees. He began his career with South Bank F.C., South Bank in 1940 and in Jul ...

for the

1954 FA Cup Final The 1954 FA Cup Final was a football match between West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End, played on 1 May 1954 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. It was the final match of the 1953–54 staging of English football's primary cup com ...

against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

, which Albion won 3–2. When Dugdale left to join Aston Villa, Kennedy became Albion's regular centre-half for most of the remainder of the decade. In all he made 397 appearances for West Bromwich Albion, scoring four goals, before joining

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

on a free transfer in June 1961. He made his debut in a 1–0 home win over Oldham Athletic on 19 August 1961 but Chester finished bottom of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

at the end of the 1961–62 season and Kennedy retired from professional football. His 35th and final league appearance for Chester came on 1 May 1962, in a 2–0 loss at

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

. He also played during the season in two league games against Accrington Stanley that were deleted from the records when Accrington resigned from the Football League during the season, leaving Kennedy stranded on 399 rather than 401 league appearances when he retired. Kennedy joined Stourbridge as player-manager in August 1962 and later turned out for his works team, Brockhouse Works F.C. He retired from playing in 1966 at the age of 40. He continued to work at Brockhouse until the age of 60, when he collapsed and died there in September 1986.

International career

Kennedy captained the England 'B' team on three occasions and also represented the FA XI. He was a permanent reserve for the full England side during the early 1950s but never earned a cap.

Style of play

In 2002 football journalist Gavin McOwan listed Kennedy at no. 17 in his list of West Bromwich Albion's 50 Greatest Players, regarding him as the best (English) Albion player never to win an England cap. McOwan says that what Kennedy lacked in pace, he made up for with tactical awareness and positioning.McOwan p81. Albion club historian Tony Matthews meanwhile has described Kennedy as being "steady, totally reliable, consistent, superb in the air, sure and sound on the ground." Whilst at Albion, Kennedy quickly earned the nickname "Spring-heeled Joe" because of his ability to jump for high balls. He was never sent off during his career and rarely committed a foul.

Career statistics

Club performance

Kennedy also played in one

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

match for Chester.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Joe 1925 births 1986 deaths People from Cleator Moor English men's footballers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players English football managers Men's association football defenders English Football League players Footballers from Whitehaven