Reginald Jenkins (7 October 1938 – 29 January 2013) was an English

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 ...

who played as an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

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 ...

between the 1950s and 1970s. Jenkins was born in

Millbrook, Cornwall Millbrook ( kw, Govermelin) is a civil parish and village in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the Rame Peninsula four miles (6.5 km) south of Saltash. The population of Millbrook was 2,033 in the 2001 ce ...

. After short spells with

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

and

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, he joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

in the 1961–62 season, and went on to make 88 league appearances for the Gulls. He joined

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in 1964–65 and went on to play for them for nine seasons. He became Rochdale's record goalscorer, scored 119 league goals for the club, and made 305 appearances a then record, surpassed a year later by Graham Smith. In 2004, he was voted Rochdale's greatest-ever player by the club's fans. While recuperating from a knee operation in

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, Spain, Jenkins died in January 2013 at the age of 74. A year after his death, in February 2014, his home-town club, Millbrook, renamed their ground in honour of Jenkins.''Millbrook rename home to celebrate modest life of 'Big' Reg Jenkins''

Plymouth Herald ''The Herald'' is a Reach plc newspaper serving Plymouth. Its website and social media were rebranded as ''Plymouth Live'' in 2018. Its editor is Edd Moore. Print and online presence The newspaper's average circulation was 6,430 in the first ...

The ground, formerly known as Mill Park, is now officially referred to as Jenkins Park. In October 2016, the club renovated the main stand to reflect the name change.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Reg 1938 births 2013 deaths English Football League players Men's association football inside forwards Truro City F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Footballers from Cornwall English men's footballers