Who is Harry Redknapp? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In March

Also Known As: Henry James Redknapp

Age: 77 Years, 77 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Sandra Harris (m. 1967)

father: Henry Joseph William Redknapp (1922–1996)

mother: Violet May Brown (1924–2001)

children: Jamie Redknapp, Mark Redknapp

Born Country: England

Football Players British Men

Height: 5'11" (180 cm), 5'11" Males

Recommended For You

Recommended Lists:

British Sportspersons

Pisces Football Players

British Football Players

Childhood & Early Life

Born on March 2, 1947, in Poplar, London, England, Harry Redknapp is the only child of his late parents, Henry Joseph William Redknapp and Violet May Brown. He started playing football when he was quite young and was part of the football program at his school.

At the age of 11, he impressed a Spurs scout named Dickie Walker, who helped him secure a spot in the club’s youth team. He played for them from 1958 to 1962, before joining West Ham’s youth team. In 1964, he was a member of the English Under 18 squad that won the UEFA Youth Tournament.

Continue Reading Below

Recommended Lists:

Pisces Men

Playing Career

At West Ham, Harry Redknapp was part of the youth team until 1965 and then became a member of the senior team. His tenure at the club lasted until 1972, and he subsequently moved to Bournemouth, where he played for four seasons (1972-76).

He played one match for Brentford in 1976 before leaving for the United States to join the NASL club Seattle Sounders as a player-coach. Redknapp concluded his playing career in 1982 after a final appearance for Bournemouth.

Managerial Career

Harry Redknapp started his career as a manager at the Sounders in 1976 when he joined the club as a player/coach. From 1983 to 1992, he served as the manager at Bournemouth and played an instrumental role in the club’s triumph in the inaugural Associate Members' Cup in 1984. He also led them in their successful campaign for the Third Division title in 1987.

During his seven seasons (1994-01) at West Ham, the team played 327 matches, winning 121 of them. Redknapp’s first tenure (2002-04) at Portsmouth did not produce results that either he or the club executives were hoping for. He only lasted two seasons there before he resigned.

He spent the 2004-05 season at Southampton and returned to Portsmouth in late 2005. This time, he helped them register their FA Cup win in history in 2008.

Between 2008 and 2012, he was the manager of the Spurs and led them into the UEFA Champions League in the 2009-10 season.

He managed Queens Park Ranger from 2012 to 2015, the Jordan national team in 2016, and Birmingham City in 2017.

In September 2017, after Birmingham suffered five straight losses, his contract with the EFL team was terminated. Redknapp has since expressed his desire not to continue his managerial career any longer.

Accusation of Corruption & Subsequent Arrest

On September 19, 2006, BBC Panorama aired footage of Harry Redknapp, who was working at Portsmouth at the time, speaking with agent Peter Harrison about purchasing the Blackburn Rovers captain Andy Todd. This is considered illegal under FA rules. Redknapp denied the allegation.

On November 28, 2007, London police apprehended him and several others, suspecting them of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting. After he got out of the police custody without being charged, he filed a lawsuit against the police, which he ultimately won. During this period, he was considered for England’s manager’s job, but the FA eventually gave it to Roy Hodgson.

Other Ventures

Harry Redknapp co-authored his autobiography, ‘Harry Redknapp: My Autobiography’, with Derek McGovern. It was published in 1998 by Collins Willow. His second autobiography, ‘Always Managing’, was ghost-written by columnist Martin Samuel and published by Ebury Press in 2013.

He and his wife Sandra are the owners of Pierfront Developments, a real-estate company. They have also been serving as the fundraising presidents for the Southampton-based charity Leukaemia Busters since 2004.

Family & Personal Life

Harry Redknapp met Sandra Harris at a pub sometime in 1964. They exchanged wedding vows in 1967. Their oldest son, Mark, was born in 1970. He was followed by his younger brother Jamie, who was born on June 25, 1973.

Jamie Redknapp followed in his father’s footsteps and he too played football. Over the course of his 16-year-long career, he played for Liverpool, Bournemouth, Spurs, and Southampton. Between 1995 and 1999, he appeared in 17 international matches as a member of the English national team. At present, he is a football pundit affiliated with Sky Sports.

In June 1990, Harry Redknapp was involved in a major vehicular accident in Italy in which four people perished. In the ensuing months, he recovered almost completely.

Harry Redknapp Biography