Ted Whitten
Ted Whitten OAM | |||
---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||
Full name | Edward James Whitten | ||
Nickname(s) | EJ, Mr Football, Teddy | ||
Date of birth | 27 July 1933 | ||
Place of birth | Footscray, Victoria | ||
Date of death | 17 August 1995 | (aged 62)||
Place of death | Altona, Victoria, Australia | ||
Original team(s) |
Braybrook /Collingwood Amateurs | ||
Height | 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Weight | 89 kg (196 lb) | ||
Position(s) | Centre half back, centre half forward | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
1951–1970 | Footscray | 321 (360) | |
Representative team honours | |||
Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
1956–???? | Victoria | 29 (4) | |
Coaching career3 | |||
Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
1957–1971 | Footscray | 228 (91–137–0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1970. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 1971. | |||
Career highlights | |||
Club
Representative
Overall
| |||
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Edward James Whitten Sr.
Born and raised into a working-class family in Footscray, Whitten debuted for the Bulldogs in 1951, quickly becoming one of the league's best key position players, either at
Whitten was also passionate about interstate football and made 29 appearances for
Football writers Russell Holmesby and Jim Main described Whitten as a "prodigious kick, a flawless mark" and as having unequalled "ground and hand skills".
Early days
Whitten grew up in the western suburbs of
Football career
1951–53: Making a name
Whitten made his senior VFL debut in Round 1 of the
In August, Whitten was called up for
1954: Premiership glory
After finally breaking their finals hoodoo the previous year, Footscray looked primed and ready to challenge for the VFL Premiership in 1954. He was a key member of Footscray's 1954 VFL Premiership victory, the club's only premiership until 2016.
1955–56: Post-Premiership decline
After their magnificent Grand Final victory, many expected Footscray to become a powerhouse of Victorian football. However, the club faded away even though Whitten continued to excel.
1957–60: Elevated to captain-coach
With superb all-round skills, Whitten had the extraordinary talent of being able to kick equally well with his right and left foot. On one occasion, playing against Richmond at Footscray, in the mid-1960s, he broke out of the ruck, to the left, from a centre bounce, ran two paces to balance himself, and kicked a left-foot torpedo kick for a goal. The ball was returned to the centre, bounced, and Whitten burst out of the pack, to the right, ran three paces and kicked a right-foot torpedo kick for a goal.[citation needed]
1961: A second crack at glory
One of the best exponents of the "
1962–66: State vs Club
Over the course of his playing career, Whitten experienced conflict with the Footscray committee, none more dramatic than at the end of the 1966 VFL season, when he came close to joining Richmond after he was replaced as coach. When Footscray refused the clearance, Whitten threatened to retire, and the matter was only resolved when former teammate Jack Collins took over as club president and convinced Whitten to return and play under his former coach Charlie Sutton.[10]
1967–70: Final years
With the demands of coaching and playing beginning to take a toll on his ageing body, Whitten was allowed by the Footscray committee to play four games in 1970 to break
In Whitten's last game as a player (and captain-coach), he gave a famous speech at three-quarter time at Western Oval to inspire his troops; the Round 5 game against Hawthorn in 1970 would see Footscray clinch the win by 3 points.[13][14][15] The oval
He continued to coach Footscray until the end of the 1971 season.
He coached Williamstown in the 1975 VFA season.[16][17]
Off the field
As well as being a star player (he appeared for Victoria on 29 occasions), Whitten was a passionate promoter of the game – in particular the
Whitten once famously said: Years ago you had to crawl over cut glass to get one (i.e. a state guernsey),[2] He worked as a football commentator on television throughout the 1970s and as a radio commentator in the latter part of his life.[citation needed]
Mike Brady wrote a song about him called, "It all sounds like football to me". Ted Whitten is heard answering questions humorously on the song.[20]
Post-career honours
In
In 1996, he was among the first batch of inductees to the
Whitten is one of only three Australian rules footballers recognised as a Legend of Australian Sport in the
Death and legacy
In 1995, Whitten went public with the announcement that he was suffering from
Whitten died from cancer on 17 August 1995. His death, while expected, came as a shock to the football community. News of Whitten's passing was broken live on an episode of
Writing for The Age at the end of that year, Les Carlyon reflected on Whitten's impact on communities in the western suburbs of Melbourne:[27]
They loved him out there because he was a larrikin. He made them feel good. He was like them. There was a defensiveness out there—the place stank from the tanneries and abattoirs and maybe other people looked down on us. But we could say to them: "We've got the best player in the league."
Such was Whitten's popularity that he was given a nationally televised state funeral; he had a bridge named for him (EJ Whitten Bridge on the
After Whitten's death, his son,
Ted Whitten currently rests at Altona Memorial Park in Melbourne's west.[28]
Year-by-year statistics
Year | Team | No. | Games | Goals | Votes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1951 | Footscray | 3 | 15 | 22 | 0 |
1952 | Footscray | 3 | 14 | 19 | 6 |
1953 | Footscray | 3 | 17 | 1 | 3 |
1954 | Footscray | 3 | 20 | 1 | 9 |
1955 | Footscray | 3 | 17 | 0 | 9 |
1956 | Footscray | 3 | 18 | 16 | 9 |
1957 | Footscray | 3 | 14 | 9 | 12 |
1958 | Footscray | 3 | 17 | 24 | 14 |
1959 | Footscray | 3 | 16 | 18 | 14 |
1960 | Footscray | 3 | 16 | 24 | 3 |
1961 | Footscray | 3 | 20 | 42 | 12 |
1962 | Footscray | 3 | 16 | 38 | 2 |
1963 | Footscray | 3 | 18 | 15 | 2 |
1964 | Footscray | 3 | 15 | 24 | 8 |
1965 | Footscray | 3 | 15 | 22 | 1 |
1966 | Footscray | 3 | 14 | 13 | 2 |
1967 | Footscray | 3 | 17 | 19 | 3 |
1968 | Footscray | 3 | 20 | 36 | 3 |
1969 | Footscray | 3 | 18 | 13 | 0 |
1970 | Footscray | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
Totals | 321 | 360 | 112 |
Source[29]
References
- ^ "Ten things about football you'll never forget" (22 September 2002), The Age. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ a b Holmesby, R. & Main, J. (2002) The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers, Crown Content, Melbourne.
- ^ Piesse, K. (1993) The Complete Guide to Australian Football, Pan Macmillan Publishers Australia, Melbourne.
- ^ "AFL Tables - Footscray v St Kilda - Sat, 19-May-1951". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Whitten must pass test". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 32, 679. Victoria, Australia. 30 May 1951. p. 12. Retrieved 16 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "AFL Tables - Footscray v Geelong - Sat, 16-Jun-1951". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
- ^ a b Browne, Ashley (17 August 2015). "We salute 'Mr Football'". afl.com.au. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "No Leave for Ted Whitten". The Age. No. 30, 064. Victoria, Australia. 6 September 1951. p. 14. Retrieved 24 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Others, such as Ron Barassi, who were not bestowed with Whitten's level of natural talent, were at least his equal in terms of performance, tenacity, courage and aggression – and, might well have been a first pick in any team before the volatile Whitten – had to work much harder on the acquisition of their football skills. This may explain why they, who had to learn how to do things, were eventually more successful as coaches than was Whitten, the "natural".
- ^ Greenberg, Tony (31 December 2012). "When Whitten wanted to join Richmond". richmondfc.com.au.
- ^ Carter, Ron (30 April 1970). "Other VFL teams want Ted". The Age. p. 26. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ Carter, Ron (4 May 1970). "Ted saw battle won". The Age. p. 22. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "Ted Whitten: 'You've got to show me all the guts and the determination you've got in your body', Last game address - 1970". Speakola. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ Ted Whitten Full Speech, retrieved 28 March 2023
- ^ Ted Whitten Famous 3 Quarter Time Speech, retrieved 28 March 2023
- ^ "Ted top seagull". The Age. 12 November 1974. p. 30. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ "Ted whitten snr – Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ 100 Years of Australian Football, book
- ^ AFL Record, 1998 State of Origin edition
- ^ "MILESAGO - Recommended Listening - title".
- ^ "QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS ORDER OF AUSTRALIA". The Canberra Times. Vol. 66, no. 20, 875. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 June 1992. p. 4. Retrieved 29 July 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ The Australian, 22 September 2009, retrieved 2009-09-22
- ^ "Legends of Australian Sport". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ Johnson, Len; Mithen, Anthony (16 June 1995). "Whitten to be honored at MCG". The Age. p. 36.
- ^ "The Age: Ten Things About Football You'll Never Forget". realfooty.theage.com.au.
- ^ Australian Football League, The Game That Made Australia Archived 19 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 19 September 2010
- ^ Carlyon, Les (31 December 1995). "A Man For All Seasons". The Age.
- ^ "Edward James Whitten – Deceased Search".
- ^ "Ted Whitten". AFL Tables. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
External links
- Lack, John (2019). "Whitten, Edward James (Ted) (1933–1995)". ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- "Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) entry for Mr Edward James WHITTEN". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 8 June 1992. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
OAM/QB 1992 (GENERAL DIVISION) FOR SERVICE TO AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL
- E.J. ‘Ted’ Whitten at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame