Ted Whitten: Difference between revisions
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'''Edward James 'Ted' Whitten''' (27 July 1933 - 17 August 1995) was an [[Australian rules football]] player. Playing 321 [[Australian Football League|VFL]] games for his beloved [[Footscray Football Club|Footscray]] between [[1951 VFL season|1951]] and [[1970 VFL season|1970]], he became known by the moniker "Mr. Football". In 1996, he was among the first batch of inductees to the [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]], immediately elevated to ''Legend'' status, and was selected as Captain of the [[Australian Football League#Team of the Century|AFL Team of the Century]]. |
'''Edward James 'Ted' Whitten''' (27 July 1933 - 17 August 1995) was an [[Australian rules football]] player. Playing 321 [[Australian Football League|VFL]] games for his beloved [[Footscray Football Club|Footscray]] between [[1951 VFL season|1951]] and [[1970 VFL season|1970]], he became known by the moniker "Mr. Football". In 1996, he was among the first batch of inductees to the [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]], immediately elevated to ''Legend'' status, and was selected as Captain of the [[Australian Football League#Team of the Century|AFL Team of the Century]]. |
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==Early |
==Early days== |
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Whitten grew up in the western suburbs of [[Braybrook, Victoria|Braybrook]] and [[Footscray, Victoria|Footscray]] in [[Melbourne]]. As a youth he played for Braybrook on Saturdays and Collingwood Amateurs on Sundays; he was urged by the Collingwood Amateurs coach, [[Charlie Utting]] (a former [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] [[Victorian Football League|VFL]] star) to try out for the Collingwood team but was told later to come back in a few years after building up body strength. Within 12 months he was playing for [[Western Bulldogs|Footscray]], the team he had always supported. |
Whitten grew up in the western suburbs of [[Braybrook, Victoria|Braybrook]] and [[Footscray, Victoria|Footscray]] in [[Melbourne]]. As a youth he played for Braybrook on Saturdays and Collingwood Amateurs on Sundays; he was urged by the Collingwood Amateurs coach, [[Charlie Utting]] (a former [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] [[Victorian Football League|VFL]] star) to try out for the Collingwood team but was told later to come back in a few years after building up body strength. Within 12 months he was playing for [[Western Bulldogs|Footscray]], the team he had always supported. |
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With superb all-round skills, the extraordinary talent of being able to kick equally well with his right and left foot,<ref>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.</ref> and perhaps one of the best exponents of the "flick" pass, which was eventually banned, Whitten was one of few football players to have the ability to play any position on the field. He was regarded by his contemporaries in the 1950s and 1960s as the greatest naturally talented player of his era;<ref>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".</ref> some bestowed on him the title "Mr. Football". |
With superb all-round skills, the extraordinary talent of being able to kick equally well with his right and left foot,<ref>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.</ref> and perhaps one of the best exponents of the "flick" pass, which was eventually banned, Whitten was one of few football players to have the ability to play any position on the field. He was regarded by his contemporaries in the 1950s and 1960s as the greatest naturally talented player of his era;<ref>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".</ref> some bestowed on him the title "Mr. Football". |
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==Off the |
==Off the field== |
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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 [[State of Origin]] competition, representing and captaining "[[Victoria, Australia|The Big V]]" on many occasions. He was also chairman of selectors for the state team after retiring from playing football. He was a key promotional tool for the series, with its biggest rivalry between Victoria and [[South Australia]], often featured promoting the Victorian team with his saying "Stick it up em". He also once famously said: ''Years ago you had to crawl over cut glass to get one '' (i.e. a state guernsey),<ref>Holmesby, R. & Main, J. (2002) ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers'', Crown Content, Melbourne.</ref> in an era when there was an ever diminishing esteem in representing one's state, a situation that continues to the present day. He worked as a football commentator on television throughout the 1970s and as a radio commentator in the latter part of his life. |
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 [[State of Origin]] competition, representing and captaining "[[Victoria, Australia|The Big V]]" on many occasions. He was also chairman of selectors for the state team after retiring from playing football. He was a key promotional tool for the series, with its biggest rivalry between Victoria and [[South Australia]], often featured promoting the Victorian team with his saying "Stick it up em". He also once famously said: ''Years ago you had to crawl over cut glass to get one '' (i.e. a state guernsey),<ref>Holmesby, R. & Main, J. (2002) ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers'', Crown Content, Melbourne.</ref> in an era when there was an ever diminishing esteem in representing one's state, a situation that continues to the present day. He worked as a football commentator on television throughout the 1970s and as a radio commentator in the latter part of his life. |
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Revision as of 12:41, 19 May 2009
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| Original team(s) | Braybrook/Collingwood Amateurs | ||
| Debut | 1951, Footscray (now Western Bulldogs vs. Richmond, at Punt road oval | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
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Footscray
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| Coaching career | |||
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1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2006. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
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| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Edward James 'Ted' Whitten (27 July 1933 - 17 August 1995) was an Australian rules football player. Playing 321 VFL games for his beloved Footscray between 1951 and 1970, he became known by the moniker "Mr. Football". In 1996, he was among the first batch of inductees to the Australian Football Hall of Fame, immediately elevated to Legend status, and was selected as Captain of the AFL Team of the Century.
Early days
Whitten grew up in the western suburbs of Braybrook and Footscray in Melbourne. As a youth he played for Braybrook on Saturdays and Collingwood Amateurs on Sundays; he was urged by the Collingwood Amateurs coach, Charlie Utting (a former Collingwood VFL star) to try out for the Collingwood team but was told later to come back in a few years after building up body strength. Within 12 months he was playing for Footscray, the team he had always supported.
Footscray
Whitten played his very best football as a key position player, either at Centre Half Forward or Centre Half Back. Holmesby and Main describe him as a "prodigious kick, a flawless mark" and as having unequalled "ground and hand skills".[1]
With superb all-round skills, the extraordinary talent of being able to kick equally well with his right and left foot,[2] and perhaps one of the best exponents of the "flick" pass, which was eventually banned, Whitten was one of few football players to have the ability to play any position on the field. He was regarded by his contemporaries in the 1950s and 1960s as the greatest naturally talented player of his era;[3] some bestowed on him the title "Mr. Football".
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 State of Origin competition, representing and captaining "The Big V" on many occasions. He was also chairman of selectors for the state team after retiring from playing football. He was a key promotional tool for the series, with its biggest rivalry between Victoria and South Australia, often featured promoting the Victorian team with his saying "Stick it up em". He also once famously said: Years ago you had to crawl over cut glass to get one (i.e. a state guernsey),[4] in an era when there was an ever diminishing esteem in representing one's state, a situation that continues to the present day. He worked as a football commentator on television throughout the 1970s and as a radio commentator in the latter part of his life.
In 1995, Whitten went public with the announcement that he was suffering from prostate cancer. During a State of Origin game only weeks before his death, Whitten, suffering from blindness due to the cancer, was driven around a lap of the MCG, with his son Ted jr. by his side and Mariah Carey's "Hero" playing on the sound system. He received a standing ovation from the crowd, most of whom were too young to have ever seen him play in person, but for those who had had the privilege to see him play, it was a very emotional moment. This event was polled as the most memorable football event by the Melbourne newspaper The Age.[5]
Death
Whitten lost his battle with cancer in August 1995. Such was his popularity he was given a state funeral(televised nationwide on Channel 7), had a bridge named for him (EJ Whitten Bridge on the Western Ring Road) and a statue erected at the Bulldogs former home ground, Whitten (Western) Oval in West Footscray, which was also renamed in his honour.
After his death, Whitten's son, Ted Whitten jnr began the EJ Whitten Legends Game in the memory of his father. The game is a charity match to raise money for prostate cancer research.
Statistics
- Height: 183 cm
- Weight: 89 kg
- Played 321 games, Footscray, 1951 - 1970 (A record that was equal by Doug Hawkins some 24 years later and then eventually beaten by Chris Grant in 2006)
- Career Goals: 360
- Premiership 1954
- Captain-coach of runners-up 1961
- Captain 14 years, 1957 - 1970
- Coach 13 years, 1957 - 1966, 1969 - 1971
- Club champion 5 times, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961
- Club Leading Goal kicker 4 times, 1961, 1962, 1964(tied), 1968
- Victorian representative player 29 times
- Tied with Allen Aylett for the 1958 Tassie Medal
- Captain, Coach, Club champion, Club Leading Goal kicker 1961
Notes
- ^ Holmesby, R. & Main, J. (2002) The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers, Crown Content, Melbourne.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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".
- ^ Holmesby, R. & Main, J. (2002) The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers, Crown Content, Melbourne.
- ^ The Age: Ten Things About Football You'll Never Forget [1]