Thomas James WhittakerMBE (21 July 1898 – 24 October 1956) was an English football player, trainer and manager, chiefly associated with Arsenal Football Club.[3]
Whittaker was born at East Cavalry Barracks, Aldershot, Hampshire, but grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne from the age of three weeks. He spent his early football career in the North East of England as a youth player, whilst training as a marine engineer, later working in that role for Hawthorn Leslie & Co of Tyneside. He was called up to the British Army, signing up for the Royal Garrison Artillery, in 1917, moving to Lydd in Kent, before later switching to the Royal Navy.[4] He was demobilised in 1919.[5]
In the meantime, he had continued playing football for his regiment, and after serving his country in World War I, Whittaker forwent his engineering career and joined Leslie Knighton's Arsenal in November 1919. He first played as centre-forward then as wing-half. He signed as a professional in January 1920 and made his debut in a 1–0 defeat away to West Bromwich Albion on 6 April 1920 and became a regular in the side in the 1920s, playing 70 times for the club and scoring two goals.[3]
He toured Australia as part of the Football Association side in 1925, but during the tour, in a match in Wollongong he broke his knee cap and was forced to retire from playing. Resolving to carry on in football, he joined Arsenal's coaching staff and entered study as a physiotherapist. He became Arsenal's first team trainer under Herbert Chapman in 1927 (whilst still younger than many of the players on the pitch). Whittaker had an important role under Chapman in reforming the training and physiotherapy regime at the club, and played an essential part in the club's successes of the 1930s.[5]
Managerial careeredit
After Chapman's death in 1934, Whittaker continued to serve under his successor, George Allison, and also became a trainer for the England national team.
The Second World War saw Whittaker work as an ARP warden, before becoming a pilot in the Royal Air Force, achieving the rank of squadron leader. For his service on missions on D-Day, he was awarded an MBE.[3]
With the end of the war, Whittaker resumed his role as trainer at Arsenal. After Allison's retirement in 1947, Whittaker became the club's new manager; under him the club won the League in 1947–48 and 1952–53 and the FA Cup in 1949–50.[3] Whittaker sought to attract Blackpool's Stanley Matthews, who was approached after the Tangerines' visit to Highbury in 1954. Since Matthews was already receiving football's maximum wage at Bloomfield Road, he felt there was nothing to be gained by moving south.[6] Matthews, however, stated that he was "very happy" and politely turned down the offer. "Such an approach was against the rules at the time and, consequently, I couldn't tell anyone about it, and I never have until now."[6]
Whittaker, while still at the helm of Arsenal, died of a heart attack at the University College Hospital, London in 1956, at the age of 58.
Personal lifeedit
Whittaker wrote an autobiography entitled The Arsenal Story which was posthumously released in 1957.[5]
^ abMatthews, Stanley. The Way It Was: My Autobiography, Headline, 2000 (ISBN0747271089)
^MacAdam, John (7 October 1948). "Lewis snaps up two in soccer 'feast'". Daily Express. London. p. 4.
^"A Pleasant Revival". The Times. 7 October 1948. p. 2.
^"Arsenal win Shield for seventh time". Yorkshire Post & Leeds Intelligencer. 13 October 1953. p. 6.
December 18, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Tom Whittaker footballer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Thomas James Whittaker MBE 21 July 1898 24 October 1956 was an English football player trainer and manager chiefly associated with Arsenal Football Club 3 Tom WhittakerPersonal informationFull nameThomas James Whittaker 1 Date of birth 1898 07 21 21 July 1898Place of birthAldershot Hampshire EnglandDate of death24 October 1956 1956 10 24 aged 58 Place of deathLondon EnglandHeight5 ft 9 1 2 in 1 77 m 2 Position s Wing halfSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1919 1925Arsenal64 2 Managerial career1947 1956Arsenal Club domestic league appearances and goals Contents 1 Playing career 2 Managerial career 3 Personal life 4 Honours 4 1 Managerial 4 2 Individual 5 See also 6 ReferencesPlaying career editWhittaker was born at East Cavalry Barracks Aldershot Hampshire but grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne from the age of three weeks He spent his early football career in the North East of England as a youth player whilst training as a marine engineer later working in that role for Hawthorn Leslie amp Co of Tyneside He was called up to the British Army signing up for the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1917 moving to Lydd in Kent before later switching to the Royal Navy 4 He was demobilised in 1919 5 In the meantime he had continued playing football for his regiment and after serving his country in World War I Whittaker forwent his engineering career and joined Leslie Knighton s Arsenal in November 1919 He first played as centre forward then as wing half He signed as a professional in January 1920 and made his debut in a 1 0 defeat away to West Bromwich Albion on 6 April 1920 and became a regular in the side in the 1920s playing 70 times for the club and scoring two goals 3 He toured Australia as part of the Football Association side in 1925 but during the tour in a match in Wollongong he broke his knee cap and was forced to retire from playing Resolving to carry on in football he joined Arsenal s coaching staff and entered study as a physiotherapist He became Arsenal s first team trainer under Herbert Chapman in 1927 whilst still younger than many of the players on the pitch Whittaker had an important role under Chapman in reforming the training and physiotherapy regime at the club and played an essential part in the club s successes of the 1930s 5 Managerial career editAfter Chapman s death in 1934 Whittaker continued to serve under his successor George Allison and also became a trainer for the England national team The Second World War saw Whittaker work as an ARP warden before becoming a pilot in the Royal Air Force achieving the rank of squadron leader For his service on missions on D Day he was awarded an MBE 3 With the end of the war Whittaker resumed his role as trainer at Arsenal After Allison s retirement in 1947 Whittaker became the club s new manager under him the club won the League in 1947 48 and 1952 53 and the FA Cup in 1949 50 3 Whittaker sought to attract Blackpool s Stanley Matthews who was approached after the Tangerines visit to Highbury in 1954 Since Matthews was already receiving football s maximum wage at Bloomfield Road he felt there was nothing to be gained by moving south 6 Matthews however stated that he was very happy and politely turned down the offer Such an approach was against the rules at the time and consequently I couldn t tell anyone about it and I never have until now 6 Whittaker while still at the helm of Arsenal died of a heart attack at the University College Hospital London in 1956 at the age of 58 Personal life editWhittaker wrote an autobiography entitled The Arsenal Story which was posthumously released in 1957 5 Honours editManagerial edit Arsenal 3 7 8 9 Division One 1947 48 1952 53 FA Cup 1949 50 FA Charity Shield 1948 1953Individual edit Member of the Order of the British Empire 1947 3 See also editList of English football championship winning managersReferences edit Joyce Michael 2012 Football League Players Records 1888 to 1939 SoccerData p 309 ISBN 978 1 905891 61 0 The Vagrant 22 August 1921 First Division prospects Arsenal Athletic News Manchester p 5 a b c d e f Tom Whittaker Arsenal Arsenal com North East War Memorials Project Regional Content www newmp org uk Retrieved 27 October 2019 a b c Tom Whittaker Spartacus Educational com a b Matthews Stanley The Way It Was My Autobiography Headline 2000 ISBN 0747271089 MacAdam John 7 October 1948 Lewis snaps up two in soccer feast Daily Express London p 4 A Pleasant Revival The Times 7 October 1948 p 2 Arsenal win Shield for seventh time Yorkshire Post amp Leeds Intelligencer 13 October 1953 p 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tom Whittaker footballer amp oldid 1166103045, 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