Eric Whitington

Eric Richard Whitington (born 18 September 1946) is an English former professional footballer who scored 8 goals from 32 appearances in the Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion.[2] He played as a forward. He also played in the South African National Football League for the 1968 title-winning Highlands Park team.

Eric Whitington
Personal information
Full name Eric Richard Whitington[1]
Date of birth (1946-09-18) 18 September 1946[1]
Place of birth Brighton, England[1]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
0000– Arsenal
0000–1964 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1968 Brighton & Hove Albion 32 (8)
1968–19?? Highlands Park
1971–1973 Crawley Town
Folkestone
Eastbourne United
Horsham
Crawley Town
National team
1964 England youth
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Life and career

Whitington was born in Brighton. His football career began as a schoolboy with Arsenal, after which he joined Chelsea's ground staff. While with Chelsea he played for England at youth international level. He signed for Brighton & Hove Albion in 1964, turned professional the same year, and made his debut for the Third Division club in February 1966.[1] In the 1966–67 season, he was the club's joint top scorer, alongside Kit Napier, with ten goals in all competitions,[3] but a perceived lack of pace stopped him establishing himself as a first-team regular. He was released in 1968,[1] and moved to South Africa to play for Highlands Park, who won the National Football League title in 1968.[4] After returning to England, he played for Crawley Town of the Southern League,[5] Folkestone, Eastbourne United,[1] and for Isthmian League club Horsham, where he was the club's top scorer in the 1975–76 season with 25 goals in 42 League games,[6] before finishing his career back at Crawley.[1]

Whitington's son Craig also played in the Football League.[7]

References
  1. Carder, Tim & Harris, Roger (1997). Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Hove: Goldstone Books. p. 258. ISBN 0-9521337-1-7.
  2. "Brighton & Hove Albion: 1946/47 – 2010/11". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  3. Carder & Harris, p. 338.
  4. "History". Highlands Park F.C. Archived from the original on 8 August 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  5. Robinson, Neil (18 November 1991). "Kelly helps Bolton see off Emley". The Guardian. London. 17 non-League clubs go into the bag for today's second-round draw, among them Crawley Town. ... the result ... was a personal triumph for Craig Whitington. The 21-year-old unemployed builder scored twice to send his watching father a little misty eyed. Eric Whitington played in the last Crawley team to reach the first round in 1971.
  6. "Horsham Football Club Fixtures & Results 1975/1976". Horsham F.C. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  7. "Seven years ago Craig Whitington had the world at his feet". The Argus. Brighton. 22 December 1999. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
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