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.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eric Richard Whitington[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1946-09-18) 18 September 1946 (age 75)[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 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
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]
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.