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Eric Whitington

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Eric Whitington
Personal information
Full name Eric Richard Whitington[1]
Date of birth (1946-09-18) 18 September 1946 (age 78)[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
International career
1964 England youth
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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.

Life and career

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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

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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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