Colin Whitaker (14 July 1932 – 1 May 2015) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a left winger in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

Biography

Whitaker was a member of the youth team at Leeds United, before joining Sheffield Wednesday during the 1951–52 season. After only one league appearance for Wednesday he signed for

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

. He went on to play for five other Football League clubs, Shrewsbury Town, Queens Park Rangers, Rochdale, Oldham Athletic and

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

. In 1964 he dropped into non-League football, signing for

Ashton United Ashton United Football Club is a football club in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of and play at Hurst Cross. History The club was founded in 1878 as Hurst Football Club and the earliest known match ...

. He joined Buxton during the 1965–66 season, and also played for Heanor Town and

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

, where he was player-manager. He later managed Buxton for two spells between December 1970 and January 1982, in between which he managed Droylsden.Colin Whitaker Tribute
Buxton F.C. He also played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

for Shropshire in the 1958

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

. He died on 1 May 2015.Tribute to a sporting all-rounder
Oldham Chronicle

References

1932 births 2015 deaths English footballers Footballers from Leeds Association football midfielders Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Ashton United F.C. players Buxton F.C. players Heanor Town F.C. players Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players English Football League players English cricketers Shropshire cricketers English football managers Stalybridge Celtic F.C. managers Buxton F.C. managers Droylsden F.C. managers {{England-footy-midfielder-1930s-stub