Frederick William James Whitlow (3 September 1904 – 6 January 1978) was an English professional
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 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 ...
for
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
and
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
.
Early career in Barry
Born in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
on 3 September 1904, Frederick William James Whitlow's family eventually moved to
Barry Barry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name
* Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
and made a home on
Barry Island
Barry Island ( cy, Ynys y Barri) is a district, peninsula and seaside resort, forming part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc. Barry's stretch of coast, on the Bristol Chann ...
.
Whitlow initially played for Whitmore Albions (one of the junior teams on Barry Island at the time), and was part of the Albions side that defeated the Barry Brooklands on 12 May 1922. Appropriately enough, Whitlow scored in the 2–1 win. Whitmore Albions had also been crowned the winners of the Barry & District League Division 2, and had made it to the Barry Cup Final, but were defeated by the powerful Division 1 side
Cadoxton AFC.
The 1922–23 season saw
Southern League outfit
Barry Town take a chance on the 17-year-old, and Whitlow played for Barry four times in Barry's Southern League campaign, as well as 15 times for the club's
Welsh League
The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales.Lush (1998), pg. 19 Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournamen ...
side.
His senior debut came on 9 December 1922 in the Welsh League match against
Caerau F.C. Whitlow's debut came on the back of the death of young Arthur Griffiths, who had died a couple of days earlier while working as a crane operator at Barry Docks.
Despite breaking into the area's senior side, Whitlow returned to the local league for the 1923–24 season, and took up residence in the Barry
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
team.
Nevertheless, Whitlow was back on Barry's books for a second time for the 1924–25 season and fans only had to wait as long as 30 August to see him in action, when Whitlow scored the solitary Southern League goal that accounted for
Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...
.
Whitlow debut
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
goal came in a 1st Qualifying Round defeat of
Cardiff Corinthians where he and
Stanley Cowie
Stanley Cowie (1890 – August 1927) was an English professional footballer. An inside right, he played in the Football League for Blackpool and was also on the books of Exeter City. His body was "found in the River Tyne
The River Tyne is ...
scored a brace each in the 4–0 victory. Whitlow debut Welsh League goal came in February 1925 when Caerau Athletic were mauled 5–1.
Charlton Athletic and Dundee
By 1927–28, Whitlow had signed for
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
, who were playing their football 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 ...
Division 3 South. by
Alex MacFarlane
Alex MacFarlane is an intersex person born with XXY sex chromosomes in Victoria, Australia. MacFarlane is believed to be the first holder of an indeterminate birth certificate and passport.
Birth certificate and passport
MacFarlane is believ ...
at the time, Withlow followed MacFarlane to
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
in January 1928, where MacFarlane had previously spent 6 years as manager. However, the move was short-lived and Whitlow returned to Charlton in May 1928.
Playing in 38 of the 42 league matches in the 1928–29 season, Whitlow alone scored 27 of Charlton's 86 goals that season, and it was on goal difference that the Division 3 South title was grasped from the hands of local rivals
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building
* ...
who had also finished the season on 54 points. Charlton were duly promoted to Division 2 as a result of their successes.
Division 2 football did not do anything to curtail Whitlow eye for goal, and a further 27 goals came in the course of the 1929–30 season as Charlton were able to consolidate their hold on Division Two football. The Addicks finished in 13th place, between fellow London clubs
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
above them and
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
below them. Recently, Charlton fans declared their joy in referring to the record books and noting that Charlton had not lost to their fierce Millwall rivals that season; both games ending 1–1 with Whitlow scoring the Charlton goal on each occasion!
Whitlow final season with Charlton Athletic came in the following season, 1930–31. Charlton remained safe in Division 2 by finishing 15th, after a contribution of 10 goals in 25 games from Whitlow. Whitlow's final Charlton goal came on 21 March 1931 in a home win over
Reading FC
Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The team play in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is managed by Paul Ince.
Reading are nicknamed ...
, and a week later Whitlow's final appearance for the Addicks came against
Southampton FC
Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play in ...
at
the Dell. His career tally of 65 goals still ranks high in the Charlton record books.
Exeter City and Cardiff City
For the 1931–32 season, Whitlow was transferred to the south coast of
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
to join
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
. Impressing in his first season with the Grecians, it was the 1932–33 campaign for which Exeter supporters' were sent all of a flutter. Finishing as runners-up in the Third Division South, the campaign remains the pinnacle of Exeter City's league football history – and Whitlow had more than a hand in the success that season.
Scoring 33 goals, sprinkled liberally with no less than seven home hat-tricks, Whitlow's goal scoring prowess in 1932–33 still remains an Exeter City club record.
Although the 1933–34 season didn't see Whitlow and Exeter reach the successes of the previous season, a 9th-place finish was still a solid performance by the Grecians. Nevertheless, it was time for Whitlow to move back to Wales. Signing for
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
for 1934–35, Whitlow was puzzlingly reduced to playing in the reserves at
Ninian Park
Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...
. Unhappy at the prospect of spending any more time playing reserve football as he entered his 30s, Whitlow returned to
Barry Town.
Return to Barry
Upon Whitlow's return to
Jenner Park
Jenner Park is a central district of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan 14 miles outside Cardiff in South Wales.
It is home to the Jenner Park Stadium, which is the football ground of Barry Town F.C.
Barry Town United Football Club ( cy, Clw ...
, Barry seen their goalscoring ace,
Dai Ward, retire from football – and as such, Whitlow had some mighty boots to fill. Linnets fans however need not have worried themselves. Whitlow was soon off the mark in an opening day defeat against
Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...
, and then earned Barry a point after getting a brace against
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
Reserves in a 2–2 draw.
Whitlow's first hat-trick at Barry came in a Welsh League victory over rivals Llanelly. A further hat-trick ensued in the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round 7–0 thumping over Bristol Rose Green in October. He even scored 6 goals against a hapless Troedyrhiw on 9 November.
It continued throughout the season, with Whitlow scoring 20 goals in 24 appearances in Southern League and Cup duties, and 27 goals in just 19 games in the Welsh League.
With the Reserves of Exeter City playing in the Southern League at this point, it was inevitable that Whitlow would be pitted against his old side sooner or later. With the newspapers recognising Whitlow's prowess in Exeter colours, Barry trainer Charlie Green also hyped up his appearance against Exeter – stating that it would be appropriate for Whitlow to reach his half-century of goals for Barry against the Grecian XI. As it turned out, Whitlow didn't get onto the score-sheet, but as an Exeter player did head through his own net after pressure from Whitlow. No doubt Exeter knew what to expect from their former player!
More plaudits came Whitlow's when his 2 goals in a 3–0 victory over
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
in the South Wales Senior Cup was described as being "a revelation for its quality to 5,000 spectators. It was a triumph of leadership on the part of Fred Whitlow, who got two of the goals, and presented the opportunity for half a dozen more." It was Barry's first Senior Cup victory in a decade.
More successes came in the 1936–37 season, where Whitlow would score 22 Southern League and Cup goals in 21 appearances, and 27 goals in just 16 Welsh League appearances. Re-kindling his old Charlton Athletic and Exeter City hat-trick scoring exploits, Whitlow banged in 6 hat-tricks – equalling Dai Ward's record of a decade previously, and setting a bar that stood firm for a full 40 years until Clive Ayres scored 10 hat-tricks for Barry in the 1976–77 season.
In total, Fred Whitlow's return to Barry had resulted in 100 goals in just two seasons. The 1936–37 season also saw Barry Town's greatest Welsh Cup exploits to that point. After a 3–1 deficit to Aberaman in the 5th Round was clawed back to a 4–3 victory by full-time, with a goal from Whitlow, a full strength Cardiff City were beaten at Jenner Park in the 6th Round in front of over 5,000 supporters. Whitlow even grabbed a goal in the famous 3–1 victory. Whitlow took a knock at Exeter in the following league match, which resulted in him missing the Welsh Cup Quarter-final victory over
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
.
Retirement
Barry Town were through to their first Welsh Cup Semi-final, and
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
would be the opponents. Whitlow, however, had decided to call it a day. Citing personal and business reasons, Whitlow had decided on retirement at 33, missing Barry's biggest ever match in the process, a match they would go on to lose. For the fans, it was somewhat of a shock, many only finding out when the teams ran out onto the Ninian Park pitch for the semi-final tie.
Concentrating on his grocery shop business on Barry Island, Whitlow later returned to his birthplace of Bristol, where he died on 6 January 1978, aged 74. Between his days at Charlton, Exeter and Barry, Fred Whitlow scored just about 250 goals in as many appearances.
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitlow, Fred
1904 births
1978 deaths
Barry Town United F.C. players
Charlton Athletic F.C. players
Exeter City F.C. players
Cardiff City F.C. players
English Football League players
Footballers from Bristol
Association football forwards
English footballers