Robert Whittingham (1888 – 9 June 1926) 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 ...

who played as an

inside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for various clubs, mainly prior to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He played in the Football League for Stoke, Blackpool,

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

, and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. He helped Chelsea to win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1911–12. He was the younger brother of fellow footballer Sam Whittingham.

Career

A powerfully-built and prolific goalscoring inside-forward, Whittingham started out with amateur side Goldenhill Wanderers, before signing for Stoke (without making a first team appearance) and later

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 ...

. He later moved on to Blackpool, where he stayed for just a year. He scored 28 goals in 53 league games, becoming the club's top goalscorer over two terms (he achieved the feat in the latter season despite his leaving

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...

midway through the campaign). In January 1909, he joined First Division side

and scored 11 goals in nine games to save the "Bantams" from

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

at the expense of Manchester City. He then equalled a then-club-record 21 league goals during the 1909–10 season. His performances at

Valley Parade Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they ...

earned him a move to

David Calderhead David Calderhead (19 June 1864 – 9 January 1938) was a Scottish football player and manager. Calderhead played for Queen of the South Wanderers, Notts County and Lincoln City. He won the FA Cup with Notts County in 1894 and was capped once ...

's relegation threatened

in April 1910 – for a fee of £1,300. Whittingham arrived too late to save the club from relegation into the

, but he scored prolifically during the next two seasons, hitting 30 goals in his first full season with Chelsea, though they narrowly missed out on

, finishing third. His 26 goals in 1911–12, almost half of the club's season total, played a big part in their winning promotion back to the First Division. He scored 12 goals in 1912–13 to become the club's top-scorer for a third consecutive season. He left Stamford Bridge in 1913 and had a stint with South Shields before the

broke out. During the war he guested for Stoke, where he became a prolific scorer hitting 26 in 1915–16, 22 in 1916–17, 15 in 1917–18 and 23 in 1918–19. He also guested for Fulham and

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

. He made an appearance for the Football League XI in February 1919 against the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

at St Andrew's,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, in the first representative match played after the First World War, and scored the second goal in a 3–1 win; according to the '' Daily Express'' reporter, "the pick" of the English XI were Whittingham, Billy Morgan, and

Joe Clennell Joseph Clennell (19 February 1889 – 28 February 1965) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Cardiff City, Stoke City, Bristol Rovers and Rochdale. Career Clennell was born i ...

. He returned to Chelsea after the war, playing six more games in the 1919–20 season, finishing his time with the club with a record of 80 goals from 129 league and

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 ...

games. He then moved to Stoke again for a £500 fee, where he scored eight goals in 18 Second Division games in another brief spell at the

Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. History ...

. His goal tally included one against

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

Port Vale in a 3–0 win at

The Old Recreation Ground The Old Recreation Ground was a football stadium located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England, and home to Port Vale F.C. from 1913 to 1950. It was the sixth ground the club used. Structure and facilities The stadium was in rather bad condit ...

. However, he struggled with an ankle injury and ill health forced his retirement in April 1920. He was given a benefit match by Stoke in October 1920. Whittingham joined Cheshire County League side Macclesfield at the start of the 1921–22 season but struggled with his fitness and moved on to Scunthorpe United in February 1922. He later played for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

before returning to Goldenhill Wanderers. Despite his prolific goalscoring record, Whittingham was never

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, though he did feature in a Victory international against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

at the Victoria Ground on 18 October 1919.

Style of play

Whittingham weighed in at despite standing at just tall, making him a menace to opposing goalkeepers. He specialised in sending in powerful long range efforts from outside the

penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. With ...

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Chelsea *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

second-place promotion: 1911–12

References

;Specific ;General * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whittingham, Bob 1888 births 1926 deaths Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent English men's footballers England men's wartime international footballers Men's association football forwards Stoke City F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Stoke City F.C. wartime guest players Fulham F.C. wartime guest players Port Vale F.C. wartime guest players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Gateshead A.F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players