Player Profile

Whitham made a name for himself at Wednesday where he scored 31 goals in 72 games from 1964-1970 in a struggling first division team. Wednesday eventually got relegated in the 1969/70 season, but Whitham stayed in the top-flight by moving to Liverpool, six months after Roger Hunt's departure. Sadly his injury problems which had halted his progress in Sheffield continued at Liverpool and whenever he had a run in the side he picked up an injury. Three months after his debut he scored his first goal, against West Ham on 12 December 1970. John Toshack's arrival in November 1970 meant that Whitham's first-team opportunities became even more limited. Whitham only added four other games in his first season without scoring.

Whitham did enjoy some success towards the end of 1971, scoring two late goals in a win at Coventry and then managing a hat-trick against Derby County at Anfield three weeks later. After making only one appearance in two seasons Whitham's contract was terminated by mutual consent. He scored three goals in 15 games for Cardiff from 1974-1975. He joined Reading in 1975 where he added three goals in 19 appearances as the club was promoted to the Third Division. He moved into non-league football kn 1977.

One of Ian St John's favourite stories is about Whitham. "Shankly signed a boy called Jack Whitham, the Saint told LFChistory.net. "He was always getting injured. Training for Jack was like jogging in between injuries. He was driving Shanks mad because he hated people who were like that. Finally he said one day to Jack in training, 'You, go up to the corner, where the pigsty was [at Melwood] and train up there. I don't want you to contaminate the rest of the team.' Poor Jack was jogging up there in the pigsty with the smell of the pigs."