Arthur Whittington
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Arthur Lee Whittington (September 4, 1955 – April 22, 2024) was an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...
. Selected in the seventh round of the
1978 NFL draft The 1978 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...
, Whittingham played in the NFL for five seasons with the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
and the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
. From 1983 to 1985, he played with the
Oakland Invaders The Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985. Based in Oakland, California, they played at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The team can t ...
of the
United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
(USFL).


Career

As a rookie in 1978, Whittington proved to be a valuable weapon in the Raiders backfield. He finished the year with 661 yards rushing and seven scores while recording 23 catches for 106 yards over nine starts. The next season, he started just seven games but ran for 397 yards and two touchdowns while recording 19 catches for 240 yards. By 1980, Whittington had developed a complementary role, running for just 299 yards and 3 TD in two starts but had 19 catches for 205 yards. His final year with Oakland, 1981, saw him start 2 games and run for 220 yards and one touchdown while recording 23 catches for 213 yards and 2 TD. Along with being a serviceable running back, Whittington proved to be an adept kick returner. In 1978, he averaged 20.6 yards on 23 kick returns. In 1980, he averaged 18.7 yards on 21 returns including 1 TD. In 1981, he averaged 22.5 yards on 25 returns.


Personal life

Whittington had five children. His two daughters Amber and Ashton are both YouTube personalities. He was also the uncle of Jordan Whittington, a former receiver for the University of Texas and 2024 sixth round draft pick of the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
. He died of cancer in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
on April 22, 2024, at the age of 68.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittington, Arthur 1955 births 2024 deaths Sportspeople from Cuero, Texas Players of American football from DeWitt County, Texas American football running backs SMU Mustangs football players Oakland Raiders players Buffalo Bills players Oakland Invaders players 20th-century American sportsmen