Spencer Whittaker (February 1871 – 16 April 1910) 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 ...

, manager and secretary.

Playing career

Whittaker played for hometown club Oswaldtwistle Rovers, before retiring from playing, taking up the chairman and secretary role at the club.

Managerial career

Whittaker was appointed manager of

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

in 1903. His reign as Burnley manager was to come to a tragic end in April 1910. Whittaker was on his way to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

by train to register the signing of a new player. When the train stopped in

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

, it was reported that a man had fallen from a carriage some distance outside the town. When the body was discovered it was found to be that of Whittaker. The fall resulted in the death of the Burnley manager, and a benefit match against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footbal ...

was arranged for Whittaker's wife and family.

Personal life

Whittaker's brother,

Nat Nat or NAT may refer to: Computing * Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking Organizations * National Actors Theatre, New York City, U.S. * National AIDS trust, a British charity * National Archives of Thailand * National ...

, was a professional footballer, manager, secretary and referee, refereeing the 1907 FA Cup Final.

References

External links

Burnley Football Club: 1903-1911
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittaker, Spen English men's footballers People from Oswaldtwistle English football managers English football chairmen and investors Burnley F.C. managers 1871 births 1910 deaths Association football executives Oswaldtwistle Rovers F.C. players Men's association football players not categorized by position