Edward James Whitten Jr. (born 15 March 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Footscray in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

(VFL). As the son of Hall of Fame legend

Ted Whitten Sr. Edward James Whitten Sr. Order of Australia, OAM (27 July 1933 – 17 August 1995) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL). Bo ...

, Whitten was in the media spotlight from a very young age and was expected to achieve big things and follow in the footsteps of his father. As a youngster in junior leagues, he was put on a heavy tag, solely due to his name. Whitten made his debut in 1974 at his father's club, Footscray, but was only recruited after rumours circulated that he was considering joining rival team

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government ...

. In 1974, Whitten made his VFL debut at 17 years of age, and while he could not live up to the high standards set by one of the greatest footballers of all time in his father, Whitten turned out to be a very good player. He represented

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco O ...

and went on to play 144 games and kick 133 goals between 1974 and 1982. His career was terminated in the 1982 season after he suffered a terrible

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

injury. In later years, Whitten helped set up the

EJ Whitten Legends Game The E. J. Whitten Legends Game was an annual Australian sports entertainment Australian rules football match. It is played for charity played as an all-star game. Retired star players are reunited, along with selected non-footballing celebriti ...

, a charity football match which raises funds for

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

research. (His father died from prostate cancer.)

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* Western Bulldogs players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) 1957 births Living people {{AFL-bio-1950s-stub