Jeff Whitefoot (footballer) explained

Jeff Whitefoot
Birth Date:31 December 1933
Birth Place:Cheadle, Cheshire, England
Position:Wing half
Youthyears1:1949–1950
Youthclubs1:Manchester United
Years1:1950–1957
Caps1:93
Goals1:0
Years2:1957–1958
Clubs2:Grimsby Town
Caps2:26
Goals2:5
Years3:1958–1967
Caps3:255
Goals3:5
Totalcaps:374
Totalgoals:10
Nationalyears1:1954
Nationalteam1:England U23
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0

Jeffrey Whitefoot (31 December 1933 – 2 July 2024) was an English footballer who played as a wing half in the Football League for Manchester United,[1] Grimsby Town[2] and Nottingham Forest.[3] He was capped by England at under-23 level in 1954.[4]

Whitefoot started his career as a trainee with Manchester United in 1949. When he made his debut against Portsmouth in April 1950 he was at the time the youngest player to start in a League match for United at 16 years and 105 days. In eight seasons at United, he made 95 appearances in all competitions and was a member of the 1952 and 1956 title-winning sides, although he never scored a goal for them.[5] He left the club for Grimsby Town in 1957, but returned to the First Division to sign for Nottingham Forest a year later, and helped them win the FA Cup in 1959. He stayed at the City Ground until his retirement as a player at the end of the 1966–67 season, when Forest finished second behind Manchester United in the league—at the time Forest's best league finish.

After Billy Gray's death on 11 April 2011, Whitefoot became the only surviving member of the 1959 FA Cup winning team. The death of Bill Foulkes on 25 November 2013 also meant that Whitefoot then became the last player still living to have collected a league title winner's medal with Manchester United in the 1955–56 season, having played 15 times in the league that season. However, seven of the United players who qualified for a championship medal that season lost their lives as a result of the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958, including Eddie Colman, the player who ousted Whitefoot as the club's regular right-half during that season.[6]

After leaving football, Whitefoot ran pubs in East Leake and Oakham. He has been called "the last of the Busby Babes".[7] Whitefoot died on 2 July 2024, at the age of 90.[8] [9] [10]

Honours

Manchester United

1955–56

Nottingham Forest

1958–59[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Manchester United : 1946/47–2008/09 . UK A–Z Transfers . Neil Brown . 13 October 2009 . 1 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190601070959/http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/manutd/manutd.html . live .
  2. Web site: Grimsby Town : 1946/47–2008/09 . UK A–Z Transfers . Neil Brown . 13 October 2009 . 21 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200921133202/http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/grimsby/grimsby.html . live .
  3. Web site: Nottingham Forest : 1946/47–2008/09 . UK A–Z Transfers . Neil Brown . 13 October 2009 . 28 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211128125402/http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/nottmfor/nottmfor.html . live .
  4. Web site: England – U-23 International Results– Details . https://web.archive.org/web/20040413100658/http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/eng-u23-intres-det.html . live . 13 April 2004 . Courtney . Barrie . 27 March 2004 . . 15 October 2009 .
  5. Web site: Manchester United FC - Postwar Champions . Didier . Fort . 11 August 2000 . . 15 October 2009 . 3 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240703031422/https://www.rsssf.org/players/manutd-postwarchamps.html . live .
  6. Web site: FA Cup Final 1959 . Nottingham Forest F.C . 15 October 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090506093917/http://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/page/History/0%2C%2C10308~1239793%2C00.html . 6 May 2009 .
  7. News: Harby . Chris . Manchester United's oldest surviving player Jeff Whitefoot recalls his days with the Busby Babes, the Munich Air Disaster and winning the FA Cup with Nottingham Forest . 28 January 2023 . Stamford Mercury . 28 January 2023 . 28 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230128071320/https://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/meet-jeff-the-last-of-the-busby-babes-9295903/ . live .
  8. Web site: Jeff Whitefoot: 1933-2024 . 3 July 2024 . 2 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240702184743/https://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/news/2024/july/02/jeff-whitefoot-1933-2024/ . live .
  9. Web site: Jeffrey Whitefoot . MUFCInfo . Mark Graham . 15 October 2009 . 12 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150712232659/http://www.mufcinfo.com/manupag/a-z_player_archive/a-z_player_archive_pages/whitefoot_jefferey.html . live .
  10. https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/jeff-whitefoot-obituary-last-but-one-of-the-busby-babes-8025hwttf Jeff Whitefoot obituary: last but one of the Busby Babes
  11. Book: Leslie . Jack . Vernon . Rollin . Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78 . 1977 . Brickfield Publications Ltd . London . 0354 09018 6 . 490.

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