Don Whitten

Don Whitten
Personal information
Date of birth	(1935-09-16)16 September 1935
Date of death	28 December 2021(2021-12-28) (aged 86)
Original team(s)	Braybrook
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s)	Centreman
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1956–1958	Footscray	24 0(3)
1961–1963	Yarraville	56 (80)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1968.
Career highlights
Casterton premiership coach – 1960 Yarraville premiership player – 1961 Yarraville captain – 1963 2nd in the J. J. Liston Trophy – 1963 Tocumwal premiership coach – 1967
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Don Whitten (16 September 1935 – 28 December 2021) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Whitten, who played for Footscray in the under-19s, joined his brother Ted in the senior team in 1956.[1] He played 24 games over three seasons with Footscray, often as a centreman, then in 1959 joined Western District Football League club Casterton as coach.[2][3]

He coached Casterton to a premiership in 1960, but was then replaced in the role by two-time Essendon best and fairest winner, Reg Burgess.[3][4]

Instead, Whitten played for Yarraville in 1961 and was a member of their premiership side that year.[1][5] He captained the club in 1963, a year in which he finished second in the J. J. Liston Trophy, to teammate Ron Clegg.[6]

From 1964 to 1968, Whitten was coach of Tocumwal in the Murray Football League.[7][8] During his tenure, Tocumwal made three consecutive grand finals and won the premiership in 1967.[9]

Whitten died on 28 December 2021, at the age of 86.[10]

References

1. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
2. "Don Whitten". AFL Tables.
3. Casterton News, "Whitten Returns" Archived 14 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 30 July 2013, Ian Lewis
4. The Age, "A lift for the Cats", 10 June 2012, Adam McNicol
5. The Age, "Don Whitten", 10 April 1961, p. 9
6. The Age, "Yarraville Players Dominate Liston Voting – Clegg Wins", 30 August 1963, p. 1
7. The Age, "Whitten's fitness key to result", 2 September 1966, p. 12
8. "TFC Honour Roll". Fox Sports Pulse.
9. "Tocumwal" (PDF). News Limited. (PDF)
10. "Whitten, Donald". The Weekly Times. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.