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Jeff Whitefoot (footballer)

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For other people named Jeff Whitefoot, see Jeff Whitefoot (disambiguation).

Jeff Whitefoot
Whitefoot in 1957
Personal information
Date of birth (1933-12-31)31 December 1933
Place of birth Cheadle, Cheshire, England
Date of death 2 July 2024(2024-07-02) (aged 90)
Position(s) Wing half
Youth career
1949–1950 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1950–1957 Manchester United 93 (0)
1957–1958 Grimsby Town 26 (5)
1958–1967 Nottingham Forest 255 (5)
Total 374 (10)
International career
1954 England U23 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Manchester United F.C. in 1957 with this players – from the left, standing: Liam Whelan, Jackie Blanchflower, Ian Greaves, Ray Wood, Wilf McGuinness, Mark Jones, Tommy Taylor, Matt Busby (manager); from the left, sitting: Johnny Berry, David Pegg, Albert Scanlon, Roger Byrne, Jeff Whitefoot, Dennis Viollet and Eddie Colman.

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,[6] 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.[7]

After leaving football, Whitefoot ran pubs in East Leake and Oakham. He has been called "the last of the Busby Babes".[8] Whitefoot died on 2 July 2024, at the age of 90.[9][6][10]

Honours

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Manchester United

Nottingham Forest

References

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  1. ^ "Manchester United : 1946/47–2008/09". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  2. ^ "Grimsby Town : 1946/47–2008/09". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Nottingham Forest : 1946/47–2008/09". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  4. ^ Courtney, Barrie (27 March 2004). "England – U-23 International Results– Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 13 April 2004. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  5. ^ Fort, Didier (11 August 2000). "Manchester United FC - Postwar Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  6. ^ a b "Jeffrey Whitefoot". MUFCInfo. Mark Graham. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  7. ^ "FA Cup Final 1959". Nottingham Forest F.C. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  8. ^ Harby, Chris (28 January 2023). "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". Stamford Mercury. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Jeff Whitefoot: 1933-2024". Archived from the original on 2 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  10. ^ Jeff Whitefoot obituary: last but one of the Busby Babes
  11. ^ Vernon, Leslie; Rollin, Jack (1977). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78. London: Brickfield Publications Ltd. p. 490. ISBN 0354 09018 6.
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