Brian Whittaker (23 September 1956 – 7 September 1997) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Partick Thistle, Celtic, Heart of Midlothian and Falkirk.

Brian Whittaker
Personal information
Date of birth (1956-09-23)23 September 1956
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death 7 September 1997(1997-09-07) (aged 40)
Place of death Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Sighthill Amateurs
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1983 Partick Thistle 241 (4)
1983–1984 Celtic 10 (2)
1984–1990 Heart of Midlothian 162 (1)
1990–1992 Falkirk 31 (1)
Total 444 (8)
International career
1978–1980 Scottish League XI 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Left-back Whittaker came to prominence whilst playing over 350 games for Partick Thistle in all competitions between 1974 and 1983,[1] eventually becoming one of manager David Hay's first signings for Celtic in August 1983 for a fee of £50,000.

In May 1984 he was sold to Hearts for £25,000 and spent six years as a player at Tynecastle Park. Whittaker was an integral part of the Hearts team which was pipped to the league title by Celtic in the last minutes of the 1985–86 Scottish Premier Division season, and also played on the losing side in the losing 1986 Scottish Cup Final.

Whittaker spent some time at Falkirk before returning to Hearts as a coach, then moving on to working as an agent. He was killed in a car crash on Sunday 7 September 1997.[2]

Honours

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Heart of Midlothian

References

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  1. ^ Players W-Z Archived 20 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Partick Thistle History Archive
  2. ^ Brian Whitaker Obituary, The Glasgow Herald
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