Ted Whitten - Death

Death

Whitten died from cancer in August 1995. Such was his popularity he was given a nationally televised state funeral, had a bridge named for him (EJ Whitten Bridge on the Western Ring Road) and a statue erected at the Bulldogs' former home ground, Whitten (Western) Oval in West Footscray, which was also renamed in his honour.

His passing was broken live on an episode of The Footy Show. Whitten's death, while imminent, came as a shock to the football community. Producer Harvey Silver learned of Whitten's death early in the recording of the episode, but did not break the news to host Eddie McGuire and panelists Sam Newman, Wayne Schwass, Tim Watson and Doug Hawkins until during the final commercial break of the episode. Hawkins in particular, who was a close friend of Whitten, was emotionally distressed upon hearing the news, and could only manage to say "He was a great man, Teddy". Newman, also a close friend of Whitten, told host Eddie McGuire after the news was broken to the studio audience and viewers: "They say the show must go on, but if we'd known that when we started, the show wouldn't have gone on." The usual studio audience applause that came with the conclusion of the episode was replaced with a silent fade to the Footy Show motif.

After his death, Whitten's son, Ted Whitten jnr instituted the EJ Whitten Legends Game in the memory of his father. The game is a charity match to raise money for prostate cancer research.