Jackie Whent

Jackie Whent

Although born in Darlington, Jackie was brought up in Canada but played his early football in California.

After joining the Canadian Army in 1942, Jackie came over to England and was posted near Brighton where he was asked to assist the Albion junior team. He eventually signed on with the Seagulls and became a regular in their Division Three (South) side as a strong and capable centre-half and was awarded the captain’s armband in his last two seasons at the Goldstone.

At the age of 30, Jackie was transferred to Luton in exchange for Jim Mulvaney and Peter Walsh and was asked to play in the forward line where he met with only limited success although he did score on his Hatters debut.

Jackie’s stay at Luton lasted only a year before he moved to Kettering and then back to Canada. Jackie passed away in California in 1999.