Tom Whittaker became Arsenal manager on 2 June 1947 but his connection with Arsenal goes back a lot further than that.
On 4 June 1925 Herbert Chapman returned to England early from a tour with Huddersfield, ready for talks with Henry Norris at Arsenal about becoming the club’s new manager. Meanwhile on the other side of the world on 6 June 1925: Tom Whittaker received his career-ending injury in Wollongong during the game which ended Illawarra District 0-8 England
On 11 June 1925 Herbert Chapman became the manager of Arsenal, replacing Leslie Knighton who had been manager since the resumption of football after the first world war. Thus Chapman would not have seen Tom Whittaker play, would never have experienced his relationship with his fellow professionals at the club etc. The histories of Arsenal and Chapman often tell us that at this point Chapman told Whittaker that he was going to become “the greatest trainer in the world” at this time, but the men were on the opposite side of the world, and Whittaker was coming to terms with the end of his career.
When Tom Whittaker got back to England he was fortunate to come under the medical guidance of Sir Robert Jones (who operated on his knee). Sir Robert was the founding father of orthopaedics. Indeed so eminent was Sir Robert that he became the first president of the International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Having operated on Tom, and got to know him a little in hospital, he became very impressed with Tom’s drive and interest and arranged for him to go on a year-long training programme in anatomy massage and electrical treatment.
This wouldn’t have been a full-time five days a week course, and we also know from Tom’s own account that before leaving for Australia he was given a new contract by Arsenal, so he was still an employee of the club – although of course now unable to play.
Whittaker also already knew Joe Shaw who was running the reserve side, because in his last season as a player (the season before Chapman arrived at Arsenal) he spent almost all of his time in the Reserves, and so would have got to know Joe Shaw well.
But then, as he faced 1925/6 without being able to play at all, opportunities did present themselves. One was came through a series of conversations with Joe Shaw about fitness, who had become particularly interested in the way massage could help a player’s fitness and with Whittaker now undergoing massage treatment there was a point of connection.
But also in the summer of 1925 the offside law was changed, and this led to a tactical revolution. We know that Chapman called on several men to help him arrange tactics on the pitch to cope with this, and these included Shaw and Whittaker (Chapman was known for his ability to listen to everyone’s viewpoint). So it was the opportunity for Tom Whittaker also to reveal his thinking as a strategist in front of Chapman.
We also know that Chapman didn’t (as some suggest) introduce the revolutionary WM system of playing at one go – it introduced the idea and modified it over time. (This was based on the notion of the centre half playing further back between the two full backs, and when getting the ball passing it immediately to a midfield player who could put in the perfect pass up the pitch to a winger.)
So it was that out of a chance combination of events – the injury, the course that Whittaker took as he looked for a career now his playing days were over, the association with Shaw, and finally the need for ideas and consultations to deal with the new offside law, that Tom Whittaker came to the fore.
With Tom’s growing interest in physiotherapy, Chapman made Whittaker assistant trainer in 1926. Not a very senior role, but a permanent job at Arsenal to replace his playing contract.
The next event that had a major impact on Tom’s life came on 2 February 1927 as Herbert Chapman had his first major fall out with Sir Henry Norris in the George Hardy affair.
Hardy was close to Norris, but Chapman didn’t rate Hardy, and the affair of 2 February (in which in a Cup replay against Port Vale, Hardy took it onto himself to shout to the players to change tactics countermanding Chapman’s own pitchside instructions) was his chance to get rid of Hardy.
Chapman sent Hardy to the dressing room (knowing that Sir Henry meanwhile was out of the country, and so couldn’t countermand Chapman).
On the following Monday morning Herbert Chapman summoned Whittaker to his office and told him that he was now the first-team trainer. Chapman added: “I am going to make this the greatest club ground in the world, and I am going to make you the greatest trainer in the game.”
This caused Tom some difficulties it seems, for Hardy was from the same part of the north east as Tom Whittaker and was highly liked at Arsenal, being a long-term employee of the club.
But Tom had his chance and set about replacing the bucket and sponge with sun ray lamps heating apparatus and other electrical equipment that no one but he understood with the aim of halving the time it took to get a player back playing, and as he started to deliver, no one could argue with him. He became an integral part of the great Arsenal management team of the 1930s – and then after Chapman’s passing worked closely with Allison, before finally taking over the management of the club himself after the war, starting on 2 June 1947.