The 10th annual induction class included Whittington and nine others who made their marks as either athletes or coaches in the state of Delaware.
Born in Marion, Md., in 1949, Whittington moved to Wilmington in 1951 and later became a standout high school athlete at the former De La Warr High School. He was an All-State football player, an all-conference first baseman in baseball, and a champion wrestler.
Whittington moved on to the University of Delaware and earned two letters for head coach Tubby Raymond's football squads in 1969 and 1970, playing linebacker. He was a member of Fightin' Blue Hens teams that went 9-2 in 1969, capturing the Middle Atlantic Conference title and Lambert Cup, and 9-2 in 1970, winning another Lambert Cup as the premier small college team in the East. Both teams competed in Boardwalk Bowls in Atlantic City, N.J., defeating North Carolina Central 31-13 in 1969 and Morgan State 38-23 in 1970.
Whittington also continued to play baseball and wrestle following his playing days with the Blue Hens.
He started his coaching career as a freshman football coach at Newark High School in 1972 and later served as a teacher and coach at the St. Croix Country Day School in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Upon his retirement from competition and coaching, he became one of the nation's leading scholars on Negro Leagues baseball, presenting at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and developed college courses related to the impact of sports on race and culture.
A 1971 graduate of Delaware with a degree in physical education, Whittington returned to his alma mater in 1979 and worked for 29 years in the positions of admissions counselor, assistant dean in the College of Business and Economics, director of affirmative action, executive assistant to the president, and special assistant to the dean of the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy. He earned his MBA from Central Michigan University in 1984.
One of the goals of the Delaware Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame is to link the state to heroes of years past by the impact and the continued contributions these athletes extend to the community.
In addition to Whittington, also honored were former Delaware State University tennis standout and current Hornet head coach Alex Becton; former William Penn High School and Utica College basketball standout Bernice Wesley Benjamin; former William Henry High School football standout and current horseshoe champion John Harris; former Indian River High School basketball and baseball standout and semi-pro baseball and softball player Steve Jarmon, Jr.; former Delaware State football standout running back and World Football League player John Land; former Dover High School, Virginia State College, and U.S. Tennis Association tennis standout Orlando McDowell; former Delaware State all-conference football running back Bill Murray; former Florida A&M football standout and later a fastpitch softball champion Walter “Chick” Owens; and former William Henry High School football and track and field standout and later one of Philadelphia's top high school track coaches James Young.
For more information on UD athletics, see [www.udel.edu/sportsinfo].
