On This Day – 24th November
Former Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan was born on this day in 1936. He owned the Lancashire club for 20 years before handing the reigns to his grandson David Sharpe in 2015.
Whelan played for Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra as a left back before having to retire from the game at the age of 29.
He famously broke his leg in the 1960 FA Cup Final whilst playing for Blackburn Rovers against Wolves. In all, he made 78 appearances for Rovers between 1956 and 1960 and scored three goals.
Blackburn Rovers didn’t give Whelan the opportunity to recover after the Cup Final and sold him to Crewe Alexandra within weeks of the Final.
Two years later, Whelan returned to the field and played 115 times for Crewe Alexandra until retiring from the game in 1966. He turned his attentions to business and made his fortunes in the retail industry.
In 1995, Whelan bought Third Division side Wigan Athletic and paid for a new all-seater stadium to be built for the club. Wigan rose through the divisions and won promotion to the Premier League in 2005. Not bad for ten year’s work!
The club remained in the top flight for ten years. This in itself was remarkable, but when they won the FA Cup Final in 2013, beating reigning league champions Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley.
According to Google, Whelan is now is worth over £160 million. I think he would gladly have taken that 60 years ago when he was lying in his hospital bed after breaking his leg at Wembley!
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