Blue & Gold Trust Official Website
Cliff Whitelum
Born: Farnworth, Lancashire, December 2. 1919.
Died: King's Lynn, August 2000
Cliff made his debut for Sunderland against Blackpool in a 1–1 draw at Bloomfield Road in January 1939, one of two
appearances he made that season.
The war came and Cliff played for a number of teams including Barnsley and
Middlesborough as well as Sunderland whilst stationed at an army battery in
Grange Town.
During this time he scored six goals in the West Riding FA Cup Final 1st Leg v
Huddersfield in 1943.
Returning to Sunderland after the war he made 34 appearances in the 1946 season,
scoring 17 goals.
The following season he made a further seven appearances, scoring once, before
moving on to Sheffield United for a £7,000 fee - a record for "The
Blades" at that time.
He made 41 appearances for Sheffield United between October 1947 and the end of
the following season scoring 14 goals.
Signing for Lynn the following July by Ken Gadsby, he made his debut against
Gorleston in the Eastern Counties League, scoring once in the 4-0 victory.
His career at Lynn saw him score 237 goals in 218 games including six in the
10-2 Norfolk Senior Cup win against Thorpe.
During the 1951-52 season he also had a spell as player coach during which Lynn
won 27 and lost 16 of their 51 games.