ALFRED Edward ‘Ted’ Whelan – one of the greatest players to have donned the club’s jumper - has passed away.
Although he never captained Port Adelaide during his career, Ted Whelan was highly regarded for his incredible work ethic in a career spanning 248 games and 13 seasons in the black and white.
A quite and humble man, Whelan has the distinction of being Port Adelaide’s first 200-game player.
Forging a career as a formidable ruckman and resting defender, he was a core component of the club’s dominance of the SANFL during the 1950s, playing in seven premierships, including the historic achievement of six consecutive flags from 1954 to 1959.
Regarded as the best for the Magpies in the club's 1956 and 1957 triumphs, Whelan was rarely away from the vote getters on the field in any match and was very much a ‘big game’ player.
He won the club's 1956 best and fairest medal, and was twice runner-up.
Whelan also captained South Australia against Tasmania in one state game in 1958 and represented the tricolours in 20 matches.
Teddy’s friend, teammate and fellow hall of famer Geof Motley regarded him as one of Port Adelaide's best of the era.
"From my perspective, I don't know any other person that I respected or admired greater than Ted Whelan, above anyone else," Motley said.
"In the major round, he was usually in the top two or three players.
"He was what I would classify as 'Mr. Reliable', he was just so regularly reliable, we rated him enormously."
A member of the Port Adelaide Football Club hall of fame and the club’s illustrious ‘Greatest Team of the Greatest Club’ in the right back pocket, Whelan is undoubtedly one of the heavyweights of the game at Alberton and also in South Australia.
He was an inaugural inductee into the South Australian Football Hall of Fame and the Port Adelaide Football Club Hall of Fame.
Ted Whelan was 85 years old.
Alfred Edward 'Ted' Whelan
Born: 6 December 1929, Died: 22 June 2015
League debut: v Sturt, Alberton, 1948
Games: 248, Goals: 90
1956 Port Adelaide best and fairest
Halls of Fame: Port Adelaide (1998 - inaugural), South Australian Football (2002 - inaugural)
State games: 20 (South Australia) - captain in one game, 1958
Seven time premiership player (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959)
Port Adelaide life member
Player life member SANFL
