Born in Sydney, Whitty had only played junior cricket before he was noticed by Test batsman Victor Trumper, who recommended him for coaching and gave him the opportunity to bowl to the New South Wales state team.

In 1907, at the age of 21, Whitty made his first-class debut for New South Wales against Queensland at the Sydney Cricket Ground, taking 3 wickets.

Despite this performance, and partly due to a "boardroom brawl" which saw Australia leave behind many of its best players, Whitty was selected to tour England for the 1912 Triangular Test series, which also featured South Africa.

[17] Whitty continued to play domestically after the War ended, and was still good enough to regularly take 5-wicket hauls in first-class cricket up to the age of 38.

At lower levels, Whitty played for East Torrens in Adelaide from 1908 to 1915, consistently taking over 50 wickets a season, and leading district bowling averages for four consecutive years from 1911.

From 1938 Whitty lived on his property at Tantanoola, where he died aged 87, the longest surviving of Australia's pre-WWI Test cricketers.