1962–63 Colchester United F.C. season
# 1962–63 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1962–63 season was Colchester United's 21st season in their history and their first season back in the third tier of English football following promotion from the Fourth Division the previous season. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup. Colchester consolidated their Third Division return by finishing mid-table. In the cups, they bowed out in the first round of the FA Cup to Isthmian League side Wimbledon, while they overcame Watford in the first round of the League Cup only to crash out to Northampton Town in the second.

## Season overview

Despite debts of £2,000, the club were not prepared to sell prize forward Bobby Hunt when Newcastle United came in with an offer of £17,000.

During the season, Colchester made their television debut when they featured in the new Anglia Television programme Match of the Week. Highlights were shown on 13 October 1962 of Colchester's Layer Road defeat to Crystal Palace. Martyn King was back on top of the scoring charts for Colchester, leading the way with 26 league goals, Hunt following up with 19. With the defence shipping 93 goals across the season, a mid-table finish loomed for Colchester on their return to the Third Division after just one year away. However, in the FA Cup, they were ousted by Isthmian League Wimbledon in the first round, while they also experienced a second round exit in the League Cup to Northampton Town.

## Players

    As of match played 17 May 1963.

| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Percy Ames | GK | Plymouth | (1931-12-13)13 December 1931 (aged 30) | 335 | 0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 May 1955 | Free transfer |
| George Ramage | GK | Dalkeith | (1937-01-29)29 January 1937 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Third Lanark | 15 March 1963 | Nominal |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Duncan Forbes | CB | Edinburgh | (1941-06-19)19 June 1941 (aged 20) | 6 | 0 | Musselburgh Athletic | 4 September 1961 | Nominal |
| John Fowler | FB | Leith | (1933-10-17)17 October 1933 (aged 28) | 298 | 5 | Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic | 20 August 1955 | Free transfer |
| Richie Griffiths | FB | Earls Colne | (1942-03-21)21 March 1942 (aged 20) | 16 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | June 1961 | Free transfer |
| David Laitt | FB | Colchester | (1946-11-01)1 November 1946 (aged 15) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | Summer 1962 | Free transfer |
| Mick Loughton | CB | Colchester | (1942-12-08)8 December 1942 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | August 1961 | Free transfer |
| Edgar Rumney | FB | Abberton | (1936-09-15)15 September 1936 (aged 25) | 25 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | 1 May 1957 | Free transfer |
| Keith Rutter | CB | Leeds | (1934-09-10)10 September 1934 (aged 27) | 0 | 0 | Queens Park Rangers | 26 February 1963 | £4,000 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Ron Hunt | WH | Colchester | (1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 28) | 142 | 1 | Amateur | October 1951 | Free transfer |
| Roy McCrohan | WH | Reading | (1930-09-22)22 September 1930 (aged 31) | 0 | 0 | Norwich City | 1 September 1962 | Part exchange |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Mike Grice | WG | Woking | (1931-11-03)3 November 1931 (aged 30) | 109 | 16 | Coventry City | 18 August 1962 | £1,000 |
| Bobby Hill | IF | Edinburgh | (1938-06-09)9 June 1938 (aged 23) | 182 | 18 | Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare | 9 June 1955 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Hunt | FW | Colchester | (1942-10-01)1 October 1942 (aged 19) | 77 | 47 | Amateur | March 1960 | Free transfer |
| Martyn King | CF | Birmingham | (1937-08-23)23 August 1937 (aged 24) | 133 | 89 | Amateur | Summer 1955 | Free transfer |
| Tony Miller | IF | Chelmsford | (1937-10-26)26 October 1937 (aged 24) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | May 1958 | Free transfer |
| Billy Stark | FW | Glasgow | (1937-05-27)27 May 1937 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Carlisle United | November 1962 | £3,750 |
| Peter Wright | WG | Colchester | (1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 28) | 371 | 80 | Amateur | November 1951 | Free transfer |

* 1 2 3 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game in his second spell for the club

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Summer 1962 | FB | David Laitt | Amateur | Free transfer |
| 18 August 1962 | WG | Mike Grice | Coventry City | £1,000 |
| 1 September 1962 | WH | Roy McCrohan | Norwich City | Part exchange with Mike Foster |
| November 1962 | FW | Billy Stark | Carlisle United | £3,750 |
| 26 February 1963 | CB | Keith Rutter | Queens Park Rangers | £4,000 |
| 15 March 1963 | GK | George Ramage | Third Lanark | Nominal |

* Total spending: ~ £8,750
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game in his second spell for the club
* 1 2 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| End of season | WG | Colin Lundstrum | Clacton Town | Released |
| Summer 1962 | FB | Alf Marshall | Clacton Town | Released |
| Summer 1962 | WG | Tony Howe | Haverhill Rovers | Released |
| 1 September 1962 | CF | John Baines | Lexden Wanderers | Free transfer |
| 1 September 1962 | WG | Mike Foster | Norwich City | £3,000 plus Roy McCrohan |
| 20 October 1962 | CF | David Coleman | Clacton Town | Released |
| 3 November 1962 | WH | John Brown | Stenhousemuir | Released |
| December 1962 | IF | Sammy McLeod | Romford | £1,000 |
| April 1963 | WH | Brian Abrey | Retired | Retired |
| 16 April 1963 | WH | Trevor Harris | Chelmsford City | Free transfer |

* Total incoming: ~ £4,000
* 1 2 3 4 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

## Match details

### Third Division

**Results round by round**

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | H | A | A |
| Result | D | W | D | W | D | L | D | L | D | D | W | W | L | W | D | W | L | L | D | W | L | L | D | L | L | D | L | D | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | L | D | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | L | L |
| Position | 14 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Everton (C) | 42 | 25 | 11 | 6 | 84 | 42 | 2.000 | 61 | Qualification for the European Cup preliminary round |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 111 | 62 | 1.790 | 55 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup second round |
| 3 | Burnley | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 78 | 57 | 1.368 | 54 | |
| 4 | Leicester City | 42 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 79 | 53 | 1.491 | 52 | |
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 93 | 65 | 1.431 | 50 | |
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 77 | 63 | 1.222 | 48 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 7 | Arsenal | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 86 | 77 | 1.117 | 46 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 8 | Liverpool | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 71 | 59 | 1.203 | 44 | |
| 9 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 67 | 69 | 0.971 | 44 | |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 58 | 60 | 0.967 | 44 | |
| 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 79 | 71 | 1.113 | 42 | |
| 12 | West Ham United | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 73 | 69 | 1.058 | 40 | |
| 13 | Blackpool | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 58 | 64 | 0.906 | 40 | |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 71 | 79 | 0.899 | 39 | |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 62 | 68 | 0.912 | 38 | |
| 16 | Fulham | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 50 | 71 | 0.704 | 38 | |
| 17 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 59 | 78 | 0.756 | 35 | |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 15 | 5 | 22 | 55 | 75 | 0.733 | 35 | |
| 19 | Manchester United | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 67 | 81 | 0.827 | 34 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 20 | Birmingham City | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 63 | 90 | 0.700 | 33 | |
| 21 | Manchester City (R) | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 58 | 102 | 0.569 | 31 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Leyton Orient (R) | 42 | 6 | 9 | 27 | 37 | 81 | 0.457 | 21 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 10 | Hull City | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 74 | 69 | 1.072 | 48 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 68 | 58 | 1.172 | 47 |
| 12 | Colchester United | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 73 | 93 | 0.785 | 47 |
| 13 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 85 | 76 | 1.118 | 45 |
| 14 | Bristol City | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 100 | 92 | 1.087 | 45 |

## Squad statistics

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Third Division | Third Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Percy Ames | 37 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | GK | SCO | George Ramage | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Duncan Forbes | 48 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | John Fowler | 49 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Richie Griffiths | 26 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Edgar Rumney | 11 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Keith Rutter | 21 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ron Hunt | 34 | 2 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Roy McCrohan | 33 | 2 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Mike Grice | 47 | 8 | 45 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Bobby Hill | 31 | 4 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bobby Hunt | 47 | 20 | 45 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Martyn King | 44 | 28 | 42 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | FW | SCO | Billy Stark | 21 | 3 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Peter Wright | 41 | 6 | 38 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||
| | MF | ENG | Brian Abrey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | John Brown | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Trevor Harris | 20 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | John Baines | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | David Coleman | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Sammy McLeod | 10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | CF | Martyn King | 26 | 1 | 1 | 28 |
| 2 | FW | Bobby Hunt | 19 | 0 | 1 | 20 |
| 3 | WG | Mike Grice | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | WG | Peter Wright | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | IF | Bobby Hill | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | FW | Billy Stark | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | WH | Ron Hunt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | WH | Roy McCrohan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | CF | David Coleman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | | TOTALS | 73 | 1 | 2 | 76 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

| Place | Player | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Percy Ames | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | George Ramage | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | TOTALS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.

| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| WG | Mike Grice | 18 August 1962 | Bradford Park Avenue | Park Avenue |
| WH | Roy McCrohan | 15 September 1962 | Northampton Town | Layer Road |
| WH | John Brown | 26 September 1962 | Northampton Town | County Ground |
| FW | Billy Stark | 1 December 1962 | Peterborough United | London Road Stadium |
| CB | Keith Rutter | 26 February 1963 | Coventry City | Highfield Road |
| GK | George Ramage | 15 March 1963 | Halifax Town | The Shay |

* ↑ Second debut for the club.
