1959–60 Colchester United F.C. season
# 1959–60 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1959–60 season was Colchester United's 18th season in their history and their tenth season in the third tier of English football, the Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup, with Colchester being knocked out by league rivals Queens Park Rangers in the first round. Colchester ended the season in ninth place in the Third Division.

## Season overview

Colchester's first game under floodlights at Layer Road was on 24 August 1959 when 9,689 watched the 2–2 draw with Grimsby Town. The ground became somewhat of a fortress, losing only twice throughout the campaign. However, Colchester struggled on their travels, earning just three wins. The mixed form led to a ninth position finish in the Third Division table.

The most notable bonus for the season was Martyn King's completion of national service meaning he was available for every game. Playing in 40 matches, forward King equalled Kevin McCurley's club record of 30 Football League goals in a season which included a trio of hat-tricks.

## Players

    As of match played 30 April 1960.

| 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 27) | 191 | 0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 May 1955 | Free transfer |
| John Wright | GK | Aldershot | (1933-08-13)13 August 1933 (aged 25) | 4 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | 23 May 1952 | Free transfer |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| George Fisher | FB | Bermondsey | (1925-06-19)19 June 1925 (aged 33) | 169 | 5 | Fulham | 1 September 1955 | £1,000 |
| John Fowler | FB | Leith | (1933-10-17)17 October 1933 (aged 25) | 154 | 3 | Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic | 20 August 1955 | Free transfer |
| John Laidlaw | FB | Aldershot | (1936-07-05)5 July 1936 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare | June 1957 | Free transfer |
| Alf Marshall | FB | Dagenham | (1933-05-21)21 May 1933 (aged 26) | 24 | 0 | Dagenham | 14 October 1957 | £25 |
| Tommy Millar | FB | Edinburgh | (1938-12-03)3 December 1938 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | Bo'ness United | July 1959 | Free transfer |
| Chic Milligan | CB | Ardrossan | (1930-07-26)26 July 1930 (aged 28) | 112 | 2 | Ardrossan Winton Rovers | 18 August 1956 | £1,000 |
| Edgar Rumney | FB | Abberton | (1936-09-15)15 September 1936 (aged 22) | 5 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | 1 May 1957 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Cyril Hammond | WH | Woolwich | (1927-10-10)10 October 1927 (aged 31) | 37 | 0 | Charlton Athletic | July 1958 | Free transfer |
| Trevor Harris | WH | Colchester | (1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 23) | 11 | 0 | Amateur | July 1951 | Free transfer |
| Ron Hunt | WH | Colchester | (1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 25) | 59 | 0 | Amateur | October 1951 | Free transfer |
| Derek Parker | WH | Wivenhoe | (1926-06-23)23 June 1926 (aged 32) | 80 | 1 | West Ham United | March 1957 | £2,500 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| John Baines | CF | Colchester | (1937-09-25)25 September 1937 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | January 1960 | Free transfer |
| Russell Blake | WG | Colchester | (1935-07-24)24 July 1935 (aged 23) | 44 | 7 | Dedham Old Boys | 8 September 1955 | Free transfer |
| John Evans | IF | Tilbury | (1929-08-28)28 August 1929 (aged 29) | 55 | 23 | Liverpool | 23 November 1957 | £4,000 |
| Bobby Hill | IF | Edinburgh | (1938-06-09)9 June 1938 (aged 20) | 62 | 9 | Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare | 9 June 1955 | Free transfer |
| Tony Howe | WG | Colchester | (1939-02-14)14 February 1939 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | March 1960 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Hunt | FW | Colchester | (1942-10-01)1 October 1942 (aged 16) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | March 1960 | Free transfer |
| Martyn King | CF | Birmingham | (1937-08-23)23 August 1937 (aged 21) | 6 | 1 | Amateur | Summer 1955 | Free transfer |
| Neil Langman | CF | Bere Alston | (1932-02-21)21 February 1932 (aged 27) | 73 | 35 | Plymouth Argyle | November 1957 | £6,750 |
| Kevin McCurley | CF | Consett | (1926-04-02)2 April 1926 (aged 33) | 225 | 91 | Liverpool | June 1951 | £750 |
| Sammy McLeod | IF | Glasgow | (1934-01-04)4 January 1934 (aged 25) | 107 | 16 | Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare | 20 August 1955 | Free transfer |
| Tony Miller | IF | Chelmsford | (1937-10-26)26 October 1937 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | May 1958 | Free transfer |
| Tommy Williams | WG | Battersea | (1935-02-10)10 February 1935 (aged 24) | 82 | 14 | Carshalton Athletic | September 1956 | Free transfer |
| Peter Wright | WG | Colchester | (1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 25) | 253 | 51 | Amateur | November 1951 | Free transfer |

* 1 2 3 4 5 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| July 1959 | FB | Tommy Millar | Bo'ness United | Free transfer |
| January 1960 | CF | John Baines | Colchester Casuals | Free transfer |
| March 1960 | WG | Tony Howe | Colchester Casuals | Free transfer |
| March 1960 | FW | Bobby Hunt | Amateur | Free transfer |

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| July 1959 | CF | Ken Plant | Nuneaton Borough | Free transfer |
| 29 August 1959 | IF | Ian Johnstone | Clacton Town | Free transfer |
| 6 October 1959 | FB | John Roe | Dundee United | Free transfer |
| Spring 1960 | CB | Brian Dobson | Clacton Town | Released |

* 1 2 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 | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H |
| Result | L | D | D | L | L | W | W | L | L | W | W | W | L | L | W | W | D | L | D | W | D | W | W | W | L | W | L | D | L | D | W | D | W | D | W | L | D | D | L | W | L | L | W | L | L | W |
| Position | 19 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |

**League table**

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | Bury | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 64 | 51 | 1.255 | 51 |
| 8 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 73 | 54 | 1.352 | 49 |
| 9 | Colchester United | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 83 | 74 | 1.122 | 47 |
| 10 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 72 | 72 | 1.000 | 47 |
| 11 | Reading | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 84 | 77 | 1.091 | 46 |

## Squad statistics

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Third Division | Third Division | FA Cup | FA Cup |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Percy Ames | 47 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | George Fisher | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | John Fowler | 47 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | John Laidlaw | 40 | 1 | 39 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Alf Marshall | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Tommy Millar | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Chic Milligan | 44 | 1 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Cyril Hammond | 44 | 1 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ron Hunt | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Derek Parker | 44 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Russell Blake | 11 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | John Evans | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Bobby Hill | 39 | 4 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bobby Hunt | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Martyn King | 40 | 30 | 39 | 30 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Neil Langman | 27 | 11 | 27 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Kevin McCurley | 12 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| | FW | SCO | Sammy McLeod | 12 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Tommy Williams | 36 | 9 | 35 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Peter Wright | 47 | 12 | 46 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||
| | DF | ENG | Brian Dobson | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | John Roe | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Ian Johnstone | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Third Division | FA Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | CF | Martyn King | 30 | 0 | 30 |
| 2 | WG | Peter Wright | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| 3 | CF | Neil Langman | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 4 | WG | Tommy Williams | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | CF | Kevin McCurley | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| 6 | IF | Bobby Hill | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | IF | Sammy McLeod | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | WG | Russell Blake | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | IF | John Evans | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | FB | George Fisher | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | WH | Cyril Hammond | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | Bobby Hunt | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | FB | John Laidlaw | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | CB | Chic Milligan | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | TOTALS | 83 | 2 | 85 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

| Place | Nationality | Player | Third Division | FA Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | | Percy Ames | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| | | TOTALS | 10 | 0 | 10 |

### Player debuts

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

| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| FB | Tommy Millar | 1 September 1959 | Grimsby Town | Blundell Park |
| FB | John Laidlaw | 5 September 1959 | Southampton | The Dell |
| FB | John Roe | 3 October 1959 | Norwich City | Carrow Road |
| FW | Bobby Hunt | 19 March 1960 | York City | Layer Road |
