1960–61 Colchester United F.C. season
# 1960–61 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1960–61 season was Colchester United's 19th season in their history and their eleventh 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 and the new League Cup competition. Colchester reached the second round in both cups, beating Maidenhead United in the first round of the FA Cup before being eliminated by Aldershot. In the League Cup, Colchester hosted First Division Newcastle United in the first round. They won 4–1, but were knocked out by Southampton in round two.

In the league, Colchester had a very poor season. Seven consecutive defeats left the club languishing in the bottom four by early October 1960, and they remained no higher than one place above the relegation positions for the rest of the season. They were relegated for the first time in their history in 23rd position.

## Season overview

After gathering just one point in eleven games, Colchester had hit the bottom of the Third Division by October 1960 and never managed to climb out of the bottom five places. Average attendances plummeted, with a new record–low attendance of 3,141 achieved in the final game of the season against Chesterfield. Despite this, Martyn King managed to score a hat–trick in the game, a 4–3 win for Colchester and finished the season with 25 goals to his name. Colchester had conceded a club record 101 goals in the league.

Aside from Colchester's league woes, they did enjoy some success in the inaugural League Cup competition. They hosted First Division Newcastle United at Layer Road and comprehensively beat them 4–1 in front of a season-best 9,130 crowd. In round two, they were beaten 2–0 at home to Southampton. In the FA Cup, Colchester achieved their best win of the season at home to Maidenhead United in the first round, but were dumped out of the cup by Aldershot in round two.

## Players

    As of match played 29 April 1961.

| 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 28) | 238 | 0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 May 1955 | Free transfer |
| John Wright | GK | Aldershot | (1933-08-13)13 August 1933 (aged 26) | 4 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | 23 May 1952 | Free transfer |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Peter Carey | FB | Barking | (1933-04-14)14 April 1933 (aged 27) | 0 | 0 | Queens Park Rangers | November 1960 | Undisclosed |
| Alan Eagles | FB | Edgware | (1933-09-06)6 September 1933 (aged 26) | 0 | 0 | Leyton Orient | January 1961 | £3,000 |
| John Fowler | FB | Leith | (1933-10-17)17 October 1933 (aged 26) | 201 | 3 | Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic | 20 August 1955 | Free transfer |
| John Laidlaw | FB | Aldershot | (1936-07-05)5 July 1936 (aged 23) | 40 | 1 | Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare | June 1957 | Free transfer |
| Alf Marshall | FB | Dagenham | (1933-05-21)21 May 1933 (aged 27) | 29 | 0 | Dagenham | 14 October 1957 | £25 |
| Tommy Millar | FB | Edinburgh | (1938-12-03)3 December 1938 (aged 21) | 5 | 0 | Bo'ness United | July 1959 | Free transfer |
| Edgar Rumney | FB | Abberton | (1936-09-15)15 September 1936 (aged 23) | 5 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | 1 May 1957 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Cyril Hammond | WH | Woolwich | (1927-10-10)10 October 1927 (aged 32) | 81 | 1 | Charlton Athletic | July 1958 | Free transfer |
| Trevor Harris | WH | Colchester | (1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 24) | 11 | 0 | Amateur | July 1951 | Free transfer |
| Ron Hunt | WH | Colchester | (1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 26) | 62 | 0 | Amateur | October 1951 | Free transfer |
| Derek Parker | WH | Wivenhoe | (1926-06-23)23 June 1926 (aged 33) | 124 | 1 | West Ham United | March 1957 | £2,500 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| John Baines | CF | Colchester | (1937-09-25)25 September 1937 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | January 1960 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Hill | IF | Edinburgh | (1938-06-09)9 June 1938 (aged 21) | 101 | 13 | Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare | 9 June 1955 | Free transfer |
| Tony Howe | WG | Colchester | (1939-02-14)14 February 1939 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | March 1960 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Hunt | FW | Colchester | (1942-10-01)1 October 1942 (aged 17) | 1 | 1 | Amateur | March 1960 | Free transfer |
| Martyn King | CF | Birmingham | (1937-08-23)23 August 1937 (aged 22) | 46 | 31 | Amateur | Summer 1955 | Free transfer |
| Sammy McLeod | IF | Glasgow | (1934-01-04)4 January 1934 (aged 26) | 119 | 19 | Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare | 20 August 1955 | Free transfer |
| Tony Miller | IF | Chelmsford | (1937-10-26)26 October 1937 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | May 1958 | Free transfer |
| Tommy Williams | WG | Battersea | (1935-02-10)10 February 1935 (aged 25) | 118 | 23 | Carshalton Athletic | September 1956 | Free transfer |
| Peter Wright | WG | Colchester | (1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 26) | 300 | 63 | Amateur | November 1951 | Free transfer |

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

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Fee | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| November 1960 | FB | | Peter Carey | Queens Park Rangers | Undisclosed | |
| January 1961 | FB | | Alan Eagles | Leyton Orient | £3,000 | |

* Total spending: ~ £3,000

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Summer 1960 | FB | George Fisher | Bexleyheath & Welling | Released |
| Summer 1960 | CF | Kevin McCurley | Oldham Athletic | Nominal |
| June 1960 | IF | John Evans | Romford | Released |
| 3 April 1961 | WG | Russell Blake | Chelmsford City | Released |
| 22 April 1961 | CB | Chic Milligan | Clacton Town | Released |
| 24 April 1961 | CF | Neil Langman | Bath City | Released |

* 1 2 3 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 | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H |
| Result | W | D | L | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | D | W | D | W | W | D | L | D | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | W | W | L | L | D | L | W | L | D | W | D | L | W |
| Position | 4 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 |

**League table**

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 20 | Southend United | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 60 | 76 | 0.789 | 39 | |
| 21 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 79 | 115 | 0.687 | 38 | Relegated |
| 22 | Bradford City | 46 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 65 | 87 | 0.747 | 36 | Relegated |
| 23 | Colchester United | 46 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 68 | 101 | 0.673 | 33 | Relegated |
| 24 | Chesterfield | 46 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 67 | 87 | 0.770 | 32 | Relegated |

## 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 | 49 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | John Wright | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Peter Carey | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Alan Eagles | 16 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | John Fowler | 49 | 2 | 45 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | John Laidlaw | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Alf Marshall | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Tommy Millar | 17 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Edgar Rumney | 18 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Cyril Hammond | 19 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Trevor Harris | 31 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ron Hunt | 32 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Derek Parker | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | John Baines | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Bobby Hill | 37 | 2 | 33 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Tony Howe | 10 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bobby Hunt | 29 | 6 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Martyn King | 41 | 25 | 38 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| | FW | SCO | Sammy McLeod | 22 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Tommy Williams | 40 | 10 | 36 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Peter Wright | 23 | 4 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||
| | DF | SCO | Chic Milligan | 42 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Russell Blake | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Neil Langman | 37 | 13 | 34 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | CF | Martyn King | 23 | 0 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 | CF | Neil Langman | 11 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| 3 | WG | Tommy Williams | 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 4 | FW | Bobby Hunt | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | WH | Cyril Hammond | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | WG | Peter Wright | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | IF | Sammy McLeod | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | FB | John Fowler | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | WH | Trevor Harris | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | IF | Bobby Hill | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | WG | Tony Howe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | FB | Alan Eagles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | WH | Ron Hunt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| | | TOTALS | 68 | 6 | 4 | 78 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

| Place | Nationality | Player | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | | Percy Ames | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| | | TOTALS | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |

### Player debuts

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

| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| WG | Tony Howe | 20 August 1960 | Hull City | Layer Road |
| FB | Peter Carey | 14 January 1961 | Coventry City | Highfield Road |
| FB | Alan Eagles | 14 January 1961 | Coventry City | Highfield Road |
| CF | John Baines | 4 March 1961 | Halifax Town | Layer Road |
