1961–62 Colchester United F.C. season
# 1961–62 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1961–62 season was Colchester United's 20th season in their history and their first-ever season in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Colchester bounced back to the Third Division at the first time of asking, earning their first promotion in the club's history by finishing as runners–up. By the end of the campaign, Colchester trailed Millwall by just one point, winning 23 games and scoring 104 league goals with Bobby Hunt the division's top scorer. The club experienced their record victory during the season when they beat Bradford City 9–1 on 30 December.

In the cup competitions, first-round exits were experienced in both FA and League cups. Colchester were beaten at home to Crewe Alexandra in September in the League Cup, while it took Peterborough United three attempts to overcome Colchester in the FA Cup first round following a second replay.

## Season overview

At the end of a very disappointing 1960–61 season, manager Benny Fenton cut his playing squad by ten players, with players including Neil Langman, Chic Milligan and Tommy Williams all released. The club was over £3,300 in debt, and so a fresh start required for the new season with a new, slimline squad. Just 17 players would be used in the new campaign, with eight of those playing over 40 of the 44 league games possible.

The season started well for Colchester, unbeaten in their first nine league games and scoring 31 goals in the first eight home games to top the Fourth Division table.

During Colchester's heaviest defeat of the season, a 5–0 reverse at York City, the 20-month old son of full back Tommy Millar drowned in a garden pond accident while Millar was playing in the game. This tragedy would also spell the end of Millar's Colchester career when he left to return to Scotland in early 1962. This coincided with a poor run of form and the club slipped to third in the table.

On the back of a 4–1 Boxing Day defeat to Bradford City, Colchester set their record club victory in the return fixture at Layer Road on 30 December. Both Bobby Hunt and strike–partner Martyn King scored four goals each, with Bobby Hill scoring the other as Colchester ran out 9–1 winners. A 4–0 victory at Accrington Stanley saw United regain the top spot from Wrexham, but just a few weeks later, Accrington folded and Colchester's 3–2 and 4–0 wins were expunged.

Defeats to Millwall and Wrexham cost Colchester the championship. Millwall took the title by one point as United finished runners-up with eleven away defeats proving costly. Of the record 104 goals scored in the league during the season, 78 came at home, while Martyn King broke his seasonal record by scoring 31 league goals only to be surpassed by Bobby Hunt with 38, a new club record. Hunt scored three hat-tricks on his way to his tally of 38 with two of those four goal hauls.

## Players

    As of match played 30 April 1962.

| 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 29) | 287 | 0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 May 1955 | Free transfer |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Duncan Forbes | CB | Edinburgh | (1941-06-19)19 June 1941 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Musselburgh Athletic | 4 September 1961 | Nominal |
| John Fowler | FB | Leith | (1933-10-17)17 October 1933 (aged 27) | 250 | 5 | Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic | 20 August 1955 | Free transfer |
| Richie Griffiths | FB | Earls Colne | (1942-03-21)21 March 1942 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | June 1961 | Free transfer |
| Mick Loughton | CB | Colchester | (1942-12-08)8 December 1942 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | August 1961 | Free transfer |
| Alf Marshall | FB | Dagenham | (1933-05-21)21 May 1933 (aged 28) | 30 | 0 | Dagenham | 14 October 1957 | £25 |
| Edgar Rumney | FB | Abberton | (1936-09-15)15 September 1936 (aged 24) | 23 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | 1 May 1957 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Brian Abrey | WH | Hendon | (1939-04-25)25 April 1939 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Chelsea | 1 May 1961 | Free transfer |
| John Brown | WH | Edinburgh | (1940-03-06)6 March 1940 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | Dunbar United | 4 September 1961 | Nominal |
| Trevor Harris | WH | Colchester | (1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 25) | 42 | 2 | Amateur | July 1951 | Free transfer |
| Ron Hunt | WH | Colchester | (1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 27) | 94 | 1 | Amateur | October 1951 | Free transfer |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| John Baines | CF | Colchester | (1937-09-25)25 September 1937 (aged 23) | 3 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | January 1960 | Free transfer |
| David Coleman | CF | Colchester | (1942-03-27)27 March 1942 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Harwich & Parkeston | 18 November 1961 | Free transfer |
| Mike Foster | WG | Leicester | (1939-02-03)3 February 1939 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Leicester City | May 1961 | Nominal |
| Bobby Hill | IF | Edinburgh | (1938-06-09)9 June 1938 (aged 22) | 138 | 15 | Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare | 9 June 1955 | Free transfer |
| Tony Howe | WG | Colchester | (1939-02-14)14 February 1939 (aged 22) | 10 | 2 | Colchester Casuals | March 1960 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Hunt | FW | Colchester | (1942-10-01)1 October 1942 (aged 18) | 30 | 7 | Amateur | March 1960 | Free transfer |
| Martyn King | CF | Birmingham | (1937-08-23)23 August 1937 (aged 23) | 87 | 56 | Amateur | Summer 1955 | Free transfer |
| Colin Lundstrum | WG | Colchester | (1938-10-09)9 October 1938 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Ipswich Town | August 1961 | Free transfer |
| Sammy McLeod | IF | Glasgow | (1934-01-04)4 January 1934 (aged 27) | 141 | 22 | Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare | 20 August 1955 | Free transfer |
| Tony Miller | IF | Chelmsford | (1937-10-26)26 October 1937 (aged 23) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | May 1958 | Free transfer |
| Peter Wright | WG | Colchester | (1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 27) | 323 | 67 | Amateur | November 1951 | Free transfer |

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

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| May 1961 | WG | Mike Foster | Leicester City | Nominal |
| 1 May 1961 | WH | Brian Abrey | Chelsea | Free transfer |
| June 1961 | FB | Richie Griffiths | Colchester Casuals | Free transfer |
| August 1961 | CB | Mick Loughton | Amateur | Free transfer |
| August 1961 | WG | Colin Lundstrum | Ipswich Town | Free transfer |
| 4 September 1961 | WH | John Brown | Dunbar United | Nominal |
| 4 September 1961 | CB | Duncan Forbes | Musselburgh Athletic | Nominal |
| 18 November 1961 | CF | David Coleman | Harwich & Parkeston | Free transfer |

* ↑ 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 | GK | John Wright | Great Bentley | Released |
| End of season | WH | Cyril Hammond | Severalls Athletic | Released |
| End of season | FB | John Laidlaw | Clacton Town | Released |
| End of season | WH | Derek Parker | Stowmarket Town | Player-manager |
| End of season | WG | Tommy Williams | Watford | Released |
| Summer 1961 | FB | Peter Carey | Aldershot | Released |
| Summer 1961 | FB | Alan Eagles | Queens Park Rangers | Released |
| 27 January 1962 | FB | Tommy Millar | Dundee United | Free transfer |

* ↑ Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

## Match details

### Fourth 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 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H |
| Result | W | W | D | D | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | D | D | L | D | D | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | D | W | L | W | L | W | L | W | L | D | L | W | W | L | D | W |
| Position | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ipswich Town (C) | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 93 | 67 | 1.388 | 56 | Qualification for the European Cup preliminary round |
| 2 | Burnley | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 101 | 67 | 1.507 | 53 | |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 88 | 69 | 1.275 | 52 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 4 | Everton | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 88 | 54 | 1.630 | 51 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 5 | Sheffield United | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 61 | 69 | 0.884 | 47 | |
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 72 | 58 | 1.241 | 46 | |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 65 | 56 | 1.161 | 44 | |
| 8 | West Ham United | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 76 | 82 | 0.927 | 44 | |
| 9 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 83 | 67 | 1.239 | 43 | |
| 10 | Arsenal | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 71 | 72 | 0.986 | 43 | |
| 11 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 62 | 66 | 0.939 | 42 | |
| 12 | Manchester City | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 78 | 81 | 0.963 | 41 | |
| 13 | Blackpool | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 70 | 75 | 0.933 | 41 | |
| 14 | Leicester City | 42 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 72 | 71 | 1.014 | 40 | |
| 15 | Manchester United | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 72 | 75 | 0.960 | 39 | |
| 16 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 50 | 58 | 0.862 | 39 | |
| 17 | Birmingham City | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 65 | 81 | 0.802 | 38 | |
| 18 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 73 | 86 | 0.849 | 36 | |
| 19 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 63 | 79 | 0.797 | 36 | |
| 20 | Fulham | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 66 | 74 | 0.892 | 33 | |
| 21 | Cardiff City (R) | 42 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 50 | 81 | 0.617 | 32 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Chelsea (R) | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 63 | 94 | 0.670 | 28 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Millwall | 44 | 23 | 10 | 11 | 87 | 62 | 1.403 | 56 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Colchester United | 44 | 23 | 9 | 12 | 104 | 71 | 1.465 | 55 | Promoted |
| 3 | Wrexham | 44 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 96 | 56 | 1.714 | 53 | Promoted |
| 4 | Carlisle United | 44 | 22 | 8 | 14 | 64 | 63 | 1.016 | 52 | Promoted |
| 5 | Bradford City | 44 | 21 | 9 | 14 | 94 | 86 | 1.093 | 51 | |

## Squad statistics

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Fourth Division | Fourth 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 | 48 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Duncan Forbes | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | John Fowler | 48 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Richie Griffiths | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Edgar Rumney | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Brian Abrey | 42 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Trevor Harris | 47 | 4 | 43 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ron Hunt | 48 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | David Coleman | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Mike Foster | 40 | 8 | 36 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Bobby Hill | 44 | 3 | 40 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bobby Hunt | 47 | 40 | 43 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Martyn King | 46 | 33 | 43 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Colin Lundstrum | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Sammy McLeod | 13 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Peter Wright | 48 | 13 | 44 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||
| | DF | SCO | Tommy Millar | 31 | 4 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | FW | Bobby Hunt | 38 | 2 | 0 | 40 |
| 2 | CF | Martyn King | 31 | 1 | 1 | 33 |
| 3 | WG | Peter Wright | 12 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 4 | WG | Mike Foster | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | WH | Trevor Harris | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | FB | Tommy Millar | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | IF | Bobby Hill | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | IF | Sammy McLeod | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | WH | Brian Abrey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| | | Own goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 104 | 5 | 1 | 110 |

### Disciplinary record

| Nationality | Position | Name | Fourth Division | Fourth Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | CF | Martyn King | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | TOTALS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

| Place | Nationality | Player | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | | Percy Ames | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| | | TOTALS | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 |

### Player debuts

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

| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| WH | Brian Abrey | 19 August 1961 | Stockport County | Layer Road |
| WG | Mike Foster | 19 August 1961 | Stockport County | Layer Road |
| CF | David Coleman | 18 November 1961 | Rochdale | Spotland Stadium |
| WG | Colin Lundstrum | 15 January 1962 | Mansfield Town | Field Mill |
| FB | Richie Griffiths | 3 February 1962 | Hartlepools United | Victoria Park |
| CB | Duncan Forbes | 14 April 1962 | Crewe Alexandra | Gresty Road |
