| Club: | Colchester United |
| Season: | 1949–50 |
| Chairman: | Bill Allen[1] |
| Manager: | Jimmy Allen |
| Stadium: | Layer Road |
| League: | Southern League |
| League Result: | 2nd Elected to the Football League |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | 4th qualifying round (eliminated by Wealdstone) |
| Cup2: | Southern League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Winners |
| League Topscorer: | Vic Keeble (42) |
| Season Topscorer: | Vic Keeble (46) |
| Highest Attendance: | 14,718 v Chelmsford City, 17 September 1949[2] |
| Lowest Attendance: | 5,352 v Cheltenham Town, 23 March 1950[3] |
| Average Attendance: | 8,639[4] |
| Largest Win: | 8–0 v Kidderminster Harriers, 19 November 1949 |
| Largest Loss: | 0–5 v Merthyr Tydfil, 26 April 1950; 1–6 v Gillingham, 29 April 1950 |
| Pattern Name1: | Home |
| Pattern La1: | _white_stripes |
| Pattern B1: | _whitestripes3 |
| Pattern Ra1: | _white_stripes |
| Pattern So1: | _3whitehoops |
| Leftarm1: | 0000FF |
| Body1: | 0000FF |
| Rightarm1: | 0000FF |
| Shorts1: | FFFFFF |
| Socks1: | 0000FF |
| Alt1: | Football kit (white jersey with blue, vertical stripes; white shorts;; and blue socks with white, horizontal hoops). |
| Prevseason: | 1948–49 |
| Nextseason: | 1950–51 |
The 1949–50 season was Colchester United's eighth season in their history and their eighth and final season in the Southern League. Alongside competing in the Southern League, the club also participated in the FA Cup and Southern League Cup. The club finished as runner-up to Merthyr Tydfil in the league, but despite this Colchester were elected to the Football League at the end of the campaign with the expansion of the League from 88 to 92 clubs.[5] [6] [7] [8] The club won the Southern League Cup 6–4 on aggregate,[9] while they exited the FA Cup at the fourth qualifying round stage following a 1–0 defeat by Wealdstone.[10] [11]
Layer Road suffered storm damage ahead of the 1949–50 season, and owing to a shortage of steel, re-construction work was not complete as the season commenced. Manager Jimmy Allen strengthened his defence with the signing of Reg Stewart from Sheffield Wednesday and Bill Layton from Bradford Park Avenue, and by Christmas 1949, Colchester had lost just three of their 28 games played, one of which was the 1–0 FA Cup fourth qualifying round defeat to Wealdstone.[10] [11] The game was one of the first FA Cup ties to be broadcast on television,[12] but on this occasion it was the U's who were on the receiving end of a cup shock.
Colchester had topped the table all season until a fixture-congested April, which saw them held to home draws by Torquay United Reserves and Gravesend & Northfleet, while suffering 5–0 and 6–1 defeats at main title rivals Merthyr Tydfil and Gillingham in the space of three days. Between those defeats, the U's had recovered some pride with a 3–0 Southern League Cup final first-leg win over Bath City. Competing in their fourth match in just five days, a weary Colchester side allowed Bath to lead the second-leg 4–1, meaning the tie would go to extra time. Vic Keeble and Dennis Hillman scored in the added 30-minutes, helping Colchester lift the trophy for the second time with their third final appearance in 3 years.[9]
With Gillingham having defeated Merthyr Tydfil during midweek, all Colchester needed to do in their final fixture was to win at Barry Town to secure the title. However, they were held to a goalless draw and Merthyr Tydfil took the title on goal average. Despite this, Vic Keeble had been the club's top scorer with 46 goals, a record which remains intact. Supplementing this were Fred Cutting's 24 goal haul and Bob Curry's 22, while fellow forward Arthur Turner had spent the majority of the season out injured with cartilage damage.
On 3 June 1950, only Everton and West Bromwich Albion opposed the expansion of the Football League from 88 to 92 clubs by expanding the Third Division North and South, instead preferring another regional league. Of the applications for Third Division South election, Gillingham polled 44 votes, Colchester 28, Worcester City 11, Chelmsford City 8, Peterborough United 5 and Merthyr Tydfil and Yeovil Town just one vote each. Colchester United were elected to the Football League with a Supporters Club membership of over 16,000 and an average gate of over 8,500.[13]
| Name | Position | Nationality | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||||
| Ken Whitehead | GK | June 1, 1949 | 38 | 0 | Clacton Town | May 1948 | Free transfer | ||||
| George Wright | GK | Plymouth | June 1, 1949 | 2 | 0 | Plymouth Argyle | May 1949 | £1,000 | |||
| Defenders | |||||||||||
| Doug Beach | FB | Watford | June 1, 1949 | 0 | 0 | Southend United | 8 October 1949 | Free transfer | |||
| George French | FB | Colchester | June 1, 1949 | 0 | 0 | West Ham United | February 1949 | Free transfer | |||
| Digger Kettle | FB | Colchester | June 1, 1949 | 106 | 1 | Arclight Sports | September 1946 | Free transfer | |||
| Reg Stewart | CB | Sheffield | June 1, 1949 | 0 | 0 | Sheffield Wednesday | 20 August 1949 | £1,000 | |||
| Midfielders | |||||||||||
| Harry Bearryman | WH | Wandsworth | June 1, 1949 | 94 | 5 | Chelsea | 4 July 1947 | Free transfer | |||
| Bill Layton | WH | Shirley | June 1, 1949 | 0 | 0 | Bradford Park Avenue | August 1949 | £800 | |||
| John Moore | WH | Chiswick | June 1, 1949 | 0 | 0 | Brentford | 8 September 1949 | £1,000 | |||
| Forwards | |||||||||||
| Bob Allen | WG | Bromley-by-Bow | June 1, 1949 | 72 | 3 | Gainsborough Trinity | 13 June 1946 | Free transfer | |||
| Bob Curry | IF | Gateshead | June 1, 1949 | 130 | 68 | Northampton Town | 13 June 1947 | Free transfer | |||
| Fred Cutting | IF | North Walsham | June 1, 1949 | 73 | 31 | Norwich City | 6 December 1947 | Free transfer | |||
| Stan Foxall | WG | Crowle | June 1, 1949 | 35 | 11 | West Ham United | June 1948 | Free transfer | |||
| José Gallego | WG |  | San Sebastián | June 1, 1949 | 0 | 0 | Southampton | July 1949 | Free transfer | ||
| Dennis Hillman | WG | Southend-on-Sea | June 1, 1949 | 95 | 21 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 21 September 1946 | Free transfer | |||
| Vic Keeble | CF | Colchester | June 1, 1949 | 30 | 17 | King George Youth Club | 23 May 1947 | £10 | |||
| Denis Maffey | CF | Sunderland | June 1, 1949 | 31 | 1 | Ipswich Town | May 1948 | Free transfer | |||
| Bob Neville | OL | Colchester | June 1, 1949 | 7 | 2 | Rowhedge | October 1946 | Free transfer | |||
| Arthur Turner | CF | Poplar | June 1, 1949 | 111 | 83 | Charlton Athletic | September 1946 | Free transfer | |||
| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Fee | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1949 | WG | José Gallego | Southampton | Free transfer | [15] | ||
| August 1949 | WH | Bill Layton | Bradford Park Avenue | £800 | [16] | ||
| 20 August 1949 | CB | Reg Stewart | Sheffield Wednesday | £1,000 (paid on joining Football League in 1950) | [17] | ||
| 8 September 1949 | WH | John Moore | Brentford | £1,000 | [18] | ||
| 8 October 1949 | FB | Doug Beach | Southend United | Free transfer | [19] | ||
| 20 October 1949 | CB | Ronnie Sales | Leyton Orient | Free transfer | [20] | ||
| 22 October 1949 | CF | John Sharpe | Southampton | Trial | [21] |
| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Fee | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of season | GK | Harry Wright | Guildford City | Coach | [22] | ||
| End of season | WH | Wally Nunn | Guildford City | Free transfer | [23] | ||
| End of season | WH/IR | Frank Stamper | Hartlepools United | Undisclosed | [24] | ||
| End of season | WG | Norman George | Free agent | Released | [25] | ||
| End of season | IF | Andy Brown | Kidderminster Harriers | Free transfer | [26] | ||
| End of season | IR | Ray Townrow | Clacton Town | Free transfer | [27] | ||
| May 1949 | WH | Alf Miller | Colchester United | Coaching staff | [28] | ||
| 10 September 1949 | CF | Len Cater | Clacton Town | Free transfer | [29] | ||
| 1 October 1949 | FB | Bill Bower | Sudbury Town | Free transfer | [30] | ||
| 20 October 1949 | CB | Ronnie Sales | Hartlepools United | Free | [31] | ||
| 22 October 1949 | CF | John Sharpe | Free agent | End of trial |
See main article: 1949–50 Southern Football League.
See main article: 1949–50 FA Cup.
[14] [32] |-!colspan="14"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season|}
| Place | Nationality | Position | Name | Southern League | Southern League Cup | FA Cup | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CF | Vic Keeble | 42 | 4 | 0 | 46 | ||
| 2 | IF | Fred Cutting | 21 | 3 | 0 | 24 | ||
| 3 | IF | Bob Curry | 20 | 2 | 0 | 22 | ||
| 4 | WH | Bill Layton | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 5 | WG | Dennis Hillman | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 6 | WG | Stan Foxall | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 7 | WH | Harry Bearryman | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 8 | WG | Bob Allen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 9 | WG | José Gallego | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Own goals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||
| TOTALS | 109 | 12 | 0 | 121 | ||||
Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[33]
| Place | Nationality | Player | Southern League | Southern League Cup | FA Cup | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Wright | 18 | 2 | 0 | 20 | ||
| TOTALS | 18 | 2 | 0 | 20 | |||
Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[34]
| Position | Nationality | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WH | Bill Layton | 20 August 1949 | Weymouth | Layer Road | |||
| CB | Reg Stewart | 20 August 1949 | Weymouth | Layer Road | |||
| WG | | José Gallego | 20 August 1949 | Weymouth | Layer Road | ||
| WH | John Moore | 8 September 1949 | Chingford Town | Newgate Street | |||
| FB | Doug Beach | 8 October 1949 | Chelmsford City | Layer Road | |||
| CB | Ronnie Sales | 20 October 1949 | Lovell's Athletic | Rexville | |||
| CF | John Sharpe | 22 October 1949 | Yeovil Town | Layer Road |
Book: Whitehead . Jeff . Drury . Kevin . The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years . 2008 . Breedon Books . Derby . 978-1-85983-629-3 .