City's Oldest Former Player Still Going Strong

Last updated : 12 June 2011 By CCFPA

Colin Collindridge- CCFC’s oldest FP still going strong!

Colin Collindridge holds the distinction, at age 90, of being Coventry City’s oldest surviving Former Player (and therefore the Coventry City Former Player Association’s oldest former player member).  He also holds similar records with two previous clubs being oldest FP for Sheffield United (who helped him celebrate the achievement last year) and second oldest FP for Nottingham Forest.

CCFPA' s Membership Secretary Mike Young (after several long phone conversations since signing him up as an Honorary member of the Association last year) finally popped into see Colin and his wife Glenys recently (11th June 2011) at their home near Newark in Nottinghamshire and spent a happy couple of hours chatting with the friendly couple.

In spite of some visual impairment and being housebound in recent weeks after a fall, Colin remains an extremely sprightly, engaging, sociable and forthright host. Indeed,  it often became difficult to ‘get a word in edgeways’ as Colin reminisced about his life and long playing career particularly remembering such City personalities of the time as Tommy Capel, Martin McDonnell, Iain Jamieson, Jack Fairbrother, Noel Simpson and Charlie Elliott and Mike, took the opportunity to present Colin with his Association tie.

A proud Yorkshireman, Colin was born into a South Yorkshire mining family in 1920 and celebrated his 90th birthday last November. As with a number of other players of the time professional football provided a route out of the pits and after being spotted playing in local football and signing briefly for Rotherham United in 1937 Colin made the significant step up to the big time with Sheffield United signing up in January 1939 not long before the outbreak of the second world war.

A pacey, direct, prolific and forceful forward (mainly at outside left but sometimes as centre forward) Colin played over 150 first team league games in 11 years for the Blades (scoring 58 goals in the process) before being transferred to Nottingham Forest in August 1950. Colin was idolised at Hillsborough (and that is probably where his footballing heart really lies) and also played 80 other games for United during the war years (scoring another 37 goals).

Colin spent the war years in the RAF mainly doing the dangerous job as a munitions/ armaments loader on Wellington bombers around the country and his forthright and uncompromising views to the top brass he says prevented his progression through the ranks!  During WW2 as he moved around the country he was also able to appear as a guest for the likes of Chesterfield, Notts County, Lincoln City and Oldham Athletic.

Colin made another 156 first team appearances at Forest (scoring 47 goals) and there he forged an effective left wing partnership with Tommy Capel and Jack Fairbrother bought the pair for Coventry City, allegedly for a five figure sum in June 1954, to do a similar job. According to Mr C., Jack’s original target was Colin on his own but  Forest Manager Billy Walker made signing Tommy as well a necessary condition of the deal to go through).

Unfortunately things did not work out as well as expected at Highfield Road. The ‘team that Jack built’ started out well with some good results and looked good bets for promotion to Division 2 but early in the season Jack Fairbrother’s wife died tragically and he then resigned for ‘personal reasons’ by October 1954 when the club sold centre forward Eddy Brown. Defender Charlie Elliott took over as caretaker till the end of the season and the results diminished, the Bantams eventually finishing only 9th in Division 3 South.  Colin’s season was also disrupted by a leg injury which largely kept him out of the team from October to February 1955 and in total he was able to make only 35 appearances for the City (scoring 6 times) before being released at the end of 1955-56 season (10 appearances). Colin ended his career in non-league football with Bath City and also gained management experience with Arnold St Mary’s in Nottingham from 1959 in a successful period for that club.

Colin’s ambition is to become a centenarian and we certainly hope he achieves this aim! Although his infirmity makes a visit to the Ricoh unlikely Mike and other CCFPA committee members are certain to visit him again before too long.

For more details on the Coventry City Former Players Association, please click on http://www.ccfpa.co.uk