# 1937–38 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1937–38 season was Colchester United's first ever season after the formation as a professional club from amateur predecessors Colchester Town. Alongside competing in the Southern League, the club also participated in the Southern League Mid-Week Section and Southern League Cup. The club did not enter the FA Cup, but did win the Southern League Cup at the first attempt. Colchester finished 6th position in the league, and finished as runners-up to Millwall Reserves in the Mid-Week Section.

## Season overview

During a transitional period from the amateur organisation at Colchester Town to a professional club, twelve directors formed the board, appointing former Huddersfield Town goalkeeper and Bath City manager Ted Davis to take charge of team affairs. On 14 July 1937, the announcement was publicly made that the new club would be named Colchester United. A week after his appointment, Davis had already organised for the club to play in the same blue and white striped kit as his former club Huddersfield.
With trial matches taking place between 19 and 26 August 1937, Colchester United played their first ever professional match on 28 August 1937, travelling to The Huish to face Yeovil & Petters United. The game ended 3–0 to Yeovil, but Colchester made amends in their first game at Layer Road against Davis' old side Bath City on 2 September in the Mid-Week Section. The U's thrashed their counterparts 6–1, with Reg Smith registering the club's first hat-trick. Proficient bugle and cornet player Ronnie Dunn, Colchester's goalkeeper, welcomed the players of both sides to the pitch with a rendition of the post horn galop, a tradition which would remain throughout the club's years at Layer Road. The attendance was recorded as £250 instead of numbers of supporters, with the amount equating to an approximate attendance of 3,500. Two days later, an estimated 11,000 came to Layer Road to witness a 3–3 draw in the first meeting between Colchester United and nearby rivals Ipswich Town.
Reg Smith was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers in October 1937 for £250, and with a deal agreed for Cliff Fairchild to join Arsenal at the end of the season for £500, Davis used his entrepreneurial skills to arrange for both First Division clubs to contest the Colchester Challenge Cup at Layer Road. The friendly fixture proved to be a success, with 17,584 seeing Wolves beat Arsenal 1–0.
Following an excellent beginning to Colchester United's existence spelt a swift demise for Colchester Town. With the Oysters suffering financial difficulty, the amateur club folded in 1937, having joined the six-club Essex Senior League. The club re-emerged briefly in January 1938 to complete an Essex Senior Cup tie in order to avoid a fine, but the withdrawal of Town meant that United could enter a reserve side into the Eastern Counties League one month later, with the reserve squad boosted by many of those previously on the books with Colchester Town.
Layer Road suffered severe damage to the roof in January 1938 during a severe gale, with a recently erected corrugated iron roof and timber structure damaging nearby buildings, causing the ground to be closed for two days to clear the debris.
The return match with Ipswich saw 8,000 Colchester fans set a new Portman Road ground record attendance of 23,890, with United wearing a new orange and black away strip. They had worn these kits a week earlier in a friendly against Charlton Athletic to acclimatise themselves to the new strip.
At the end of the season, Colchester finished mid-table, but did reach the Southern League Cup final. They lost the first leg 2–1 at Yeovil, but triumphed 3–1 at Layer Road to win 4–3 on aggregate and secure the club's first ever trophy. The club then adopted the nickname "The U's" to differentiate themselves from "The Oysters" of Colchester Town. Across the season, Colchester found the back of the net 155 times in all competitions, with Alec Cheyne scoring 35 goals, Arthur Pritchard 29 goals and Jack Hodge 24 goals helping the U's to that total. With professional football proving to be a success, the same applied for Colchester's neighbours and rivals Ipswich Town, who were elected to the Football League for the 1938–39 season.

## Players

    As of match played 7 May 1938.
| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Ronnie Dunn | GK | Southall | (1908-11-24)24 November 1908 (aged 28) | 0 | 0 | Crystal Palace | 3 July 1937 | Free transfer |
| Don Youngs | GK | | | 0 | 0 | Martlesham RAF | 5 November 1937 | Free transfer |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Jimmy Baker | CB/RH | Trethomas | (1904-05-05)5 May 1904 (aged 33) | 0 | 0 | Bristol City | 9 July 1937 | Free transfer |
| Cliff Fairchild | RB | Great Yarmouth | (1917-10-23)23 October 1917 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Northfleet United | 28 August 1937 | Free transfer |
| Syd Fieldus | DF | Romford | (1909-05-27)27 May 1909 (aged 28) | 0 | 0 | Brentford | 3 July 1937 | Free transfer |
| Ian Haley | RB | North Bierley | | 0 | 0 | Colchester Town | 1 January 1938 | Free transfer |
| George Leslie | CB | Slough | (1907-07-09)9 July 1907 (aged 29) | 0 | 0 | Guildford City | 9 July 1937 | Free transfer |
| Alexander Wood | LB | Lochgelly | (1907-06-12)12 June 1907 (aged 29) | 0 | 0 | Nottingham Forest | 16 July 1937 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Jimmy Collins | LH/RH | Brentford | (1903-07-14)14 July 1903 (aged 33) | 0 | 0 | West Ham United | 3 July 1937 | Free transfer |
| George Ritchie | LH | Maryhill | (1904-01-16)16 January 1904 (aged 33) | 0 | 0 | Leicester City | 12 August 1937 | Free transfer |
| George Smith | RH | Connah's Quay | | 0 | 0 | Bath City | 27 October 1937 | Free transfer |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Bill Barraclough | OL | Kingston upon Hull | (1909-01-03)3 January 1909 (aged 28) | 0 | 0 | Chelsea | 7 August 1937 | Free transfer |
| Albert Bennett | CF | | | 0 | 0 | Colchester Town | 25 November 1937 | Free transfer |
| Alec Cheyne | IH | Glasgow | (1907-04-28)28 April 1907 (aged 30) | 0 | 0 | Chelsea | 13 August 1937 | £3,000 |
| George Crisp | WG | Pontypool | (1911-06-30)30 June 1911 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Newport County | 28 August 1937 | Undisclosed |
| Jack Hodge | OR | Plymouth | | 0 | 0 | Luton Town | 13 July 1937 | Free transfer |
| Ken Mayes | IL/OL | Wickford | (1910-10-08)8 October 1910 (aged 26) | 0 | 0 | Fulham | 3 July 1937 | £500 |
| Bill Pendergast | CF/IL | Penygroes | (1915-04-13)13 April 1915 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Bristol Rovers | 9 December 1937 | Free transfer |
| Arthur Pritchard | CF | Newport | (1917-10-22)22 October 1917 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Yeovil & Petters United | 28 August 1937 | Free transfer |
| Ivan Thacker | CF | Lowestoft | | 0 | 0 | Lowestoft Town | 18 February 1938 | Free transfer |
| George Wallis | IF | Sawley | | 0 | 0 | Bath City | 28 February 1938 | Free transfer |
| George Williams | IR/CF | | | 0 | 0 | Ipswich Town | 17 July 1937 | 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 |
| Summer 1937 | GK | Ted Platt | None | Free transfer |
| 23 June 1937 | CF | Reg Smith | Bristol City | Free transfer |
| 3 July 1937 | LH/RH | Jimmy Collins | West Ham United | Free transfer |
| 3 July 1937 | GK | Ronnie Dunn | Crystal Palace | Free transfer |
| 3 July 1937 | DF | Syd Fieldus | Brentford | Free transfer |
| 3 July 1937 | IL/OL | Ken Mayes | Fulham | £500 |
| 9 July 1937 | CB/RH | Jimmy Baker | Bristol City | Free transfer |
| 9 July 1937 | CB | George Leslie | Guildford City | Free transfer |
| 13 July 1937 | OR | Jack Hodge | Luton Town | Free transfer |
| 16 July 1937 | LB | Alexander Wood | Nottingham Forest | Free transfer |
| 17 July 1937 | IR/CF | George Williams | Ipswich Town | Free transfer |
| 7 August 1937 | OL | Bill Barraclough | Chelsea | Free transfer |
| 12 August 1937 | LH | George Ritchie | Leicester City | Free transfer |
| 13 August 1937 | IH | Alec Cheyne | Chelsea | £3,000 |
| 28 August 1937 | RB | Cliff Fairchild | Northfleet United | Free transfer |
| 28 August 1937 | WG | George Crisp | Newport County | Undisclosed |
| 28 August 1937 | CF | Arthur Pritchard | Yeovil & Petters United | Free transfer |
| 7 October 1937 | DF | John Ormesher | Colchester Town | Free transfer |
| 27 October 1937 | RH | George Smith | Bath City | Free transfer |
| 5 November 1937 | GK | Don Youngs | Martlesham RAF | Free transfer |
| 17 November 1937 | CF | Tully Day | Harwich & Parkeston | Free transfer |
| 25 November 1937 | CF | Albert Bennett | Colchester Town | Free transfer |
| 9 December 1937 | CF/IL | Bill Pendergast | Bristol Rovers | Free transfer |
| 1 January 1938 | RB | Ian Haley | Colchester Town | Free transfer |
| 18 February 1938 | CF | Ivan Thacker | Lowestoft Town | Free transfer |
| 28 February 1938 | IF | George Wallis | Bath City | Free transfer |
| 23 April 1938 | OR | Sam Simnett | Ipswich Town | Free transfer |
* Total spending: ~ £3,500
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 25 October 1937 | CF | Reg Smith | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £500 |
| January 1938 | DF | John Ormesher | Free agent | Released |
| March 1938 | GK | Ted Platt | Arsenal | Free transfer |
| 19 April 1938 | CF | Tully Day | Harwich & Parkeston | Free transfer |
| 23 April 1938 | OR | Sam Simnett | Free agent | Released |
* Total incoming: ~ £500
* 1 2 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

## Match details
### Southern League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
| 4 | Yeovil & Petters United | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 72 | 45 | 1.600 | 42 |
| 5 | Norwich City II | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 77 | 55 | 1.400 | 41 |
| 6 | Colchester United | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 90 | 58 | 1.552 | 38 |
| 7 | Bristol Rovers II | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 63 | 62 | 1.016 | 36 |
| 8 | Swindon Town II | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 70 | 76 | 0.921 | 35 |

#### Matches
### Southern League Mid-Week Section
#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Result |
| 1 | Millwall Reserves (C) | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 59 | 21 | 2.810 | 29 | Southern League Midweek Section champions |
| 2 | Colchester United | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 42 | 23 | 1.826 | 27 | |
| 3 | Aldershot Reserves | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 38 | 29 | 1.310 | 25 | |
| 4 | Folkestone | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 32 | 36 | 0.889 | 20 | |
| 5 | Norwich City Reserves | 18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 45 | 39 | 1.154 | 19 | |

#### Matches
### Southern League Cup
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Southern League | Southern League | Southern League Mid-Week Section | Southern League Mid-Week Section | Southern League Cup | Southern League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Ronnie Dunn | 51 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | Don Youngs | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | WAL | Jimmy Baker | 31 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Cliff Fairchild | 52 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Syd Fieldus | 21 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Ian Haley | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | George Leslie | 43 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | USA | Alexander Wood | 54 | 1 | 32 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Jimmy Collins | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | George Ritchie | 31 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | MF | WAL | George Smith | 24 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bill Barraclough | 26 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | | Albert Bennett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Alec Cheyne | 54 | 35 | 32 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 7 |
| | FW | WAL | George Crisp | 39 | 14 | 19 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Jack Hodge | 51 | 24 | 30 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| | FW | ENG | Ken Mayes | 37 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| | FW | WAL | Bill Pendergast | 11 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | WAL | Arthur Pritchard | 37 | 29 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| | FW | ENG | Ivan Thacker | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | George Wallis | 16 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | | George Williams | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||
| | DF | ENG | John Ormesher | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Tully Day | 15 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| | FW | ENG | Sam Simnett | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Reg Smith | 14 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Southern League | SL Mid-Week Section | Southern League Cup | Total |
| 1 | IH | Alec Cheyne | 19 | 9 | 7 | 35 |
| 2 | CF | Arthur Pritchard | 17 | 8 | 4 | 29 |
| 3 | OR | Jack Hodge | 12 | 7 | 5 | 24 |
| 4 | CF | Tully Day | 9 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
| 5 | WG | George Crisp | 9 | 4 | 1 | 14 |
| 6 | CF | Reg Smith | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| 7 | IF | George Wallis | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 8 | CF/IL | Bill Pendergast | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 | OL | Bill Barraclough | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | DF | Syd Fieldus | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | CB/RH | Jimmy Baker | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | RH | George Smith | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | LH | George Ritchie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | CF | Ivan Thacker | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | LB | Alexander Wood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | TOTALS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155 |

### Disciplinary record

| Position | Name | Southern League | Southern League | SL Mid-Week Section | SL Mid-Week Section | Southern League Cup | Southern League Cup | Total | Total |
| OL | Bill Barraclough | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| WG | George Crisp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | TOTALS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |

### Captains

Number of games played as team captain.
| Place | Position | Player | Southern League | SL Mid-Week Section | Southern League Cup | Total |
| 1 | LH | George Ritchie | 17 | 7 | 4 | 28 |
| 2 | CB/RH | Jimmy Baker | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| | | Not recorded | 14 | 7 | 1 | 22 |
| | | TOTALS | 34 | 18 | 6 | 58 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
| Place | Player | Southern League | SL Mid-Week Section | Southern League Cup | Total |
| 1 | Ronnie Dunn | 7 | 4 | 2 | 13 |
| 2 | Don Youngs | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| | TOTALS | 8 | 6 | 2 | 16 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| GK | Ronnie Dunn | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| LH/RH | Jimmy Collins | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| RB | Cliff Fairchild | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| CB | George Leslie | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| LH | George Ritchie | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| LB | Alexander Wood | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| IH | Alec Cheyne | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| WG | George Crisp | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| OR | Jack Hodge | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| CF | Arthur Pritchard | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| CF | Reg Smith | 28 August 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Huish Athletic Ground |
| IL/OL | Ken Mayes | 2 September 1937 | Bath City | Layer Road |
| OL | Bill Barraclough | 11 September 1937 | Yeovil & Petters United | Layer Road |
| CB/RH | Jimmy Baker | 23 September 1937 | Folkestone | Layer Road |
| DF | John Ormesher | 7 October 1937 | Tunbridge Wells Rangers | Layer Road |
| DF | Syd Fieldus | 9 October 1937 | Plymouth Argyle Reserves | Home Park |
| RH | George Smith | 30 October 1937 | Dartford | Watling Street |
| CF | Tully Day | 17 November 1937 | Aldershot Reserves | Recreation Ground |
| CF | Albert Bennett | 25 November 1937 | Norwich City Reserves | Carrow Road |
| CF/IL | Bill Pendergast | 11 December 1937 | Aldershot Reserves | Layer Road |
| RB | Ian Haley | 1 January 1938 | Barry Town | Layer Road |
| IR/CF | George Williams | 31 January 1938 | Millwall Reserves | The Den |
| GK | Don Youngs | 24 February 1938 | Tunbridge Wells Rangers | Layer Road |
| CF | Ivan Thacker | 3 March 1938 | Dartford | Layer Road |
| IF | George Wallis | 3 March 1938 | Dartford | Layer Road |
| OR | Sam Simnett | 23 April 1938 | Tunbridge Wells Rangers | Down Farm |