 | |
| Full name | Colchester Casuals Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname | The Casuals |
| Founded | 1883 |
| Dissolved | 1970 |
| Ground | Old Heath Recreation Ground, Colchester, then later Braiswick and also King Harold Road |
| Chairman | Fred Taylor (1946-1950) |
| League | Essex and Suffolk Border Football League |
Colchester Casuals Football Club was an amateurfootball club based inColchester, England.
Colchester Casuals Football Club history can be traced back to 1883, when the Casuals first appeared in Colchester football records.[1][2] Colchester Casuals mainly operated as a feeder club forColchester United.[3]
The 1946–1947 season was their most successful ever when they were winners of theEssex and Suffolk Border League.[4] the British Legion Cup, the Essex and Suffolk Border League Cup and were runners-up in the Clacton Hospital Cup. In 1948, Colchester Casuals entered theFA Cup for the first time, losing 3–2 away toDagenham British Legion in the extra preliminary round. Thefollowing season, the club reached the preliminary round, after beatingSaffron Walden Town 3–2, before exiting to the hands ofGrays Athletic.[5] During the 1950s, the club also entered theFA Amateur Cup.[6]
The team at this time contained an array of talent including a youngVic Keeble who went on to play for Newcastle United and they were captained by former Chelsea and Northern Ireland playerCecil Allan.
Colchester Casuals once had a close relationship with Colchester United whenBenny Fenton was the manager with several of the Casuals players turning out regularly at Colchester United'sLayer Road ground in the Combination League or theSouthern Mid-Week Football League.[7]
The club folded in 1970 due to financial problems and difficulties raising a full team.[8]