Supporters working for Supporters
  • Home
  • About CFU
    • Contact CFU
    • Join CFU
    • About CFU
    • Website Suggestions
    • Trust Board Minutes
    • CFU Trust Rules
    • Meet The CFU Trust Board
    • AGM (CFU) >
      • AGM Minutes 2011
      • AGM Minutes 2012
      • AGM Minutes 2013
      • AGM Minutes 2014
      • AGM Minutes 2015
  • Blog
  • FED - SLO Page
    • FED REMIT
    • FED / SLO Contact Page
    • FED Community page
    • Information / Campaigns
    • FSA Football Supporters' Association
    • United Women Survey
    • How did we do? (Away Fans) Survey
    • Programmes
    • Cambridge City Foodbank
    • Kick It Out
    • Level Playing Fields
    • Fans for Diversity
  • Shop
  • CUFCLottery
  • 100 Years of Coconuts

A foot in both camps

6/1/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
An edited version of this article first appeared in the 24-30 May 2017 issue of the Cambridge Independent.

Andrew Bennett’s definitive history of Cambridge United, Risen from the Dust (available from the CFU store) picks up where the first volume, Newmarket Road Roughs, left off in 1951, and ends with United being elected to the Football League in 1970.

It’s memory-stirring stuff for us old codgers for many reasons, but perhaps the most evocative passages are those that cover the old U’s-City rivalry.

Younger readers will probably struggle with this: back then, the battle for football supremacy in Cambridge meant just as much to supporters as those in Liverpool or Manchester. We lived in a divided city.

Eagerly awaited derbies drew massive crowds, and as a fan you were either a U or a Lilywhite. But there have always been players who were happy to be either.

It started in 1921, when Abbey United loaned top scorer Wally Wilson to Cambridge Town for a big FA Cup tie against Kettering. As United began to rise up the Cambs League, their players started to attract regular attention from the bigger, wealthier Town.

During the 1920s, Bert Langford, Bill ‘Pim’ Stearn, Tom Caldecote, Frank Luff, Cyril Morley, ‘Erstie’ Clements and Harold ‘Darley’ Watson were all tempted to cross the river; at a time of rising unemployment, Town could offer the players off-pitch jobs.

In 1936, striker Harry Mann scored hat-tricks in his first two games for United, whereupon Town snapped him up. The exodus continued before and after World War II as Reg Kimberley, Joe Richardson and Den Smith moved north of the Cam but, once the U’s turned semi-pro in 1947, the flow slowed to a trickle.

Read the full article by clicking here

http://www.100yearsofcoconuts.co.uk/blog/a-foot-in-both-camps

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015

    Categories

    All
    Abbey Stadium
    Abbey Stadium Redevelopment
    Alan Burge
    Cambridge Fans United
    Cambridge United
    Cambridge United Club Chaplain
    Cambridge United Community
    Cambridge United Womens Team
    CFU News
    Coconuts
    CUFC
    CUFCLottery
    CUFC Lottery
    David Burkett
    Diary
    EFL
    Ex Players
    Face In The Crowd
    Foodbank
    Football
    Football General
    Groundhoppers
    Ifollow
    Leo Orobor
    Man Of The Match
    Match Report
    Non-League
    Our New Players
    Season Ticket
    Supporters
    Supporters Mental Health Liaison Office
    UK Parliament
    You Are Never Alone
    Your Are Never Alone

    Author

    Cambridge Fans United


All Content on this Website remains the property and copyright of Cambridge Fans United and may not be reproduced or used without written permission.
Thanks are given to Cambridge United Football Club who have kindly given their permission to use their images and photographs on this site.
See our Privacy Policy.