Colin Collindridge (15 November 1920 – 14 April 2019) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played either as an

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

or a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. Born in Barnsley, the early part of his playing career coincided with

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

but he subsequently represented

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

and

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

Career

Collindridge was working as a miner and playing as an amateur for local side Wombwell Main when he was offered a trial with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

in 1937. Having failed to secure a contract with Wolves, Collindridge signed an amateur contract with

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

the following summer, remaining with the Millers for a season before turning out for Barugh Green, his home-town side in 1938. It was here that Collindridge was spotted by

, who signed him on amateur terms in December 1938, and professionally a month later in January 1939. Collindridge was initially utilised in the reserves and did not make his first team debut until October 1939, by which time

had commenced and competitive football in England had been abandoned. Playing regularly for United in the wartime leagues, Collindridge also represented

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

, Lincoln City and

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

as a guest player during the war. By the end of the war Collindridge was established as a first team choice for Sheffield United and he finally made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut in August 1946 in a 1–0 home loss to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Initially deployed as an

Collindridge was increasingly asked to play as a

during this period, despite it not being his preference. In 1950 Collindridge rejected a move to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

but did eventually sign for

for £12,500 in August 1950. Winning a

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

championship medal in 1950–51, Collindridge remained with Forest for four years before joining

on a free transfer in June 1954. After a further two seasons with City, and with his career winding down, Collindridge joined non-league

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

in 1956 before finishing his career with Arnold St Mary's.

Personal life

Born in the Barugh Green area of

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, Collindridge worked as a miner in Wombwell Main Colliery during his early playing days and continued this role during the early years of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1941 however, Collindridge enlisted in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and was employed as an armourer for the remainder of the conflict. After the end of his playing career Collindridge was involved in the catering trade before retiring to

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collindridge, Colin 1920 births 2019 deaths Footballers from Barnsley English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Wombwell Main F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. wartime guest players Notts County F.C. wartime guest players Lincoln City F.C. wartime guest players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. wartime guest players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Arnold F.C. players English Football League players Royal Air Force personnel of World War II