Germiston Callies was a South African football (soccer) club based in Germiston.

Origins

Founded by Scottish immigrants (mainly railway men and miners) in 1906. The club's original full name was Germiston Caledonian Society Amateur Football Club, the name was changed when the club turned professional in 1959.

Leagues

Callies originally played in the amateur Transvaal League and were quite successful. One of their outstanding players during this period was

Berry Nieuwenhuys Berry Nieuwenhuys, (5 November 1911 – 12 June 1984) was a South African footballer who played predominantly for Liverpool, which he was contracted to from 1933 to 1947. He retired in 1947, returning to South Africa to be employed at the Transv ...

, who later captained Liverpool in the English First Division. Callies won the Transvaal league at least 6 times and the challenge cup 9 times.

NFL

The club joined the professional

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

on its inception in 1959 (and indeed stayed in that league until its demise in 1977). Although Germiston Callies FC reached the Castle Cup final in 1959, they never really fulfilled expectations. They came third in the league two years running, in 1960 and 1961,and in 1962 won the UTC Bowl but that's as good as it got. Their reliance on local talent was a source of pride, but made it increasingly difficult to compete during the 1960s as the top clubs of the NFL filled their ranks with seasoned professionals from overseas. The Callies usually stayed comfortably clear of relegation, though, until the final NFL season in 1977, when they finished last of the 13 teams.

NPSL

When the NFL folded, the club joined the NPSL for a single season, playing under the name Imperial Callies.

Honours

* 1962 – UTC Bowl Winners

Managers

* Donald Burne (1959–1964) * Alfie Boyd (1965–1967) * Mickey Lill (1968–1973, 1977–1979) * Mike Kenning (1974–1976) * Willie Havenga (1978)

References

External links

* http://expro.co.za * http://www.vb-tech.co.za/nflsoccer/club.php?id=germiston * http://www.amethyst.co.za/Germiston/index {{Greater Johannesburg, sports Defunct soccer clubs in South Africa National Football League (South Africa) clubs Soccer clubs in Pretoria 1906 establishments in South Africa 1906 in South African sport Association football clubs established in 1906 Association football clubs disestablished in 1978 Sport in Germiston 1978 disestablishments in South Africa