MAGIC MOMENTS

The club's first season in the Canterbury & District League Premier Division almost produced immediate success. At the death, they were edged into second place by Sentinels...  

Two points separated the clubs at the end of the season..... despite virtually identical goal averages. The Old Boys had paid a high price for two additional drawn games.

 Picture supplied by John Wraight

Nevertheless, it was a highly successful first season at the top with the side coming close to a remarkable treble. They eventually finished runners up in the Senior Challenge Trophy and placed silverware in the cabinet when they lifted the Whitstable Charity Cup....

Whitstable Charity Cup - the replica awarded to team members (From the collection of John Wraight)

It was also a near miss in the Premier Division during 1963/64 with another second place finish. However, it all came right twelve months later..... 

The Premier Division Title 1964/5

After finishing runners up in the two preceding seasons, the club finally lifted the championship in 1964/65. This photo was taken at Church Street in November '64.... 

The team dropped just three points during the entire campaign and averaged over 5 goals per game. The final analysis makes impressive reading....

The championship medals now take pride of place in the cabinets of the players. The  photo below was kindly forwarded by Bob Banks....

Charity Cup Winners 1965/6

1965/66 season was on the verge of becoming the season of what might have been. The club finished in second place in the Premier Division and lost to Chartham in the final of the Senior Challenge Trophy. All that remained was the Whitstable Charity Cup. However, this competition was often a difficult target as it featured not only the top sides from the Canterbury & District League but also impressive outfits from other parts of Kent.

In that 1965/66 final, the Old Boys took on a strong team from Minster (Thanet) and started as outsiders. It was yet another entertaining and high scoring match... and it prompted the local press to label it as one of the best.....  

... with the Old Boys keeping the cup in Whitstable with a 4-3 victory.

Pipped for the Trophy... 1966/67

After winning the Senior Challenge Trophy for the first time in 1963/64, the Canterbury & District League's Cup competition proved elusive during the middle of the decade. After defeat by Chartham in the final of 1965/66, they faced Dragoons in the showpiece at Kingsmead Stadium (Canterbury) in May 1967.

This programme shows a strong Old Boys line up for what turned out to be a remarkable game.... 

Programme scan kindly provided by Alan Hadler

Dragoons made a lightning start to the match and established a  2-0 lead after just 16 minutes. However, by the twenty third minute, it was all square again after Denny Hardy had nodded in a Brian Shinglestone cross and Bob Banks had bundled the ball over the line from a high lob from Shinglestone on the left.

In the end the outcome was decided by two crucial incidents. Shortly before half time, Dave Hill ran onto a through ball from Brian Shinglestone and chipped the ball over the advancing Dragoons keeper. Agonisingly, the shot clipped the inside of the post.

With time running out and extra time the most likely outcome, a long throw eluded Alec Adams in the Old Boys goal and Dragoon's left winger Caple stabbed the ball goalward. It looped gently into the net near the post to give the Canterbury club a 3-2 victory.

Challenge Trophy Win 1968

After two successive cup final defeats, the Old Boys finally brought the Senior Trophy back to Church Street at the end of the 1967/68 season.

Left: Captain John Baker holds the Sampson Trophy aloft Above: How the local papers reported the outcome

Once again, it was a remarkable match at Kingsmead and a high scoring outcome - with the team defeating Faversham-based Brents United 6-4. The Old Boys simply didn't do "0-0"!

The early exchanges of the match were dominated by the Old Boys and they took a deserved lead in the 17th minute when Denny Hardy nodded a corner back across the goal for Alan Howell to head home. It seemed that Whitstable would cruise to a comfortable victory but Brents worked their way into contention with a 25 yard lob that provided an equaliser against the run of play.

Despite this setback, the Old Boys established a morale boosting 2-1 lead at half time - courtesy of a Bobby Townsend penalty after a Brents defender had handled a Dave Hill cross.

The destiny of the trophy was finally decided in the opening twenty minutes of the second period during which six goals were scored. Brents squared the scores at  2-2 with a header, conceded a third to Denny Hardy a minute later and then equalised again from close range.

At 3-3, the Faversham side were clinging on but their resistance was finally crushed with three Old Boys goals in quick succession. In the 60th minute, Denny Hardy scored after running on to a lob from John Newman. Bobby Banks hammered in a cross from the left five minutes later and then added another with a header.

At 6-3 it was over.... even though Brents chalked up a late consolation goal with a fine 30 yard shot two minutes from the final whistle.

The trophy victory  set up a possible league and cup double for the Old Boys. Sadly, it wasn't to be as they finished as runners up in the Canterbury & District League Premier Division. Nevertheless, they did achieve a cup double by lifting the Faversham Charity Cup.  

5-a Side Success in 1970...

The Spring of 1970 saw a new type of football hit the local headlines with a 5-a-side tournament at Whitstable Town FCs Belmont ground. The competition was staged on two pitches and involved no fewer than 47 teams including V V Neroteren from Belgium who happened to be visiting Faversham at the time.

The line up included 12 teams form Whitstable including local rivals such as Whitstable Natives and AMF International. It also embraced a smattering of semi-pro outfits such as Whitstable Town and Canterbury City.

Twelve hours of football were crammed into one Sunday with 8 mini leagues leading to a quarter final knock out stage. In a tough semi final, the Old Boys achieved a hard fought victory over Canterbury City and went on to defeat Aylesham in the final.

Back Row: Beaten finalists Aylesham
Front Row: Winners Whitstable Old Boys

Lifting the trophy was made even more satisfying by  the fact that Aylesham had just pushed the Old Boys into the runner up slot in the Canterbury & District League. 

More High Scoring in '70s Final...

The Old Boys continued their cup exploits into the 1970s. It is here that our records are a little thin but we do know that the side pictured below reached the final of the Canterbury & District League Challenge Trophy at Bretts Sport Ground (Canterbury).

They met the emerging Blean team and, true to form, it was dramatic high scoring match with a sad twist.

The Old Boys raced into a 3-0 lead by half time but were unable to hold on to that substantial advantage. Blean hit form in the second period - notching up 5 goals and ensuring that the trophy remained in Canterbury.