Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset
Director⭐⭐🦐
This is 94 year-old Eric Marsden pictured earlier today clutching a copy of his Southend United home debut programme for the match against Norwich City on 25 October 1952.
Eric is the oldest Southend United player alive and our only player alive who played at the old Southend Stadium at Grainger Road before we moved in to Roots Hall in 1955. Further, from research undertaken by a football historian, we understand that Eric is in the top 20 of the current living UK footballers.
Lets scroll back a bit. Back in May we were delighted to have finally caught up with 93 year old Jimmy Thomson who made his Shrimper debut in 1956. Believing Jimmy to be the oldest living SUFC player we declared that on social media and a football historian, researching the oldest living footballers, got in touch to enquire whether we had checked out a couple of other names. So we did .... and found Eric! Via some ancestry website investigations we connected with a family tree and made contact with someone there who informed us that Eric was currently in hospital near Coventry. This tied in with some internet research where on a Crystal Palace website someone had posted that they had seen him three years ago in Tesco near Coventry!
So, address details obtained, we duly wrote to Eric's home address and are immensely thankful to a kind neighbour of Eric's who helps him and his wife Terri as he called us and explained that Eric had recently had a hip operation and was currently convalescing in a home, with the hope that, if he gets fit enough, he will be able to move back home to be with Terri again - they have been married for over 70 years.
As a quick aside, finding Eric led us to undertake a thorough review of all past players. We started checking the list of the UK's oldest people (which lists all persons alive from 107 and up) and, satisfying ourselves that there was no Shrimper on that, we then checked the position for every former player who, if they were alive today, would be aged 106 or less. We are now 100% certain that we have full details.
Eric was born in Bolsover in 1930, and after WWII did his National Service in the army. He started playing football for Winchester City, and it was from there that he was spotted by a Crystal Palace scout and made the big move in to Third Division league football. Eric, a centre forward, made 34 appearances scoring 11 times for the Selhurst Park men before Harry Warren brought him to Southend in October 1952. He had a great start, scoring a brace at Layer Road in a 3-3 draw v Colchester United on 18 October 1952, and made his home debut a week later v Norwich in front of 15,500 at our old ground. He ended up scoring six in 15 appearances by mid-January, but then played no more for us (Eric couldn't recall why!) and signed for Shrewsbury Town in March 1953 for who he made 11 appearances.
Thereafter Eric played non-league football, and was top scorer for Bath City (who oddly Eric played against in the FA Cup during his brief time with us) in the 1954-55 season with 21 goals. He earned his living for many years as a Production Manager for Lockheed, who in effect gave birth to the local works team today known as Leamington FC but were previously known as AP Leamington for a period after Lockheed changed their name to Automotive Products.
In advance of speaking to Eric today we sent him a copy of his SUFC home debut programme kindly given to us by the wonderful folk from Chelmer Programmes. Sadly the prog had its staple removed which then obliterated the name of the Southend number nine on the centre team sheet - Eric played number nine that day! We will keep a look out for a better copy, but nevertheless he was thrilled to receive it and amazed that we had got in touch.
Eric and Terri were keen golfers in their earlier retirement years and Eric still maintains an interest in football, following his local team Coventry City.
SUEPA has had many memorable moments since being founded six years ago, and speaking to Eric today is right up there as a true highlight. He is part of our club's proud history and in many respects as our oldest player alive is the father of it. Like us all, Eric just hopes that our ownership situation can be sorted out so that we can all build for a bright future, with protecting our history and heritage at the very heart of what our club is all about.
Welcome to SUEPA Eric, you are THE TOP MAN!
Eric is the oldest Southend United player alive and our only player alive who played at the old Southend Stadium at Grainger Road before we moved in to Roots Hall in 1955. Further, from research undertaken by a football historian, we understand that Eric is in the top 20 of the current living UK footballers.
Lets scroll back a bit. Back in May we were delighted to have finally caught up with 93 year old Jimmy Thomson who made his Shrimper debut in 1956. Believing Jimmy to be the oldest living SUFC player we declared that on social media and a football historian, researching the oldest living footballers, got in touch to enquire whether we had checked out a couple of other names. So we did .... and found Eric! Via some ancestry website investigations we connected with a family tree and made contact with someone there who informed us that Eric was currently in hospital near Coventry. This tied in with some internet research where on a Crystal Palace website someone had posted that they had seen him three years ago in Tesco near Coventry!
So, address details obtained, we duly wrote to Eric's home address and are immensely thankful to a kind neighbour of Eric's who helps him and his wife Terri as he called us and explained that Eric had recently had a hip operation and was currently convalescing in a home, with the hope that, if he gets fit enough, he will be able to move back home to be with Terri again - they have been married for over 70 years.
As a quick aside, finding Eric led us to undertake a thorough review of all past players. We started checking the list of the UK's oldest people (which lists all persons alive from 107 and up) and, satisfying ourselves that there was no Shrimper on that, we then checked the position for every former player who, if they were alive today, would be aged 106 or less. We are now 100% certain that we have full details.
Eric was born in Bolsover in 1930, and after WWII did his National Service in the army. He started playing football for Winchester City, and it was from there that he was spotted by a Crystal Palace scout and made the big move in to Third Division league football. Eric, a centre forward, made 34 appearances scoring 11 times for the Selhurst Park men before Harry Warren brought him to Southend in October 1952. He had a great start, scoring a brace at Layer Road in a 3-3 draw v Colchester United on 18 October 1952, and made his home debut a week later v Norwich in front of 15,500 at our old ground. He ended up scoring six in 15 appearances by mid-January, but then played no more for us (Eric couldn't recall why!) and signed for Shrewsbury Town in March 1953 for who he made 11 appearances.
Thereafter Eric played non-league football, and was top scorer for Bath City (who oddly Eric played against in the FA Cup during his brief time with us) in the 1954-55 season with 21 goals. He earned his living for many years as a Production Manager for Lockheed, who in effect gave birth to the local works team today known as Leamington FC but were previously known as AP Leamington for a period after Lockheed changed their name to Automotive Products.
In advance of speaking to Eric today we sent him a copy of his SUFC home debut programme kindly given to us by the wonderful folk from Chelmer Programmes. Sadly the prog had its staple removed which then obliterated the name of the Southend number nine on the centre team sheet - Eric played number nine that day! We will keep a look out for a better copy, but nevertheless he was thrilled to receive it and amazed that we had got in touch.
Eric and Terri were keen golfers in their earlier retirement years and Eric still maintains an interest in football, following his local team Coventry City.
SUEPA has had many memorable moments since being founded six years ago, and speaking to Eric today is right up there as a true highlight. He is part of our club's proud history and in many respects as our oldest player alive is the father of it. Like us all, Eric just hopes that our ownership situation can be sorted out so that we can all build for a bright future, with protecting our history and heritage at the very heart of what our club is all about.
Welcome to SUEPA Eric, you are THE TOP MAN!
