I have to ask.. is the current #60 Chris Cooke, the same Spook who played Defensive Tackle in the original, George Zentner / Cambridge City days? Someone told me this and I ws amazed that anyone from those days is still playing!

I still have my old training kit hanging in the loft although I last played in 1986 ( at the East of England Showground )

I still see another ex-Cat, Dick Swinscoe, who played linebacker and was the only player to score an offensive touchdown against the all-conquering London Ravens in 1985 ( is that right ? ) - he is now involved in the management of the Peterborough Lions rugby team. Dick and I played rugby at Westwood after retiring from Cats.

Does this answer your question:


from this seasons roster pics

the very same, he does a good line in "motivational" half time team talks these days.

I'm amazed. Next thing, you'll be telling me that Zip is still walking around in his bowler with the stripes over the top.....

Bryan, its good to hear from our early players of the Cats, we have a game in Peterborough next Sunday if you chaps would like to come down and cheer us, am sure you will like this new younger team " except for spook and I " :P

I'll see how that turns out. I may be there anyway because No 2 Son is interested in having a go in the off-season from rugby. No 1 Son races grasstrack bikes and right now we are due at Wisbech that day, but the weather doesn't look promising.

Just as an aside, I attended my first-ever Cats training session just about where you now play, although it looked very different then. The team mainly trained on Midsummer Common but at the start that wasn't settled, and I attended a 'new players trials' at Coldhams Common - although I don't remember going there again.

I wonder where Coach Mike and Coach Paul are now?

if number 2 son fancies popping down to us on a sunday or a thurs evening training that would be cool esp for you, " theirs not many players can say my son plays for the same team as i did " omg how old do you feel now ;)

We have a few rugby player in our ranks from newmarket and cambridge

pm me for details

We don't get that with the rugby because I never did play for Peterborough, I played at Cambridge and also at Westwood ( because I went there with Dick Swinscoe, who played there already, when we retired from football )

mind you no 2 has played for Cambridgeshire and I did that ( fotr County Schoolboys as it then was, no club-houses full of minis those days ) in about 1972!!

the Newmarket connection is nothing new, the original County Cats had a pair of brothers from Newmarket - halfbacks I believe but I stand to be corrected after all this time - Les Buckle the original centre came from Newmarket but I don't believe he was a rugby player.

there were a lot of rugby players in those days, more than not I think

bryan

you may be interested in this thread i've dug out from the archives:

clicky

that's Coach Paul at the end of the row ( left side of the picture ).

I remember that Abbey Stadium game.. the Newmarket half-back brothers I mentioned were indeed , Les and 'little Les'.

I'm pretty sure that #45 is ( was ) 'Zip' of the stripy bowler - I'm sure Chris cooke will know.

it was good to see the team again, after all this time. To tell the truth, it looks much like the Cats of old! Apart from the red uniforms that is... I see they still have the team name on the front but no player names on the back.

Good to see a win, and quite a convincing one at that.

Some things haven't changed at all.. the 'old' 'black-and-white' Cats made effective of use of athletic American receivers and halfbacks ( Warren Sweetman comes to mind ), that hasn't changed, the original 'O' line was smaller and faster than most, and made short work of some of the more tubby and immobile linemen that we tended to find... so not much change there, either.

today makes Cats the front-runners for the Conference Championship, is that correct?

Yes, our destiny is most definetely in our own hands and I believe we face no teams with winning records for the rest of the regular season.
Glad you enjoyed the game, hope the guys provide similar entertainment on the 22nd at Cats field :D

interested as well to see the Colchester Gladiators on the fixture list, another team - or at least a name - from the 'start-up' days.

trawling about the web, I am surprised to find that the red kit was brought in as long ago as 1989. I still have my black #84 shirt and helmet with the original 'bobcat' stickers, I'll photograph them and post them for your archives.

if any of the original kit survives, I'd like a white CAMBRIDGE-lettered shirt - ideally #60 or #61- for my office wall!