Colin Waldron (born 22 June 1948) is an English former football defender. He spent thirteen seasons in

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 ...

and two in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: * North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league * North American Soccer League (2011–2017), a former Division II league {{disambig ...

. Waldron spent his youth in

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, w ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

, beginning his career with nearby

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–1 ...

, making 20 appearances. He then joined

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

before the 1967–68 season. Nine games into the season,

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

purchased his contract for £30,000. He made his Burnley debut on 28 October 1967. He quickly became a fixture at centre back and was named captain in his second season with the club. Burnley won the Second Division in 1973 and were invited to play in the

1973 FA Charity Shield The 1973 FA Charity Shield was contested between Burnley and Manchester City in a fixture that took place at Maine Road. For the third consecutive year, neither the reigning Division One champions (Liverpool) nor the reigning FA Cup holders (Sunde ...

in which Waldron scored the winning goal against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

. He ultimately played nine years and 308 games for Burnley before club turmoil in 1976 led the team to release the manager

Jimmy Adamson James Adamson (4 April 1929 – 8 November 2011) was an English professional footballer and football manager. He was born in Ashington, Northumberland. He made 486 appearances for Burnley ranking him sixth in their all-time appearance lis ...

and several players including Waldron. He then moved to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, for whom he made just three appearances before the Adamson-managed

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

purchased his contract. After two years with Sunderland, Waldron moved to the United States to play for the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: * Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. * Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the te ...

. After spells with the

Philadelphia Fury The Philadelphia Fury was an American soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that last competed in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club formerly competed in the American Soccer League and is currently owned ...

and

Atlanta Chiefs The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1973 and again from ...

, he moved back to England to play for

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

References

External links

Profile
at StretfordEnd.co.uk
NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldron, Colin 1946 births Living people Atlanta Chiefs players Bury F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Footballers from Oldham Men's association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Mossley A.F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Philadelphia Fury (1978–1980) players Rochdale A.F.C. players Footballers from Bristol Sunderland A.F.C. players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States