BRYAN BOGGIS
It’s uncommon nowadays for footballers to play in every single League game in a season, and rarer still for them to compete in every single competitive match.
But there was a time when Bryan Boggis, a full back of exceptional speed, tenacity and attacking proficiency, was so indispensable to Cambridge United that he appeared on 173 consecutive team sheets. That total included 129 appearances in the Southern League.
It came as a shock to all parties except manager Roy Kirk when Bryan was dropped for the first time in September 1964, but the status quo was quickly restored and he ended up making 65 appearances that season.
Wisbech-born Bryan, once seemingly immune to injury, suffered damage to a knee the following season and the spell seemed to be broken: he was transferred to his hometown club in October 1965. The club echoed the thoughts of supporters when it declared: “No more popular, loyal and conscientious player than Bryan Boggis ever wore the black and amber colours.”
He had made a total of 249 appearances in all competitions and contributed three goals, including a spectacular 25-yarder in his penultimate match, against Wimbledon at the Abbey.
It was the end of an era for a man who, as a youngster growing up in Gorleston and playing for the town’s club, had excited Aston Villa scouts. He signed professional forms for Villa at the age of 17 but soon moved on to Crystal Palace.
Bryan had been at Selhurst Park for two years when U’s manager Alan Moore spotted him playing in a practice match for Chelmsford City. The Essex club were also keen on the young defender, but it was Moore who succeeded in snapping him up, and, after making his debut at the age of 19 in the opening game of the 1961-62 season, Bryan became an Abbey regular.
He was an ever-present that season as United won the Southern League Cup and the East Anglian Cup. He played a full part once more the following year – the most successful up to that point in Cambridge football history with the U’s finishing as Southern League runners-up to their City neighbours.
You could safely bet your mortgage throughout 1963-64 and 1964-65 that Bryan’s name would appear in the programme. Then came that knee injury and the previously unthinkable departure from Newmarket Road.
Not that he became a stranger to the Abbey Stadium. He returned for goalkeeper Rodney Slack’s benefit match in 1966, became U’s youth team manager in 1970 and even, at the age of 70, turned out in United’s 2012 centenary match.
In between, he managed Wisbech Town and Stevenage Athletic, worked at the Abbey Sports and Social Club and looked back with satisfaction on his part-time work at St Bede’s school, where he helped to develop the career of future Coventry and Wolves star Willie Carr. His later years have been spent back in the Gorleston-Great Yarmouth area, where he ran pubs for many years.
No more dedicated man ever turned out for the U’s.
Watch the Bryan Boggis interviews below recalling his time at the Abbey Stadium and Cambridge United
Bryan Boggis set a club record of 173 consecutive appearances. In nearly 250 games between 1961 and 1965 he excited fans with his speed and willingness to attack.
It’s uncommon nowadays for footballers to play in every single League game in a season, and rarer still for them to compete in every single competitive match.
But there was a time when Bryan Boggis, a full back of exceptional speed, tenacity and attacking proficiency, was so indispensable to Cambridge United that he appeared on 173 consecutive team sheets. That total included 129 appearances in the Southern League.
It came as a shock to all parties except manager Roy Kirk when Bryan was dropped for the first time in September 1964, but the status quo was quickly restored and he ended up making 65 appearances that season.
Wisbech-born Bryan, once seemingly immune to injury, suffered damage to a knee the following season and the spell seemed to be broken: he was transferred to his hometown club in October 1965. The club echoed the thoughts of supporters when it declared: “No more popular, loyal and conscientious player than Bryan Boggis ever wore the black and amber colours.”
He had made a total of 249 appearances in all competitions and contributed three goals, including a spectacular 25-yarder in his penultimate match, against Wimbledon at the Abbey.
It was the end of an era for a man who, as a youngster growing up in Gorleston and playing for the town’s club, had excited Aston Villa scouts. He signed professional forms for Villa at the age of 17 but soon moved on to Crystal Palace.
Bryan had been at Selhurst Park for two years when U’s manager Alan Moore spotted him playing in a practice match for Chelmsford City. The Essex club were also keen on the young defender, but it was Moore who succeeded in snapping him up, and, after making his debut at the age of 19 in the opening game of the 1961-62 season, Bryan became an Abbey regular.
He was an ever-present that season as United won the Southern League Cup and the East Anglian Cup. He played a full part once more the following year – the most successful up to that point in Cambridge football history with the U’s finishing as Southern League runners-up to their City neighbours.
You could safely bet your mortgage throughout 1963-64 and 1964-65 that Bryan’s name would appear in the programme. Then came that knee injury and the previously unthinkable departure from Newmarket Road.
Not that he became a stranger to the Abbey Stadium. He returned for goalkeeper Rodney Slack’s benefit match in 1966, became U’s youth team manager in 1970 and even, at the age of 70, turned out in United’s 2012 centenary match.
In between, he managed Wisbech Town and Stevenage Athletic, worked at the Abbey Sports and Social Club and looked back with satisfaction on his part-time work at St Bede’s school, where he helped to develop the career of future Coventry and Wolves star Willie Carr. His later years have been spent back in the Gorleston-Great Yarmouth area, where he ran pubs for many years.
No more dedicated man ever turned out for the U’s.
Watch the Bryan Boggis interviews below recalling his time at the Abbey Stadium and Cambridge United
Bryan Boggis set a club record of 173 consecutive appearances. In nearly 250 games between 1961 and 1965 he excited fans with his speed and willingness to attack.
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