Wednesday, 26 December 2012

Not every legend is on the pitch

Tributes have been pouring in after club historian Colin Cameron passed away early on Christmas Day. Rick Everitt described him as 'the number one Charlton fan, bar none.' Steve Brown referred to him as Mr Statistic, describing him as a 'fine human being.' From the United States Doug Chapman said, 'A very nice man who possessed more knowledge about the history of Charlton Athletic than anyone else. A virtual walking encyclopedia who loved his club and its supporters.' Phoptographer Tom Morris has said how helpful he was when he needed to identify anything. Fans have talked about his approachability.

In a message to the club, Colin's family have said, 'CAFC was Colin's life for 60 years.' Perhaps one day we can have a small museum at The Valley and dedicate it to him.

Colin was meticulous in his collection of data about Charlton. There was a time when I covered the odd youth team match in the Midlands for the Greenwich Mercury. Charlton won 6-1 at Rushden & Diamonds and Colin questioned me rigorously about whether we had scored the last goal or had it been tipped in by the keeper to make it an own goal.

Charlton Home and Away is one of my most treasured books and the one I would take on a desert island. I often consult it for these posts and the same applies to The Valiant 500. His contributions to the programme were always among the most interesting items. Truly, we will not see his like again.

1 comment:

Phil said...

A nice tribute Wyn. I agree re home and away, it's a must have and one of those books that you can dip in and out of. His passing is very sad and a big loss. RIP Colin.