FORMER footballers have the chance to enjoy a night of nostalgia.

Ex-players of the well-known St Johns team are being invited to meet up, reminisce and swap stories at a reunion being held at Clacton Rugby Club.

Organisers are hoping more than a hundred players will turn up for the big night on October 15.

St Johns were formed in the 1960s but folded in the early 2000s.

Now a team of former players and officials are working hard to bring old friends back together.

“Hopefully it’ll be a very special and memorable event,” said co-organiser Steve Hunt, who played for St Johns for 40 years.

“So many people played for the club and will have very fond memories of our times together.

“We were regarded as the best intermediate or junior team in the area, after Clacton Town.

“And we had a lot of successes down the years, winning various promotions during our time in the Colchester and North Essex League and the Essex and Suffolk Border League.”

St Johns were named after the church in Great Clacton by a team of three men, including Reg Brown, the well-known fish and chip shop owner (Reg’s restaurant is still going strong in St Johns Road), and the late Reverend Watts, who was the long-serving vicar of St John’s Church.

Over the ensuing years, they graced the likes of the Tendring Hundred League, the Coastal League, the Colchester and North Essex League and the Essex and Suffolk Border League.

They played at Knox Road, Vista Road, Rush Green – prior to Clacton Town moving there – and Eastcliff.

“Initially, the side was set up for players who weren’t good enough to play for other teams but still wanted to play football,” said Hunt.

“In many ways, it was a team of misfits.

“However, younger players soon came along and took over and in the next few decades we had a very decent name on the local football scene.

“We attracted some of the best players in the town and were a friendly, sociable side.

“We were all mates and, because these were long before the days of sponsorship, we regularly held functions to try and raise money for our kit and expenses. Even now I’m always bumping into old players on my travels around Clacton, Harwich and Colchester.

“The club thrived and we soon had enough players to form a reserve side.

“We had such great numbers that we were able to enforce a rule whereby if you didn’t turn up for training on a Wednesday you couldn’t play on the Saturday. I don’t think any local side would be able to do that now.”

Despite their halcyon days, numbers dwindled as the years rolled by and, sadly, the club was forced to fold in the early 2000s.

“It was very unfortunate but inevitable,” said Hunt.

“The club was getting deeper and deeper into debt and the writing was on the wall.”

The reunion starts at 7pm.

Old players are welcome to turn up on the night and are encouraged to bring along old team photos.

There will be an admission charge of £2.

For more information, contact Hunt on 01255 422542.