Layer Road's first League game to finish under lights was on August 24th 1959 when 9,689 watched the 2-2 draw with Grimsby.
The main bonus for the season was that Martyn King was on the verge of completing his National Service and was available for every game.
King responded in fine style by equalling McCurley's 30 League goals in-a-season club record including a trio of hat tricks.
United lost just two games at Layer Road but won just three on their travels and finished 1959/60 a creditable 9th in the table.
The 1960/1 season, however, proved disastrous.
Average attendances plummeted from 7,810 to 4,954 as United lost ten home games finishing in 23rd position and suffering relegation to the Fourth Division.
Obtaining just one point from eleven games, including seven straight defeats, the U's hit rock bottom in October 1960 and they never managed to climb out of the bottom four.
Remarkably King still managed to notch 25 League goals including a hat-trick against Chesterfield in the final game of the season that attracted a new all-time low attendance of just 3,141.
United also conceded 101 League goals - the only time that this landmark has been suffered.
Colchester did enjoy some early season success when in the inaugural League Cup competition they comprehensively defeated First Division Newcastle 4-1 at Layer Road in front of 9,130 before bowing out to Southampton in Round Two.
But, at the end of the season, Fenton wielded his relegation axe and the club were, alarmingly, over £3,300 in the red. Out went ten players including Langman, Milligan and Tommy Williams.
United commenced their 1961/2 campaign by going unbeaten in their first nine League games and scored 31 goals in the first eight home games to top the Fourth Division.
Tragedy struck in October 1961.
Whilst The U's were playing at York the young son of full-back Tommy Millar drowned in a garden pond accident. Colchester failed to win any of their next five games and slipped to third in the table.
After a Boxing Day 4-1 defeat at Bradford City, United set their club record victory in the return fixture with The Bantams on December 30th 1961.
Both King and his strike partner Bobby Hunt scored four goals each, and Bobby Hill one, as The U's ran out 9-1 winners.
A 4-0 win at Accrington Stanley saw United regain top spot from Wrexham, but within weeks Accrington folded and United's 3-2 and 4-0 wins were wiped from the records.
Losing at Millwall and drawing at Wrexham cost United the championship. Millwall took the title by one point from runners-up Colchester with 11 defeats on the road costing the U's dearly.
Amongst U's record 104 League goals scored, 78 of them at Layer Road, King broke his own seasonal record with 31 only to be outdone by partner Bobby Hunt who bagged a new record 38 League goals including three hat-tricks - two of which were four goal hauls.
Stability was the key with just 17 players used and eight of those played over 40 of the 44 games possible.
Support was slightly up with an average of 5,341 although the 50 year local disparity reached one of its peaks when Ipswich won the First Division championship.
Despite still being £2,000 in the red, United were not about to sell their prize asset Bobby Hunt when Newcastle came in with a £17,000 offer (about £580,000 today based on the average earnings index).
Colchester made their debut in the new Anglia TV football programme Match of the Week when highlights were shown of the October 13th 1962 Layer Road defeat to Crystal Palace.
Once again, King led the League scoring charts with 26 goals while Bobby Hunt scored 19. A leaky defence, U's conceded 93 goals, meant that mid-table was the best U's could hope for.
They were also unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup by Isthmian League Wimbledon.
The next season proved to be one of change. Out went manager Benny Fenton who took over the manager's role at Orient in November 1963.
Replacing him was former Stoke and England centre-half Neil Franklin.
Franklin had been a regular alongside Billy Wright in the England side just after the War, but blotted his CV when he embarked on a fools gold trip to Colombia to become part of an underworld-funded attempt to attract the World's best players to play in a renegade League.
The competition was not FIFA sanctioned, the financial promises not met and Franklin returned to the UK to face a lengthy FA ban.
His first transfer at Layer Road was to sell Bobby Hunt to First Division-bound Northampton for £20,000 (around £650,000 based on the average earnings index).
Hunt already had 20 goals from 33 League games when he left with King reaching 18 by the end of a disappointing 16th placed campaign. United had claimed another First Division scalp when beating Fulham 5-3 in the League Cup at Layer Road but crashed out to Workington at the Third Round stage.
The biggest surprise came when Peter Wright was not on the retained list.
Playing his entire career as a part-timer Wright set the record for appearances in a United shirt completing 453 League and Cup games scoring 99 goals. He was only 30 at the time of his release.
Franklin also sold King to Wrexham in October 1964. This, and the Hunt sale, did not impress the U's faithful.
Bringing in 14 new players in just a season and a half proved too much of an upheaval for United.
The loss of their prolific strike force was naturally the most devastating blow and only 50 League goals were scored. Inevitably United struggled throughout the season.
Franklin's first signings Derek Trevis and Duncan Forbes were ever-presents with Billy Stark being leading scorer with just 13 League goals.
Colchester were relegated back to the Fourth Division with Franklin having already being given a year's contract extension mid-season.
Average attendances hit an all-time low of 3,655 and the Supporters Club could only muster 997 members - a far cry from the heady days of the late 1940s.
As they did four years previously, United bounced back up from the Fourth Division at the first attempt although it was not until the final day of the season that they sealed promotion.
Franklin brought in Reg Stratton to lead his attack and the forward responded with 17 League goals. United won ten games on their travels, a new club record, and lost just three times at Layer Road.
Colchester led the table at Easter 1966 despite being held twice by rivals Luton with the Layer Road holiday fixture attracting 10,200.
Subsequent defeats to promotion contenders Darlington (twice) and Torquay saw United drop to fourth place prior to the last game of the season.
A disastrous 2-1 defeat at mid-table Newport had U's fans biting their nails as Luton were only a point behind and their game at Chester had kicked off 15 minutes later. In the end the game finished 1-1 and with the U's, Tranmere and the Hatters tied on 56 points it was down to goal average to separate the sides.
Franklin's side pipped Tranmere by 0.08 (equivalent to about 6 goals difference in today's rules).
The season was also notable as player replacements were allowed for the first time.
Ray Price became United's first substitute when he took over from Ted Philips after 85 minutes of the September 18th 1965 home fixture with Rochdale. Gates had improved, with on-the-pitch success, to an average of 5,148.
Franklin boosted his squad with the signings of forwards Peter Bullock and Ken Hodgson. The moves proved profitable as the pair scored 15 and 16 League goals respectively.
Fellow striker Stratton helped himself to 24 goals and it was something of a surprise that U's only finished mid-table.
Franklin suggested that the 1966/7 season would be one of consolidation in readiness for a push for the elusive Second Division place that Colchester desired.
In a fantastic season for FA Cup football, Colchester were dreadful in the League. A difficult trip to Torquay earned United a First Round replay at Layer Road which they won 2-1 to set up a mouth-watering local derby at Chelmsford.
New Writtle Street was packed with 16,400 as United despatched the Southern Leaguers by 2-0.
Once again Layer Road hosted a top flight side as West Bromwich Albion visited in the Third Round. An all ticket crowd of just under 16,000 saw United take an early lead through Stratton only for the Baggies to equalise with a questionable penalty.
Both Stratton and John Mansfield, in the last minute, had the ball in the Albion net but both were dubiously ruled out. United sank by 4-0 at The Hawthorns in the replay watched by 40,008.
With all the attention on the FA Cup, U's League form had dipped. From being within a striking distance of a promotion place, Colchester lost 15 of their remaining 22 games after Boxing Day 1967 winning just once.
Crowds plummeted to an average of 3,993 with a new all-time low of 2,483 watching the final day 5-1 Layer Road annihilation by Peterborough.
Colchester's third relegation in eight seasons was too much and Franklin was sacked just two days after the curtain fell on the forgettable campaign.
Colchester's new manager was Dick Graham. He had led Crystal Palace from the Fourth to the Second Division and his mandate was clear. Graham needed to emulate his work at Selhurst Park.
After seven games and one point Graham savaged his inherited squad, axing six players and selling Duncan Forbes and Derek Trevis for a combined fee of £19,000.
He brought in a number of players including goalkeeper Tony Macedo and former Spurs double-winner Terry Dyson. The U's proceeded to earn 33 points from a possible 42 reaching fourth place.
A disappointing Easter period when they faced rivals Bradford, Halifax and Swansea realised just two draws and United finished 1968/9 in 6th position just four points short of promotion.
Graham then adopted a policy of employing an older more experienced player. He declared: "I believe in signing players who have done something big and giving them a new lease of life."
He chose Bobby Cram, formerly of West Brom, and hitherto playing in Canada, to become his captain for his second season at the helm and paid £5,000 for forward Ken Jones to replace the unfortunate injury-hit Roy Massey.
An eleven game unbeaten home run gave United hope of a promotion push but a crippling injury list, even trainer Dennis Mochan had to dig out his boots, was a bridge too far.
United finished tenth but no-one could have imagined the world fame Graham and his ageing side would acquire as the 1960s ended and the new decade began.
