Canterbury Junior Football Club
Established – 1923
Current members – 324
Previous names – Canterbury Park (1923)
Home grounds – Canterbury Park, Goodlets Bush, Rosedale Park, Lees Park (current), Croydon Park (current)
Notable members – Sel Piaud* (CDSFA Life Member), Andy Burton* (CDSFA Life member; Founder, first secretary and Life Member of CJFC), Jack Daley (first president), Tom English (first treasurer), Eileen Potter (CDSFA Life Member; CJFC Life Member), Malcolm Jenner (CDSFA Life Member; CJFC Life Member), Joseph Kuchappan* (CDSFA Life Member), Vince Laws* (CDSFA Life Member; CJFC Life Member), Val Laws* (CDSFA Life Member; CJFC Life Member)
Australian representative players - Ron Hughes, Rob Murray, Alan Westwater, Dennis Yaager, Ron Corry, Roy Crowhurst, Ernie Campbell, Peter Katholos, Colin Curran, Tony Pezzano, Ray Neal, Bruce Young.
CJFC Life Members - Frank Knobbs, Ken Parsons Snr, George Iliffe, Eric Cole, Dick Reid, Alan Butcher, Gordon Schomberg, Peter Munton, Bob Butchard, Frank O'Brien, Sonja Ruter, Chris Hill, Frank Colubriale, Bill Thompson, Rita Thomspon, Richard Scaff, Bev Sorrenson, Wendy Sorrenson
Canterbury Junior Football Club (CJFC) was formed in 1923 after a group of enthusiasts – at the initiative of Andy Burton - met and sat on a rock pile situated on a vacant block where Canterbury Hotel now stands.
Jack Daley was elected president, Andy Burton secretary and Tom English treasurer. That year, Hurlstone Park Wanderers was established after encouragement from the Canterbury District Junior Soccer Football Association (CDJSFA), predecessor to the CDSFA.
CJFC was then known as Canterbury Park. Its strip was blue and gold vertical stripes and the club’s home ground was Canterbury Park. To commence the local district competitions, the CDJSFA conducted All Age and under-16 competitions. Canterbury Park won both these competitions.
The club’s growth saw an increase in its number of teams and in 1925, it entered eight teams and acquired Goodlets Bush, now Canterbury Racecourse’s parking area, as its second home ground.
Also in 1925, Roy Crowhurst joined the club’s under-16 team and went on to become the first of its players to represent Australia. CJFC’s growth continued and by 1933, it had won numerous competitions and earned a reputation for being one of the strongest NSW clubs.
In 1936 the CDJSFA formed the first competition for juveniles, with an under-14 competition, in which CJFC finished runners-up to Belmore. Around 1938, Goodlets Bush was taken over by the racecourse and the club’s teams moved back to Canterbury Park.
Two years later, the club acquired Lees Park and until this day, the pleasant pitch remains CJFC’s headquarters. In 1942, with World War II in full swing, most of the club’s senior players were drafted into the Armed Forces, leaving only under-16 and under-14.
With no money, no strip and no footballs, Andy Burton was forced to resign and took up the challenge of Canterbury Bankstown senior State League club. Before leaving, he approached former player Frank Nobbs to control the Canterbury Park. In those days, the club control was a one-man band, with no committees and no volunteers.
But the club did have loyal and dedicated players and by 1946, it was again the district’s premier club. A concerted recruitment campaign saw the number of juniors increase significantly - not only from the local area but also from schools outside the area such as Leichhardt, resulting in the club producing a great crop of juniors which characterised that era.
The club achieved tremendous success with another two players - Ray Neal and Bruce Young – going on to later represent Australia. With times being tough, due to the war, the under-21 side of 1947 had its strip made and donated by local horse trainer Mary Shipton. She used the gold ribbons won by her horses to make the gold ‘V’ on the boys’ strip.
The club won its first official Club Championship in 1947, 1948 and 1949. A string of consecutive Club Championships from 1956 to 1964, saw the club become the dominant force in the Association.
Eight seasons then passed before the club again claimed Club Championships from 1972 to 1975. In 1972, Vince Laws became president. His wife, Val Laws, was already managing the canteen from 1968, continuing up until 2014.
The 80s saw CJFC win many premierships and in particular, its Premier League teams achieving four First Grade and an amazing six consecutive Reserve Grade titles. Two of the club’s greatest achievements on the park also took place that decade.
In 1981 the Premier League squad proved its state-wide superiority by becoming the first and only team from the Association to win the NSW Amateur Cup, followed in 1983 with the runners-up medal.
In 1983, CJFC under-14 team became Champion of Champions and in 1984, the under-16 team won the State Cup, giving CJFC three state titles in four years.
Vince Laws retired as president in 1985, remaining an active member of the club until 2014 when both he and Val stepped back from active roles in the club. But they continued to provide advice on the management and direction of the club.
After a quiet period from 1984 in which the club lost a number of teams, Peter Munton became president, bringing with him his business acumen and strengthening the club.
Ten years later, CJFC fielded 29 teams and during its rebuilding period, achieved outstanding results including a 1990 Premier League 1st Grade Championship, with the side coached by Peter.
In 1993, the club won the District Club Championship and also acquired Croydon Park as its second ground in exchange for vacating Rosedale Park.
This led to construction of a new clubhouse and dressing room facilities at Lees Park. CJFC won the Club Championship again in 1995 and 2015. Sadly, Val and Vince Laws passed away in 2017 and 2020 respectively.
Vince, one of CJFC’s longest continuously-serving officials, was in 1994 presented with a State Award by the NSW Amateur Soccer Federation and in 2008 received a special Football NSW (then Soccer NSW) Award for distinguished service to football and was awarded the George Churchward Medal in 2019.
CJFC continues to be a competitive, family-orientated club, overcoming many challenges over the last decade, while also getting stronger leading up to its 100th anniversary in 2023.
