Colin James Franks is an English former footballer. At the start of his career he played predominantly as a midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

, but he was increasingly used as a defender

Defender (association football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 towards the end of his career.

Born in Wembley

Wembley

Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...

, Franks started his career as an amateur in the North London and Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

 area, with Boreham Wood

Boreham Wood F.C.

Boreham Wood F.C. are a football club based in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, at Meadow Park football ground. They were established in 1948, and have reached the FA Cup 2nd Round proper twice in their history. For 2011-12 they will play in Conference South...

, Uxbridge

Uxbridge F.C.

Uxbridge Football Club are a football club representing Uxbridge but now based in West Drayton, in the County of Middlesex England. They were established in 1871 and are one of the oldest clubs in the South of England. They were founder members of the Southern League Division Two in 1894 and have...

 and Wealdstone

Wealdstone F.C.

Wealdstone Football Club are an English semi-professional football club who formed in Wealdstone, in the London Borough of Harrow, but are currently based a few miles away in Ruislip, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. At present, the club are members of the Isthmian League Premier Division. They...

. He turned professional in 1969, joining newly-promoted Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 side Watford

Watford F.C.

Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

. Although largely a reserve during his first two seasons at the club, he played a part in Watford's run to the semi-finals of the 1969–70 FA Cup, and played in the third place play-off match

FA Cup Third-fourth place matches

The FA Cup Third-fourth place matches were played to determine the order of third and fourth place in the FA Cup. They were introduced in 1970 replacing the traditional pre-final match between England and Young England. They were generally unpopular and were only played for five seasons...

.

Franks established himself as a regular in the Watford first team in the 1971–72 season with 44 appearances, but his team were unable to stave off relegation to the Third Division

Football League Third Division

The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

. Nonetheless, Franks consolidated on his individual progress in 1972–73, playing all 50 competitive Watford fixtures and finishing second in the inaugural Watford F.C. Player of the Season vote. At the end of the season, he transferred to First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 for a fee of £60,000.

After six years and 150 league appearances for United, Franks joined Canadian North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

 franchise Toronto Blizzard

Toronto Blizzard (NASL)

The Toronto Blizzard were a professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that played in the North American Soccer League.-History:The Toronto Metros joined the NASL in 1971. Their home field was Varsity Stadium....

 for the start of their 1979 season. He played for them in both the North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

 and NASL indoor. He finished his career with a brief spell at Edmonton Drillers.