James Colin Harvey was born on the 16th of November 1944 in Fazakerley, Liverpool where he lived in his grandad's council house with five or six living in there and later spent his childhood years living in the shadow of Goodison on Leta Street, one road behind Gwladys Street. His auntie lived there and after the war, there were so few houses left standing that the family went to live with them in the two up, two down, typical Coronation Street-style house. Colin says, "We lived there for about four years with them. I was about four when we first moved there and I was eight when we left. It was perfect for my dad who was a massive Evertonian." Colin signed schoolboy forms for Everton in 1961 after he had been briefly scouted by Liverpool and had also just started a job with the NHS when Harry Cook, the Everton scout, went to the family home and offered him the chance to play for his heroes. First though it was a tough apprenticeship, including sweeping, washing and cleaning first team boots. He recalls, "On a Monday we used to brush the stands and terraces after the game on Saturday. We used to find a few bob in loose change, no notes or anything but a few coins. After brushing up we'd train on the little pitch at the Park End where the car park is now. It was a two year apprenticeship. We'd also clean all the boots in the old boot room and wash the kit." Before those days of carrying out the tasks of a teenage apprentice, Colin had stood in the legendary Boys' Pen alongside his brother Brian watching his beloved team. Afterwards they would wait at the pawn brokers near the ground for their dad Jim, who stood on the Gwladys Street, before they made their way home on the bus to Fazakerley. They once saw the legendary player Dave Hickson on the same bus, he was going home to Aintree after the match. Colin recalls, "My dad got a cigarette packet out of his packet and got him to sign it for me. Imagine that now, a player on a bus!" Four months after watching Harry Catterick’s team win the 1963 league title, having run into Goodison to catch the celebrations when the gates opened with 20 minutes remaining having just clinched the 'B' Team title earlier that day, an 18-year-old Harvey made his Everton debut against Inter Milan at San Siro. He had made his first senior appearance at Goodison against Glasgow Rangers, coming on as a substitute after 35 minutes for the injured Jimmy Gabriel, a match that is not considered a competitive first-team fixture, despite 42,000 watching it!
Winning an FA Cup winners medal in 1966, after scoring the semi-final winner, he was back at Wembley two years later as part of the Toffees team that lost the final against West Brom. A beautiful footballer this boy" commented Kenneth Wolstenholme during the 1968 Cup Final, while Goal magazine called him "a delightful player to watch". He became a part of the famous midfield trio known as the "Holy Trinity", alongside Alan Ball and Howard Kendall, widely regarded as the best midfield of their generation. They were the key components of Everton's Football League First Division winning team in the 1969-70 season. In an interview in the late 1970s, Harry Catterick claimed that in terms of "skill and ability, Colin was the best of the three". It was in fact Colin's superb solo goal which clinched the title at Goodison Park vs West Bromwich Albion which has been described as one of the best ever goals to win the league championship. He also helped Everton win the 1970 FA Charity Shield. Ivan Ponting’s Everton Player by Player book sums up Colin's contribution to Everton simply as a player. "Some Evertonians’ achievements are reflected in the number of great games they played," he wrote. "It is more accurate to measure Colin Harvey’s in terms of great seasons. Never have the Blues been blessed with a footballer who combined technical excellence, long-term consistency and sheer open-hearted willingness to a higher degree than the undemonstrative but monumentally resolute midfielder." No one has given more to Everton than a man whose elegance and technique meant he was referred to as the 'White Pelé' in the 1960s. Captain Brian Labone said, "Colin was so-so quick, so sharp and so good on the ball. He had incredible close-control and was the most gifted of the three midfield darlings." Defender John Hurst said, "In addition to his abilities to shimmy past opponents and pierce defences with his perfectly-weighted passes, Colin was a combative competitor. He loved to patrol the middle of the park with his biting tackles – so much so that we called him 'Snarler'." It remains a source of utter bewilderment amongst Evertonians that Harvey won just one international cap and Kendall didn't win any and that their 1970 Championship success should have been the springboard for Everton greatness but for one reason or another it never happened and injury caught up with Colin Harvey. He joined Sheffield Wednesday in 1974 but after an uneventful stay in Yorkshire was invited back to his spiritual home by Billy Bingham with a remit to coach the youth team. He oversaw the emergence of the likes of Kevin Ratcliffe and Steve McMahon and was promoted to reserve coach in 1981. In 1983, with Howard Kendall now at the helm, Everton were really struggling and it was the promotion of Harvey to the first-team staff that prompted an astonishing revival. Between them, Kendall and Harvey orchestrated two League Championships, an FA Cup and a ECWC during the most glorious period in the club's history. When Kendall left to manage Athletico Bilbao, Colin stepped up to manage Everton and led them to the 1987 Charity Shield before Kendall returned in 1990 as manager and Colin became his assistant. Leaving after Kendall's departure in December 1993 he had a brief spell as assistant manager at Mansfield Town and in November 1994 became assistant to Graeme Sharp at Oldham Athletic. Later he was assistant manager at Burnley to Adrian Heath before appointed Everton's youth coach when Howard Kendall became manager for a third time. Here he nurtured the talent of a certain Wayne Rooney as Everton reached the 2002 FA Youth Cup final.
In 2008 he began working for Bolton Wanderers before in July 2012 it was announced that he had left his chief scouting role after just over four years at the club.
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