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Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in EFL League One. Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a settlement; their name being a reference to the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal. They have never played top-flight football, and hold the record for the most seasons in the English Football League (112) without reaching the first tier. After playing at the Athletic Ground in Cobridge and The Old Recreation Ground in Hanley, the club returned to Burslem when Vale Park was opened in 1950. Outside the ground is a statue to Roy Sproson, who played 842 competitive games for the club. The club's traditional rivals are Stoke City, and games between the two are known as the Potteries derby.
John William Bowman was an English football player and manager.
George Youds (1872–1937) was an English footballer who played at left-back. He played 53 league games in the English Football League for Burslem Port Vale.
Harry Clement Croxton was an English footballer who played as a half-back. He made 206 appearances and scored 11 times for Burslem Port Vale in two spells from 1901 to 1911. He spent 1905 to 1908 at Stoke, making 24 league and cup appearances, scoring one goal.
Joseph Brough was an English footballer. He was also an accomplished cycler and sprinter.
Thomas Davies was an English footballer who played 65 league and cup games at left-back for Burslem Port Vale between 1899 and 1903.
Henry George Platt was a footballer who played at left-back for Burslem Port Vale in the late 1890s.
George Rushton was an English footballer who played on the wing for Burslem Port Vale, Barrow, Brighton & Hove Albion, Hull City, Swindon Town, Brentford, and Goole Town at the start of the 20th century.
Samuel Baddeley was an English footballer. A centre-half, he played for Burslem Port Vale in 1906–07, before switching to Stoke after Vale quit the Football League. Stoke also resigned, and he helped the club to two Southern Football League Division Two titles and one Birmingham & District League title. His brothers, Amos, George, and Tom were all professional footballers.
George Boote was an English football goalkeeper who played in the Football League for Burslem Port Vale and Stoke.
William Spencer Rowley was an English footballer who played as goalkeeper for Stoke in the 1880s and 1890s, also making two appearances for England. He later became Stoke's manager between 1895 and 1897.
George Henry Bateman was an English footballer who played for Burslem Port Vale, Stoke, and Northwich Victoria in the 1880s and 1890s.
The 1900–01 season was Burslem Port Vale's third consecutive season of football in the English Football League. Finishing in ninth place for the second time in three years, the club would have to wait over two decades before they would better such a finish. Vale was a typical mid-table team in 1900–01, with their home form being slightly disappointing compared to teams around them in the table. The team was settled, however, once again poor attendances were an issue.
The 1901–02 season was Burslem Port Vale's fourth consecutive season of football in the English Football League. The season was an unremarkable mid-table affair, however was a positive step for the club as they managed to turn a profit without selling any major players.
George William Holmes was an English footballer who played as a defender for Burslem Port Vale, Merthyr Tydfil, The Wednesday and Wrexham.
George Hewitt was an English footballer who played as an inside-forward for Burslem Port Vale and Luton Town.
The 1888–89 season was Burslem Port Vale's first season and only season of football in The Combination. The league was abandoned before the fixture list was completed, though Vale were in poor form regardless. They exited the FA Cup, Staffordshire Senior Cup and North Staffordshire Challenge Cup in their opening rounds and also struggled in friendlies, the low point being a 3–1 defeat to village team Oswaldtwistle Rovers at the Athletic Ground.
The 1897–98 season was Burslem Port Vale's second season of football in the Midland League. Their league form proved streaky, as they lost seven of their opening nine fixtures but recovered to post nine wins in 12 games from November to March, ending the campaign in fifth-place. However they proved their worth in the cup competitions, particularly so in the FA Cup, beating Small Heath and eventual Football League First Division champions Sheffield United en route to the second round. In the Birmingham Senior Cup they took First Division side West Bromwich Albion to a second replay, whilst they beat Stoke in the semi-finals of the Staffordshire Senior Cup, losing out to West Bromwich Albion in the final. Their success earned them re-election back into the Football League.
Port Vale Football Club, an English association football club based in the town of Burslem, in Stoke-on-Trent, was founded in the late 1870s. In the club's early history, there was no league football, so matches were arranged on an occasional basis, supplemented by cup competitions organised at both local and national level. The club changed its name to Burslem Port Vale in 1884. In 1888, Burslem Port Vale joined the Combination, a league set up to provide organised football for those clubs not invited to join the Football League which was to start the same year. However, the Combination was not well organised, and folded in April 1889 with many fixtures still outstanding. Burslem Port Vale were founder members of the Midland League in 1890, and two years later were elected to the newly formed Second Division of the Football League. They failed re-election in 1896 and spent two seasons in the Midland League, before winning re-election back into the Football League Second Division. However they continued to struggle and folded in 1907. At this stage, North Staffordshire Church League champions Cobridge Church sought permission from the Football Association to change the club's name to Port Vale and bought the old club's ground. This was the start of a 12-year process that saw the newly formed club work its way through the North Staffordshire Federation League, North Staffordshire & District League and The Central League, to secure election into the Football League in October 1919. The club have remained in the Football League since that time, winning the Third Division North in 1929–30 and 1953–54 seasons and the Fourth Division title in 1958–59.
References
- 1 2 3 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 12. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- ↑ George Aytoun at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)