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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 Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after 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 of 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.
Robert William Mountford was an English footballer who played 277 matches in the Football League for various clubs, scoring 64 goals.
James Scarratt was an English footballer who played on the wing for Burslem Port Vale in the early 1890s.
Harry Washington Mountford was an English footballer who played as a forward for Burslem Port Vale, Everton, Burnley, and Third Lanark. He scored 43 goals in 150 league appearances in a ten-year career in the English Football League.
James H. Ditchfield was an English footballer who played at inside-left for Burslem Port Vale between 1886 and 1896.
James Mason was a 19th-century footballer and referee. He played for Burslem Port Vale and refereed the 1909 FA Cup final.
James Clutton was an English footballer. He made 92 appearances for Burslem Port Vale; 27 of these were friendlies, 29 were in the Football League and 22 in the Midland League.
George Mountford was a footballer who played for Burslem Port Vale in the early 1890s.
Albert James Skinner was an English footballer who played as a full-back for Burslem Port Vale between 1886 and 1893.
Derek Mountford was an English former footballer who played for Port Vale, Crewe Alexandra, Northwich Victoria and Stafford Rangers in the 1950s.
The 1950–51 season was Stoke City's 44th season in the Football League and the 30th in the First Division.
The 1892–93 season was Burslem Port Vale's first season of football in the English Football League. The club were founding members of the Football League Second Division, the First Division having been in operation for four seasons before 1892–93. A learning curve for the club, it marked the first of four seasons of struggle in what was rapidly becoming the second tier of the strongest league in the world. This learning curve was punctuated by the biggest league defeat in the club's history, a 10–0 humiliation in a snowstorm at home to Sheffield United on 10 December 1892, still a Football League record for a home defeat.
The 1905–06 season was Burslem Port Vale's eighth consecutive season of football in the English Football League. It was another season spent struggling at the lower end of the league.
The 1906–07 season was Burslem Port Vale's ninth consecutive season of football in the English Football League. The club resigned from the league on 14 June 1907.
The 1955–56 season was Port Vale's 44th season of football in the English Football League, and their second-successive season in the Second Division. Gaining ten points on their previous season's total, the club progressed well, achieving their best finish since 1933–34. Finishing one place above rivals Stoke City, it was the first time they outperformed Stoke since 1930–31. Part of the promotion-chasing pack at the season's end, they tailed off with four points from six games as Leeds United finished strongly to end up second. Vale's season was built on the defensive strength of the legendary 1953–54 season, along with record-signing England international Eddie Baily.
The 1956–57 season was Port Vale's 45th season of football in the English Football League, and their third-successive season in the Second Division. An unmitigated disaster from start to finish, they were relegated in bottom place with just 22 points from 42 games. It was the end of an era, as the reputation of 'the Steele Curtain' had taken a severe blow, and its architect Freddie Steele left the club in January. The season was considered to be one where the old guard 'cracked', and thus many loyal servants of the club were let go in the summer of 1957, including Ray King, Reg Potts, Stan Turner, Tommy Cheadle, and Stan Smith.
The 1974–75 season was Port Vale's 63rd season of football in the Football League, and their fifth-successive season in the Third Division. It was Roy Sproson's first full season in charge. With cross-town rivals Stoke City competing in Europe and running close for the First Division title, Vale's attendances waned, as they were the third least-supported club in the division. This was despite a promotion challenging season that eventually ended with a sixth-place finish. Vale exited both cup competitions in the opening rounds.
References
- 1 2 3 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 208. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- ↑ James Mountford at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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