List of Port Vale F.C. players

Last updated November 13, 2024

Port Vale F.C. is an English professional association football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The club was formed in the late 1870s. They took the name Burslem Port Vale in 1884 and dropped the 'Burslem' prefix in 1907. The club joined the English Football League in 1892 as founder members of the Football League Second Division. Though they resigned in 1907, they continued to play in North Staffordshire district leagues and would return to the Football League in 1919. The club's first team has competed in numerous nationally and internationally organised competitions, and all players who have played at least 25 such matches are listed below.

Introduction

More than 500 Port Vale players have appeared in at least 25 senior competitive matches. In the early days, the scarcity of nationally organised competitive football meant players could spend many years with the club while making few such outings. However, to redress this, the list includes appearances in minor cup competitions, such as the Staffordshire Senior Cup, before World War II. Exhibition games (friendlies) were the primary source of games in the early days of the game, so appearances of friendly games during the 19th century are also included. This means that Frank McGinnes is on the list, who recorded 109 goals in 140 matches despite being limited to just 33 goals in 39 Midland League games due to his death due to kidney failure on 25 June 1892, at the age of 22.

Numerous players throughout the club's history have enjoyed long careers. Roy Sproson made 842 appearances for Vale between 1950 and 1972, later becoming manager for three years beginning in 1974. His nephew, Phil Sproson, played 500 games for the club between 1977 and 1989. Wilf Kirkham is the club's record goalscorer, with 164 goals in all competitions and 38 goals in a season. Gareth Ainsworth is the player Vale have both received and spent the highest sum on in the transfer market, £500,000 spent in 1997 with £2,000,000 received as he exited the following year. Chris Birchall is the club's record international cap holder with 27, playing for Trinidad and Tobago between 2001 and 2006, including three appearances in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Others made little impact at the club but were significant figures at other clubs, such as Willie Aitken, who went on to serve as head coach at Juventus.

Key

Name: Players with name in italics were on loan from another club for the duration of their Port Vale career.; Players marked inboldare still playing for the club.; Players known only by their surname (i.e. the initial of their first name is not recorded) are not included.; All statistics are correct up to and including the match played on 12 November 2024.
Nationality: Nationalities are listed for players, where known. Nationality is defined as the country of their international selection, where applicable. Nationalities for those who were not ever called up for international level are defined as their country of birth.; Players highlighted in pink represented their country at senior level whilst at the club.
Position: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
Port Vale career: Port Vale career is defined as the first and last calendar years in which the player was registered as a professional at the club.
Appearances and goals: Appearances and goals comprise those in the English Football League (including play-off games), The Combination, Midland League, North Staffordshire Federation League, North Staffordshire & District League, The Central League, FA Cup, League Cup / EFL Cup, Football League Trophy / EFL Trophy, Anglo-Italian Cup, Debenhams Cup, Supporters' Clubs' Trophy, and Coronation Cup. Minor cup competitions (such as the Staffordshire Senior Cup) may also be included before World War II only. Friendly matches in the 19th century only are included.; Appearances in the 1939–40 Football League season, abandoned after three matches because of the Second World War, are excluded. Wartime league appearances are excluded.

Players with 25 or more appearances

Chris Birchall represented Trinidad and Tobago 27 times whilst at Port Vale. Birchall.JPG — Chris Birchall represented Trinidad and Tobago 27 times whilst at Port Vale.

Name	Nationality	Position	Port Vale career	Appearances	Goals
Roy Sproson	England	DF	1949–1972	842	35
Phil Sproson	England	DF	1977–1989	500	41
Harry Poole	England	FW	1953–1968	499	79
Ray Walker	England	MF	1984–1985 1986–1997	442	43
Andy Porter	England	MF	1986–1998 2004–2006	433	26
Dean Glover	England	DF	1989–1998	431	20
Neil Aspin	England	DF	1989–1999	410	3
Nathan Smith	England	DF	2016–	403	22
Russell Bromage	England	DF	1977–1987	402	15
Terry Miles	England	MF	1955–1968	401	17
Basil Hayward	England	DF	1946–1958	372	58
Stan Steele	England	FW	1955–1961 1961–1965	370	97
Tommy McLaren	Scotland	MF	1967–1977	369	29
Tommy Cheadle	England	DF	1946–1957	368	15
Paul Musselwhite	England	GK	1992–2000	367	0
Robbie Earle	Jamaica	MF	1982–1991	357	90
Martin Foyle	England	FW	1991–2000	356	107
Louis Dodds	England	FW	2008–2016 2018–2019	349	56
Roger Jones	England	MF	1923–1937	346	19
Tom Pope	England	FW	2011–2015 2017–2021	343	115
Bob Connelly	Scotland	MF	1921–1932	341	18
Billy Briscoe	England	FW	1918–1923 1924–1931	331	60
Colin Tartt	England	MF	1972–1977 1981–1985	327	20
Allen Tankard	England	DF	1993–2001	324	13
Jimmy Oakes	England	DF	1923–1933	316	3
John Ridley	England	MF	1973–1978 1982–1985	310	9
Tom Page	England	FW	1920–1929	302	65
John Cunliffe	England	MF	1950–1959	302	55
Reg Potts	England	DF	1945–1957	301	3
Tony Naylor	England	FW	1994–2001	296	90
Albert Leake	England	MF	1950–1961	293	43
Ron Wilson	Scotland	DF	1963–1970	293	5
Micky Cummins	Republic of Ireland	MF	2000–2006	287	34
Wilf Kirkham	England	FW	1923–1929 1932–1933	276	164
Ray King	England	GK	1949–1957	275	0
Ken Hancock	England	GK	1958–1964	273	0
Clint Boulton	England	DF	1965–1971	267	12
Geoff Hunter	England	MF	1981–1987	265	17
George Price	England	FW	1896–1907	263	54
Brian Horton	England	MF	1970–1976	258	37
Billy Heames	England	MF	1897–1904	254	28
George Pilkington	England	DF	2003–2008	253	12
David Worrall	England	MF	2017–2023	248	21
Neil Griffiths	England	DF	1973–1981	248	15
Adam Yates	England	DF	2009–2018	248	5
Mark Goodlad	England	GK	2000–2008	247	0
Stan Turner	England	DF	1949–1957	246	0
Adrian Capes	England	FW	1900–1905 1908–1911	243	89
Billy Elson	England	MF	1886–1894	241	15
Anthony Griffith	Montserrat	MF	2008–2012 2013–2014	237	2
Alan Webb	England	DF	1984–1992	235	3
Jimmy Ditchfield	England	FW	1886–1896	230	85
John James	England	FW	1966–1973	229	44
Bobby Gough	England	FW	1968–1974	229	35
Billy Poulson	England	DF	1879–1891	225	15
Jack Shelton	England	MF	1911–1915	224	8
Billy Reynolds	England	FW	1882–1892	222	104
Darren Hughes	England	DF	1987–1994	222	4
Tom Nolan	England	FW	1931–1935 1936–1940	221	96
Matt Carragher	England	DF	1997–2003	221	2
Mark Grew	England	GK	1986–1992	221	0
Bert Eardley	England	MF	1899–1907 1908–1910	220	40
Simon Mills	England	DF	1987–1994	220	8
John Jeffers	England	MF	1988–1995	219	11
Colin Askey	England	MF	1949–1958	218	23
John Connaughton	England	GK	1974–1980	218	0
Tony Lacey	England	MF	1970–1975	215	9
Darren Beckford	England	FW	1987–1991	214	81
George Heppell	England	GK	1937–1952	213	0
John McCombe	England	DF	2007–2013	211	16
Robin van der Laan	Netherlands	MF	1990–1995	210	27
Mick Hulligan	England	MF	1948–1955	209	23
John Nicholson	England	MF	1961–1965	208	1
Harry Croxton	England	DF	1901–1905 1908–1911	206	11
Jim Beech	England	DF	1894–1902	205	8
Marc Richards	England	FW	2007–2012	202	75
Alan Martin	England	MF	1942–1951	201	30
David Harris	England	DF	1973–1979	201	10
Mick Cullerton	Scotland	FW	1965–1969 1975–1978	200	58
Mick Morris	England	FW	1967–1972	200	25
Kenny Beech	England	MF	1975–1981	198	22
Ken Griffiths	England	FW	1945–1958	196	56
Doug Loft	England	MF	2009–2014	196	19
Selwyn Whalley	England	DF	1953–1966	196	8
George Shenton	England	DF	1927–1936	196	0
Ray Williams	England	FW	1975–1981	194	40
Michael Walsh	England	DF	1998–2007	194	4
Lucien Boullemier	England	DF	1897–1902 1905	193	8
John Brodie	England	DF	1971–1977	193	3
Teddy Bateup	England	GK	1911–1918	193	0
Harry Griffiths	England	DF	1935–1947	192	9
Terry Bailey	England	MF	1974–1978	190	29
Joe Brough	England	FW	1906–1907 1909–1910 1913–1922	189	104
Jack Maddock	England	DF	1923–1931	184	12
Tom Conlon	England	MF	2018–2024	183	19
Bob McCrindle	Scotland	MF	1889–1894	183	6
Peter Pursell	Scotland	DF	1919–1924	183	0
Brian Jackson	England	MF	1958–1962	182	36
Rob Taylor	England	MF	2008–2014	181	21
Ian Bogie	England	MF	1995–2000	180	12
Albert Mullard	England	MF	1951–1956	179	23
Nicky Cross	England	FW	1989–1994	176	43
Chris Birchall	Trinidad and Tobago	MF	2001–2006 2013–2016	175	17
Bob Suart	England	MF	1911–1915	175	13
Harry Pearson	England	DF	1911–1915 1917–1920	175	7
Jack Lowe	England	MF	1923–1928	174	17
Ben Williamson	England	FW	2011–2015	169	27
Stan Palk	England	FW	1948–1952	169	14
David Raine	England	DF	1957–1962	169	1
John Rowland	England	FW	1962–1966	166	43
Wilf Smith	England	MF	1936–1950	164	0
Lee Collins	England	DF	2008–2012	163	4
Alf Bellis	England	MF	1938–1948	158	46
Neville Chamberlain	England	FW	1977–1982	158	41
Billy Paynter	England	FW	2000–2006	158	34
Bill McGarry	England	DF	1945–1951	158	5
Jimmy Todd	Ireland	MF	1946–1953	157	0
Ronnie Allen	England	FW	1946–1950	156	40
Ben Garrity	England	MF	2021–	155	27
Stewart Talbot	England	MF	1994–2000	154	13
Ernest Collinge	England	DF	1921–1926	153	9
Stuart Sharratt	England	GK	1966–1972	152	0
Danny Simpson	England	FW	1896–1903	151	53
Meshach Dean	England	MF	1890–1896	151	42
Steve Brooker	England	FW	2001–2004	151	40
Richard Duffy	Wales	DF	2012–2016	151	1
Sam Collins	England	DF	2002–2006	149	11
Roy Cross	England	DF	1970–1975	148	1
Harry Cotton	England	GK	1901–1905	148	0
Paul Maguire	Scotland	MF	1985–1988	147	27
Stephen McPhee	Scotland	FW	2001–2004	147	44
Trevor Rhodes	England	MF	1933–1938	147	29
George Bateman	England	DF	1882–1886 1887–1890	146	5
Tom Lyons	England	DF	1917–1922	146	3
Bill Summerscales	England	DF	1970–1974	145	6
Keith Ball	England	GK	1968–1972	145	0
Kevin Kent	England	FW	1991–1996	144	7
Scott Brown	England	GK	2018–2021	144	0
Carl Dickinson	England	DF	2013–2016	143	3
Joseph Holyhead	England	MF	1903–1907	142	7
W. E. Powell		DF	1884–1893	142	0
Tom Holford	England	MF	1919–1924	141	9
Frank McGinnes	Scotland	FW	1889–1892	140	109
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson	England	MF	2000–2004	140	36
Peter Swan	England	FW	1991–1994	140	8
Cristian Montaño	Colombia	MF	2017–2021	138	17
Ken Gunn	Scotland	MF	1933–1937	138	10
James Gibbons	England	DF	2016–2022	138	3
Chris Neal	England	GK	2012–2016	138	0
Steve Rowland	Wales	DF	2001–2006	136	1
Billy Beats	England	FW	1892–1895 1906–1907	135	47
Neil Brisco	England	MF	1998–2004	135	2
Dick Evans	England	FW	1894–1899 1904	134	49
Jack Round	England	MF	1930–1935	134	5
Garth Butler	England	DF	1946–1951	134	0
Liam Burns	Northern Ireland	MF	1997–2004	133	1
Ernest Mullineux	England	DF	1900–1904	132	1
Terry Armstrong	England	MF	1976–1979	131	13
Terry Alcock	England	DF	1963–1967 1977–1978	131	2
Luke Joyce	England	MF	2018–2021	131	1
Andy Jones	Wales	FW	1985–1987 1989	129	64
Alan Bennett	England	MF	1949–1957	129	9
Gareth Owen	Wales	DF	2008–2013	129	2
Bill Cope	England	DF	1929–1934	129	0
Lee Mills	England	FW	1995–1998	128	44
Jon McCarthy	Northern Ireland	MF	1995–1997 2002	128	17
Steve Guppy	England	MF	1994–1997	128	13
Leon Legge	England	DF	2018–2022	127	8
Sammy Morgan	Northern Ireland	FW	1970–1973	126	27
Peter Ford	England	DF	1959–1963	126	6
Harry Jones	England	DF	1911–1915	126	0
Andy Hill	England	DF	1995–1998	123	1
Jack Smith	England	MF	1909–1911 1912–1914 1916–1919	122	14
Bill Pointon	England	FW	1941–1949	119	53
Harry Anstiss	England	FW	1927–1931	119	40
Garry Dulson	England	DF	1974–1978	119	3
Jack Roberts	England	FW	1935–1940	118	74
Phil Griffiths	Wales	MF	1926–1931 1939–1945	118	43
Joe Anyon	England	GK	2004–2010	118	0
Lol Hamlett	England	DF	1949–1952	118	0
Gareth Griffiths	England	DF	1995–1998	116	5
Albert Pearson	England	FW	1914–1919 1921–1922	114	29
Gerry Keenan	England	DF	1978–1982	114	7
John King	England	DF	1968–1971	114	0
Paul Bowles	England	DF	1979–1982	113	6
Jack Shields		DF	1886–1890	113	2
Ben Davies	England	GK	1929–1933	112	0
Ian Taylor	England	MF	1992–1994	111	38
Mark Chamberlain	England	MF	1979–1982	110	20
Harry Hodgkinson	England	DF	1879–1888	110	11
Harry Mountford	England	FW	1903–1907	109	31
Ted McDonald	England	MF	1894–1896 1897–1899	109	12
Walter Aveyard	England	FW	1948–1952	108	29
Derek Brownbill	England	FW	1975–1978	108	19
Charlie Simpson	England	MF	1882–1890	107	15
James Hamilton	England	DF	1903–1907	107	0
Bill Bentley	England	DF	1977–1980	106	0
James Wilson	England	FW	2021–2024	105	23
Jock Cameron	Scotland	DF	1913–1914 1916–1919	105	1
Len Birks	England	DF	1920–1924	105	0
Sean Rigg	England	FW	2009–2012	104	18
Bert Llewellyn	England	FW	1960–1963	103	50
Alfred Strange	England	FW	1924–1927	103	29
Jack Hampson	Wales	DF	1921–1924	103	9
Jeff Smith	England	MF	2004–2007	103	7
Vic Rouse	England	MF	1926–1929	103	0
Bob Morton	England	MF	1932–1935	102	20
John Green	England	MF	1967–1971	102	8
Wayne Cegielski	Wales	DF	1982–1985	102	5
Jennison Myrie-Williams	England	MF	2011–2014	101	22
Ian Armstrong	England	MF	2001–2005	101	17
Sagi Burton	Saint Kitts and Nevis	DF	2000–2002	101	4
Arthur Caldwell	England	MF	1935–1939	100	22
David Amoo	England	MF	2019–2022	100	10
Bob Hazell	England	DF	1986–1989	100	2
Johnny Rowe	England	DF	1937–1940	100	0
Mick Mahon	England	MF	1967–1969	99	22
Jimmy Scarratt	England	MF	1891–1895	98	24
Danny Whitaker	England	MF	2006–2008	98	15
Billy Fitchford	England	MF	1914–1923	98	14
Gavin Massey	England	MF	2022–2024	98	4
Tom Coleman		MF	1908–1911	97	29
Peter Farrell	England	MF	1978–1982	97	11
Arthur Cumberlidge	England	MF	1937–1946	97	1
David Riley	England	FW	1987–1990	96	14
John Woodward	England	FW	1973–1975	95	32
Bob Mountford	Australia	FW	1969–1975	95	11
Jimmy Goodfellow	England	MF	1966–1969	95	11
Tommy Widdrington	England	MF	1999–2001 2005	95	8
Alan Boswell	England	GK	1972–1974	95	0
Robert Carter	England	MF	1904–1907	93	25
Barry Siddall	England	GK	1982–1984	93	0
Arthur Jepson	England	GK	1938–1946	92	0
James Clutton	England	DF	1889–1893	92	0
Gary Ford	England	MF	1988–1991	91	13
Alf Walker	England	MF	1911–1914	91	8
Tommy Walker		MF	1891–1893	91	8
Dave Brammer	England	MF	1999–2001 2008–2009	91	4
Trevor Dance	England	GK	1975–1980	91	0
Bob Ramsay	England	DF	1886–1888 1893–1894	90	1
Tom Fern	England	GK	1924–1927	90	0
Tony Loska	England	DF	1971–1973	89	5
Jack Simms	England	MF	1926–1931	88	28
Paul Kerr	England	MF	1992–1993	88	21
Chris Martin	England	GK	2007–2012	88	0
Chris Banks	England	DF	1982–1988	87	1
Luke Rodgers	England	FW	2007–2009	86	20
Jon Bowden	England	MF	1985–1987	86	7
Danny Sonner	Northern Ireland	MF	2005–2007	86	2
Bradley Sandeman	England	DF	1992–1996	86	1
John Potts	England	GK	1934–1936	86	0
Herbert Birchenough	England	GK	1897–1900	86	0
Leon Constantine	England	FW	2005–2007	85	38
Jack Wilkinson	England	FW	1957–1959	84	41
Ernie Moss	England	FW	1981–1983	84	28
Roy Chapman	England	FW	1967–1969	83	37
Alistair Brown	Scotland	FW	1984–1986	83	27
Sam Foley	Republic of Ireland	MF	2015–2017	83	7
Tom Pett	England	MF	2021–2023	83	3
Craig James	England	DF	2004–2006	83	1
Allan Todd	Scotland	GK	1933–1937	83	0
Paul Harsley	England	MF	2006–2008	82	6
Steve Fox	England	MF	1982–1984	82	6
Frank Stokes	England	DF	1898–1901	82	0
Chris Young	England	FW	1913–1915	81	77
Bernie Wright	England	FW	1978–1980	81	24
Ben Purkiss	England	DF	2015–2017	81	0
Stuart Tomlinson	England	GK	2010–2012	81	0
Funso Ojo	Belgium	MF	2022–	80	6
Mal Benning	England	DF	2021–2023	80	6
William Cope	England	DF	1904–1907	80	1
Mark Harrison	England	GK	1980–1982	80	0
A. Meigh		DF	1908–1911	80	0
Ben Davies		FW	1882–1887	79	25
Sam Morsy	Egypt	MF	2010–2013	79	4
Adam Crookes	England	DF	2019 2019–2021	79	1
Jak Alnwick	England	GK	2015–2017	79	0
Cliff Pinchbeck	England	FW	1949–1951	78	40
Noel Kinsey	Wales	FW	1958–1961	78	7
Jack Vickers	England	DF	1933–1936	78	0
Tom Yule	Scotland	MF	1913–1915	77	20
Albert Cook	England	MF	1900–1906 1907 1909–1911	77	10
Sam Whittingham	England	MF	1903–1906	77	3
Spencer Fieldhouse	England	MF	1908–1911	76	14
Michael O'Connor	England	MF	2014–2016	76	12
Mitch Clark	Wales	DF	2018–2019 2020 2020–2021 2023–	76	1
C. McAlpine		DF	1890–1892 1892–1893	76	1
Jonathan Hammond	England	GK	1914–1921	76	0
Jos Randles	England	MF	1885–1899	75	14
Fred Mills	England	MF	1932–1934	75	5
Lewis Haldane	Wales	MF	2009 2009–2010 2010–2012	75	4
Kris Taylor	England	MF	2009–2011	75	4
Wayne Corden	England	MF	1994–2000	75	3
Tommy Lander	England	MF	1897–1902	75	2
Spencer Evans	Wales	DF	1936–1938	75	1
Roderick Welsh	England	DF	1935–1938	75	0
John Davies		GK	1889–1892	75	0
Cliff Portwood	England	MF	1959–1961	74	38
Dean Stokes	England	DF	1993–1998	74	0
Tom Baddeley	England	GK	1893–1896	74	0
George Poyser	England	DF	1931–1934	73	0
Alf Wood	England	MF	1892–1895	72	22
Arthur Masters	England	FW	1937–1939	72	15
Jimmy Hill	Northern Ireland	FW	1965–1968	72	11
Ben Whitfield	England	MF	2017–2018 2018–2019	72	8
James Wootton	England	MF	1919–1922	72	7
Robin Hulbert	England	MF	2004–2008	72	1
Mark McGregor	England	DF	2006–2008	72	0
Howard Matthews	England	GK	1906–1907 1926–1928	72	0
Chris Lines	England	MF	2013–2015	71	4
Lewis Cass	England	DF	2021–2022 2022–2024	71	2
George Abbey	Nigeria	DF	2004–2007	71	1
Arthur Cooper	England	MF	1941–1947	71	1
Connor Ripley	England	GK	2023–	71	0
Dan Jones	England	DF	2021–	71	0
Lewis Ballham	England	FW	1880–1890	70	29
Eamonn O'Keefe	Republic of Ireland	FW	1983–1985	70	19
Antony Kay	England	DF	2017–2019	70	6
Chris Robertson	Scotland	DF	2013–2015	70	6
Alex Smith	England	DF	1999–2001	70	3
W. Perkins		MF	1902–1904	70	3
Joe Barr		DF	1889–1891	70	1
Tony Richards	England	FW	1963–1966	69	31
James Peake		FW	1897–1899 1900–1901	69	30
Ron Futcher	England	FW	1988–1990	69	23
Jimmy McGrath	England	MF	1932–1934	69	11
Norman Hallam	England	MF	1946–1953	69	4
Arthur Rowley	England	MF	1902–1904	69	4
Anthony Grant	Jamaica	MF	2015–2017	69	3
Jonny Brain	England	GK	2003–2006	69	0
Ethan Chislett	South Africa	MF	2023–	68	14
Luke Hannant	England	MF	2018–2019	68	5
Keith Jones	Wales	GK	1957–1959	68	0
Bob Pursell	Scotland	DF	1939–1949	68	0
Bob Pursell	Scotland	DF	1920–1922	68	0
Tom McFarlane	Scotland	DF	1898–1900	68	0
Sam Jennings	England	FW	1929–1931	67	46
Nathan Lowndes	England	FW	2004–2007	67	7
Ron Smith	England	MF	1963–1965	67	7
Connor Hall	England	DF	2022–2023 2024–	67	3
Graham Hawkins	England	DF	1978–1979	67	3
Jim Arnold	England	GK	1985–1986	67	0
Bobby Blood	England	FW	1919–1921	66	47
Frank Cannon	England	FW	1911–1913	66	28
Bill Rowley	England	GK	1884–1886	66	1
Howard Harvey	England	FW	1898–1900	65	30
Andy Nelson	Scotland	MF	1913–1915	65	27
Teddy May	England	MF	1886–1888	65	18
Len Stephenson	England	FW	1955–1957	65	16
Lee Glover	Scotland	FW	1994–1996	65	13
David Howland	Northern Ireland	MF	2008–2010	65	4
Edgar Hood		DF	1909–1915	65	3
Tom Sang	England	MF	2023–	65	1
Sidney Blunt	England	DF	1924–1928	65	1
Terry Lowe	England	DF	1960–1966	65	0
Tom Davies		DF	1899–1903	65	0
Jackie Mudie	Scotland	FW	1963–1967	64	11
Tommy Fraser	England	MF	2009–2011	64	2
Herbert Smith	England	MF	1925–1929	64	0
Alfred Bourne	England	GK	1919–1922	64	0
Tom Simpson		FW	1901–1904	63	23
Stan Smith	England	FW	1950–1957	63	21
Manny Oyeleke	England	MF	2018–2021	63	5
Edgar Bentley	England	DF	1914–1920	63	4
Oshor Williams	England	MF	1984–1986	62	7
Scott Burgess	England	MF	2019–2022	62	4
John Williams	England	DF	1985–1986	62	3
Alan Lamb	Scotland	MF	1977–1978	62	3
Jim Bennett		DF	1911–1918	62	3
Chris Shuker	England	MF	2012–2014	62	2
Paul Edwards	England	MF	2007–2009	62	2
Fred Obrey	England	MF	1936–1938	62	1
James Holdcroft	England	MF	1894–1897	62	0
George Youds	England	DF	1892–1897	62	0
Tommy Ward	England	MF	1936–1938 1939	61	29
Devante Rodney	England	FW	2020–2022	61	13
Ernie Coquet	England	DF	1911–1913	61	5
Ralph Dain	England	DF	1882–1886	61	2
Harry Benson	England	DF	1908–1911	61	0
Albert Pynegar	England	FW	1929–1930	60	35
Arthur Longbottom	England	FW	1961–1963	60	22
Remie Streete	England	DF	2014 2015–2017	60	6
Mark Snijders	Netherlands	DF	1997–2000	60	2
George Eccles	England	DF	1893–1896	60	1
Trevor Brissett	England	DF	1980–1982	60	0
Teddy Peers	Wales	GK	1922–1923	60	0
Arthur McGarry	England	MF	1918–1921	60	0
Albert Cheesebrough	England	FW	1963–1965	59	14
Tom Baxter	England	MF	1929–1931	59	11
Cliff Birks	England	MF	1932–1936	59	7
Byron Moore	England	MF	2014–2016	59	6
Jesse Debrah	England	DF	2023–	59	2
Clayton McDonald	England	DF	2011–2013	59	1
Billy Wootton	England	DF	1925–1932	59	0
Tommy Clare	England	DF	1884 1897 1898–1901	59	0
Morris Jones	England	FW	1939–1947	58	29
Keith Houchen	England	FW	1991–1993	58	12
Gareth Ainsworth	England	MF	1997–1998	58	11
Gary Roberts	England	MF	2010–2011	58	7
Graham Barnett	England	FW	1956–1960	57	37
Michael Husbands	Saint Lucia	FW	2005–2007	57	7
Harry Marshall	England	FW	1930–1932	57	6
Harry Leese	England	DF	1913–1919	57	5
Sam Kelly	England	MF	2015–2017	57	3
Thomas Spilsbury	England	DF	1897–1901	57	1
Chris Pearce	Wales	GK	1983–1986	57	0
Nimper Billings	England	FW	1908–1914	56	27
Jimmy Owen	England	FW	1884–1886	56	17
Jake Taylor	England	MF	2019–2020 2021–2022	56	9
Peter Sutcliffe	England	MF	1977–1978	56	8
Michael Brown	England	MF	2014–2017	56	6
Jimmy Greenhoff	England	FW	1981–1983	56	5
Danny Pugh	England	MF	2017–2019	56	3
Arthur Box	England	GK	1904–1907	56	1
George Hannah	England	MF	1938–1946	56	0
Stewart Littlewood	England	FW	1926–1929 1931–1933	55	35
Jamie Proctor	England	FW	2021–2023	55	15
James Hill	England	MF	1917–1921	55	7
Colin Daniel	England	MF	2014–2016	55	6
Jan Jansson	Sweden	MF	1996–1999	55	6
Ryan McGivern	Northern Ireland	DF	2014–2016	55	0
George Whitcombe	Wales	MF	1926–1930	55	0
JJ Hooper	England	FW	2015–2017	54	10
Adrian Littlejohn	England	FW	2003–2004	54	10
Tony Rougier	Trinidad and Tobago	MF	1999–2000	54	10
Paul Smith	England	MF	1986–1987	54	9
John Ritchie	England	DF	1965–1967	54	4
Uche Ikpeazu	Uganda	FW	2015–2016 2023–2024	54	7
Richard Eyre	England	MF	1995–2001	54	1
Aidan Stone	England	GK	2021–2023	54	0
Ernest Beckett	England	FW	1895–1896 1898–1899	53	17
Akpo Sodje	England	FW	2006–2007	53	16
Stan Edwards	England	MF	1961–1963	53	11
Simon Richman	England	MF	2008–2010	53	5
Brian Taylor	England	MF	1965–1967	53	4
Ernest Perry	England	MF	1919–1921	53	2
Chris Sulley	England	DF	1992–1993	53	1
Arden Maddison	England	DF	1924–1927	53	1
Ray Hancock	England	GK	1948–1956	53	0
Bert Beech		FW	1907–1911	52	36
Cyril Done	England	FW	1954–1957	52	34
Ted Edwards	England	FW	1896–1899	52	18
Jack Moss		MF	1908–1914	52	4
Harry Hubbick	England	DF	1947–1949	52	1
Joe Davis	England	DF	2011–2014 2017–2019	52	0
Billy Cavenor		FW	1909–1910 1911–1912 1913–1914	51	45
Bob Newton	England	FW	1982–1983	51	24
Fred Belfield	England	FW	1893–1899	51	17
Harry Oscroft	England	MF	1959–1961	51	12
Jim Mason		FW	1892–1898	51	9
Theo Robinson	Jamaica	FW	2016 2020–2021	51	8
Jack Mandley	England	MF	1926–1930	51	6
Trevor Wood	Northern Ireland	GK	1988–1994	51	0
Justin Richards	England	FW	2010–2011	50	14
Colin Grainger	England	MF	1961–1964	50	8
Fred Mitcheson	England	FW	1933–1935	50	8
Mark Boyd	England	MF	2002–2004	50	4
Liam Chilvers	England	DF	2011 2012–2014	50	2
John Durnin	England	MF	2001–2003	50	2
Ian Elsby	England	MF	1979–1981	50	1
Harry Prince	England	GK	1941–1943 1944–1949	50	0
Tom Coxon	England	MF	1902–1903 1906–1907	49	17
Bernie Slaven	Republic of Ireland	FW	1993–1994	49	14
Mark Marshall	Jamaica	MF	2014–2015	49	7
Harry Davies	England	FW	1938–1939	49	4
Kevin Finney	England	MF	1987–1991	49	2
Levi Reid	England	MF	2002–2005	49	1
Bert Smith		FW	1885–1888	48	18
Tony Dinning	England	MF	2005–2006	48	5
Peter Griffiths	England	MF	1984–1986	48	5
Jack Sherlock	England	MF	1929–1933	48	3
James Plant	England	MF	2022–	48	2
Tim Parkin	England	DF	1989–1992	48	1
Wayne Ebanks	England	DF	1985–1987	48	0
Jimmy O'Neill	Republic of Ireland	GK	1965–1966	48	0
Len Barber	England	FW	1947–1955	47	12
Mark Cullen	England	FW	2019–2021	47	11
Fred Donaldson	England	DF	1954–1960	47	4
Terry Lees	England	DF	1975–1976	47	2
Sean McClare	England	MF	2001–2003	47	1
Jason Lowe	England	MF	2023–	47	0
Jeff Minton	England	MF	1999–2001	46	8
Keith Chadwick	England	MF	1972–1977	46	7
Danny Glover	England	FW	2007–2010	46	4
Reg Davies	England	GK	1964–1965	46	1
Teddy Morse	England	DF	1895–1898	46	1
W. Morgan		GK	1887–1889	46	0
Eli Adams	England	FW	1912–1913	45	21
Dennis Fidler	England	MF	1960–1961	45	14
Dennis Politic	Romania	MF	2021–2022 2022–2023	45	12
Ken Todd	England	MF	1978–1979	45	9
W. Jones		MF	1890–1893	45	7
Gary Hamson	England	MF	1986–1988	45	4
Billy Tempest	England	MF	1924–1926	45	3
Brad Walker	England	MF	2021–2023	45	2
Arthur Prince	England	MF	1923–1924	45	1
Alex Donald	Scotland	MF	1965–1968	45	0
Harry Aston	England	FW	1886–1887	44	16
William Aitken	Scotland	FW	1919–1920	44	9
Paul Millar	Northern Ireland	MF	1988–1991	44	5
Anthony Gardner	England	DF	1998–2000	44	4
Tommy Gore	England	MF	1983–1984	44	3
Clayton Fortune	England	DF	2005–2006 2006–2007	44	2
Felix Healy	Republic of Ireland	MF	1978–1980	44	2
Ryan Brown	England	DF	2002–2005	44	0
Jack Prince	England	GK	1928–1930	44	0
A-Jay Leitch-Smith	England	FW	2015–2016	43	13
Tom Tippett	England	FW	1931–1933	43	11
Billy Bingham	Northern Ireland	MF	1963–1965	43	7
Billy Agnew	Scotland	FW	1921–1923	43	6
Fred Farrington	England	MF	1888–1894	43	6
Shaun Brisley	England	DF	2019–2021	43	2
Alex Williams	England	GK	1986–1987	43	0
Bob Delgado	Wales	DF	1979–1980	43	0
Joseph Everill		GK	1909–1911	43	0
Abe Heath	England	GK	1897–1898	43	0
Levi Higginson	England	GK	1890–1893	43	0
William Dodds	England	FW	1906–1907	42	14
Dick Danks	England	FW	1887–1894	42	8
William Loverseed	England	FW	1902–1905	42	7
Dan Turner	England	FW	2016–2019	42	3
Marcus Harness	England	MF	2017–2018	42	2
Gordon Logan	Scotland	DF	1967–1970	42	1
Anthony de Freitas	France	MF	2016–2018	42	0
Walter Smith	England	GK	1920–1922	42	0
Bert Fishwick	England	FW	1928–1931	41	15
Ernie Payne	England	FW	1884–1885	41	12
Billy Grassam	Scotland	MF	1899–1900	41	10
Eric Prince	England	FW	1944–1948	41	8
Anton Forrester	England	FW	2016–2018	41	5
Robert Firth	England	MF	1921–1922	41	5
Charlie Davies	Wales	MF	1890–1891	41	5
Paul Beesley	England	DF	1997–1998 1998–1999	41	3
Conor Grant	England	MF	2023–	41	0
Ian Brightwell	England	DF	2002–2004	41	0
Rogier Koordes	Netherlands	MF	1997–1999	41	0
Robert Gillespie	England	FW	1927–1930	40	14
Ashley Vincent	England	FW	2012–2013	40	8
George O'Callaghan	Republic of Ireland	MF	1998–2002	40	4
Ernest Breeze	England	DF	1932–1936	40	0
James Henshall	England	MF	1928–1933	39	6
Michael Tonge	England	MF	2017–2019	39	3
Albert Broadhouse	England	MF	1916–1920	39	3
Dean Delany	England	GK	2000–2004	39	0
John Poole	England	GK	1953–1961	39	0
Dick Allman	England	FW	1903–1905	38	11
Alf Smith		FW	1913–1914 1918	38	6
Will Forrester	England	DF	2022–2023	38	2
Vic Horrocks	England	MF	1905–1907 1911–1912	38	2
Alex Iacovitti	Scotland	DF	2023–2024	38	1
Frédéric Veseli	Albania	DF	2014–2015	38	1
Daniel Jones	England	DF	2013–2014	38	1
Colin Miles	England	DF	2006–2008	38	0
Eric Hayward	England	DF	1934–1937	38	0
Richard O'Kelly	England	FW	1986–1988	37	8
Ville Viljanen	Finland	FW	2000–2001	37	6
Ryan Burge	England	MF	2011–2013	37	3
Len Wootton	England	FW	1945–1947	37	1
Sam Stockley	England	DF	2008–2009	37	0
John Flowers	England	MF	1971–1972	37	0
Joe Frail	England	GK	1891–1894	37	0
Ellis Harrison	Wales	FW	2022–2023	36	11
Don Triner	England	MF	1938–1948	36	10
Arthur Dorrell	England	MF	1931–1932	36	5
Aaron Martin	England	DF	2021–2022	36	3
Connell Rawlinson	Wales	DF	2018–2019	36	2
Dave Barnett	England	DF	1998–1999	36	2
Tim Rawlings	England	MF	1963–1965	36	2
Luke Prosser	England	DF	2005–2010	36	1
Billy Tabram	Wales	MF	1933–1934	36	1
Billy Leech	England	MF	1899–1900	36	1
Alf Bennett	England	GK	1927–1929	36	0
George Stabb	England	FW	1935–1936	35	11
Lee Matthews	England	FW	2004–2006	35	10
Ricky Miller	England	FW	2018–2019	35	6
Rigino Cicilia	Curaçao	FW	2016–2017	35	5
Ryan Loft	England	FW	2023–2024	35	2
Andreas Lipa	Austria	MF	2003–2004	35	2
Paul Bennett	England	MF	1978–1980	35	2
Sam Baddeley	England	MF	1905–1907	35	0
Alfred Maybury	England	GK	1900–1901	35	0
Aaron Lockett	England	FW	1914–1915 1916–1917 1919–1920	34	14
Lee Hughes	England	FW	2013–2014	34	13
J. Tunnicliffe		FW	1907–1911	34	11
John Rogers	England	FW	1976–1977	34	8
George Shelton	England	FW	1916–1920	34	7
Bert Gosnell	England	MF	1912–1913	34	6
Danny Butterworth	England	MF	2022–2023	34	4
John Fallows		MF	1896–1897	34	4
Ralph Barlow	England	MF	1895–1897	34	1
Mark Innes	Scotland	DF	2005–2006	34	0
Rae Ingram	England	DF	2001–2003	34	0
Peter Billing	England	DF	1993–1995	34	0
Harry Cookson	England	FW	1887–1888	33	23
Mark Bright	England	FW	1981–1984	33	11
Tom Butler	England	FW	1922–1923	33	11
Luke Dean	England	FW	1934–1937	33	9
Ben Rhodes		FW	1886–1888	33	7
Roger Smith	England	MF	1965–1966	33	6
Donny Davies	England	MF	1892–1915	33	5
Simon Barker	England	MF	1998–2000	33	3
Steve Harper	England	MF	1987–1989	33	2
Harry Charsley	Republic of Ireland	MF	2022–2023	33	1
B. Coyle		DF	1890–1891	33	1
Arjan van Heusden	Netherlands	GK	1994–1998	33	0
Kyle Perry	England	FW	2008–2009	33	0
Bill Asprey	England	DF	1967–1968	33	0
Tom Cooper	England	DF	1924–1926	33	0
William Murray	England	FW	1911–1912	32	12
Joe Allon	England	FW	1992 1994–1995	32	10
Jim Steel	Scotland	FW	1983–1984	32	7
Mel Machin	England	FW	1962–1966	32	6
Nico Jalink	Netherlands	MF	1991–1992	32	1
Dick Ray	England	DF	1894–1895	32	1
Kjell Knops	Netherlands	DF	2016–2018	32	0
Bert Carberry	Scotland	MF	1957–1958	32	0
Arthur Hartshorne	England	DF	1902–1903	32	0
Lewis Campbell	Scotland	MF	1893–1894	31	15
Johnny Miller	England	MF	1980–1982	31	5
Baylee Dipepa	England	MF	2023–2024	31	3
Keith Lowe	England	DF	2007–2008	31	3
Kevin Kennerley	England	MF	1976–1978	31	2
Tommy Lonsdale	England	GK	1923–1924	31	0
Ernest Chappell		DF	1906–1907 1911–1914	31	0
Hughie Dunn	Scotland	DF	1906–1907	31	0
Jack Smith	England	FW	1947–1948	30	11
Richie Bennett	England	FW	2019–2020	30	7
Derek Tomkinson	England	FW	1949–1951 1952–1955	30	5
Sam Togwell	England	MF	2005–2006	30	4
Kevin Young	England	MF	1983–1984	30	4
James Lawrie	Northern Ireland	FW	2007–2010	30	2
Steve Jones	England	FW	1979–1981	30	2
Freddie Goodwin	England	MF	1972–1973	30	2
Michael Curley	England	MF	1935–1936	30	1
Ryan Lloyd	England	MF	2011–2017 2019–2020	30	0
Albert Skinner	England	DF	1886–1893	30	0
Fred Haycock	England	FW	1911–1912	29	12
Philip Smith	England	FW	1905–1906	29	9
Brian Mills	England	FW	1990–1993	29	5
Ken Wookey	Wales	FW	1969–1970	29	4
Alex Hurst	England	MF	2019–2022	29	2
Andy Shankland	England	FW	1981–1986	29	2
Eric Eastwood	England	MF	1947–1950	29	1
Ryan Boot	England	GK	2013–2018	29	0
Terry Harkin	Northern Ireland	FW	1962–1964	28	12
Martin Henderson	Scotland	FW	1983–1984	28	7
Gavin Tomlin	England	FW	2013–2014	28	6
Roddy Georgeson	Egypt	FW	1966–1967	28	6
James Swarbrick	England	MF	1911–1912	28	4
Tyrone Barnett	England	FW	2017–2019	28	2
Paul Marshall	England	MF	2009 2012	28	1
Sammy Robinson	England	DF	2022–2023	28	0
Jack Stevens	England	GK	2022–2023	28	0
Ross Davidson	England	DF	2008–2010	28	0
Derek Mountford	England	MF	1951–1957	28	0
Jack Smith		MF	1892–1895	28	0
Richard Elston		FW	1887–1888	27	9
George Rushton	England	MF	1901–1902 1903	27	8
Ray Deakin	England	DF	1981–1982	27	7
Enoch Hood	England	FW	1879–1885	27	6
Mipo Odubeko	Republic of Ireland	FW	2022–2023	27	4
Ted Shore	England	MF	1945–1948	27	3
Tom Reid	Scotland	FW	1922–1927	27	3
Frank Sharp	Scotland	MF	1974–1975	27	2
Gavin Gunning	Republic of Ireland	DF	2017–2018	27	1
Craig Rocastle	Grenada	MF	2007–2008	27	1
David Fitzpatrick	England	DF	2020–2021	27	0
Grahame McGifford	England	FW	1977–1978	27	0
Roy Felton	England	DF	1938–1946	27	0
Harry Roberts	England	FW	1930–1931	26	11
J.H. Sproston		MF	1887–1889	26	11
Eddie Baily	England	FW	1956	26	8
David Lowe	England	MF	1992 1994	26	7
Billy Easton	England	FW	1931–1933	26	6
Peter Beadle	England	FW	1998–1999	26	6
Dicky York	England	MF	1931–1932	26	5
Alfie Devine	England	MF	2023–2024	26	3
Ollie Arblaster	England	MF	2023	26	2
Jack Shorrock	England	MF	2022–	26	1
Jerome Thomas	England	MF	2016–2017	26	1
Alf Dark	England	MF	1923–1924	26	1
Kiko	Portugal	DF	2016–2017	26	0
Paulo Tavares	Portugal	MF	2016–2017	26	0
Joe Cardle	England	MF	2005–2008	26	0
Kevin Pilkington	England	GK	1998–2000	26	0
Ronnie Jepson	England	FW	1988–1991	26	0
Kevin Steggles	England	DF	1987–1988	26	0
Andie Newton	England	MF	1919–1921	26	0
G. Martin		DF	1887–1891	26	0
Billy Tunnicliffe	England	MF	1937–1938	25	11
Ryan Taylor	England	DF	2016–2017 2017	25	5
Jack Blackwell	England	FW	1933–1936	25	5
James Reid	England	FW	1899–1900	25	5
Frank Ryder	England	MF	1935–1937	25	4
Zak Mills	England	DF	2020–2021	25	2
Freddie Steele	England	FW	1951–1952	25	2
Charlie Rattray	England	MF	1937–1938	25	2
Archie Dyke	England	MF	1912–1913 1919	25	2
Graham Williams	Wales	MF	1968–1969	25	1
Sam Johnson	England	GK	2011–2017	25	0
Keith Lindsey	England	DF	1971–1973	25	0

Players with fewer than 25 appearances

Related Research Articles

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 (113) 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.

Roy Sproson was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts for Vale between 1950 and 1972. This includes 128 consecutive appearances between April 1954 and March 1957. He is also sixteenth on the all-time Football League appearance list.

In English football, the Potteries derby is the local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Stoke-on-Trent – Port Vale and Stoke City, first contested in 1882. Port Vale plays at Vale Park whilst Stoke play at the bet365 Stadium, the two grounds are separated by roughly 4.3 miles (6.9 km). The fans of each club both consider the other to be their main rivals; this has led to a heated atmosphere at these matches. One study in 2019 ranked it as the joint-28th biggest rivalry in English professional football, level with the Manchester derby. The two teams have met in 92 competitive first-team fixtures, including 44 English Football League, six FA Cup and two Football League Trophy fixtures, with the remaining 40 meetings coming in regional cup competitions.

Henry Poole was an English professional footballer noted for his swerving free kicks. Primarily a half back, he had the third highest number of appearances for Port Vale. He made 499 league and cup appearances for the club in a fifteen-year association from 1953 to 1968. Whilst Poole was at the club, the "Valiants" won the Fourth Division title in 1958–59.

Selwyn Davies Whalley is an English former footballer. A right-back, he was a one club man with a fifteen-year career at Port Vale. He made 196 league and cup appearances for the club before retiring due to a foot injury in May 1966. He helped the club to win the Fourth Division title in 1958–59. He spent most of his career as a part-time player and working as a teacher.

The 1919–20 season was Port Vale's first season of football back in the English Football League. It was their first Football League season at The Old Recreation Ground, and their first season in which they were in the same division as rivals Stoke. The club were also referred to as "the Valiants" for the first time, a nickname coined by chairman Frank Huntbach.

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 1893–94 season was Burslem Port Vale's second consecutive season of football in the English Football League. Winning their opening seven league games, Vale seemed destined for First Division football. However, they won just six of their final 22 games and ended up in mid-table. Their remarkable start to the season has not been equalled by any Vale team to date, and counting the previous season's final game, which was a victory, their streak of eight league wins is still a club record. Vale had remedied their scoring trouble, with five players besting the previous season's top scorer tally of five goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1899–1900 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season</span> Burslem Port Vale 1899–1900 football season

The 1899–1900 season was Burslem Port Vale's second consecutive season of football in the English Football League. Another season of charging to the summit of the Second Division table, only to fall into mid-table obscurity, this time the club suffered from low support and subsequently poor finances. Once again, the team maintained a decent defensive record, only to fail miserably in front of goal – the second-lowest total in the league.

The 1902–03 season was Burslem Port Vale's fifth consecutive season of football in the English Football League. Finishing in ninth place for the second time in three years, it would take just over two decades for the club again to reach the heights of a top ten second-tier finish. Their success was down mainly due to their home form, and in fact, a club record 29 away games without a win began on 17 January 1903. Adrian Capes would become the club's top scorer for the third successive season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1904–05 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season</span> Burslem Port Vale 1904–05 football season

The 1904–05 season was Burslem Port Vale's seventh consecutive season of football in the English Football League. A poor season, the club had to apply (successfully) for re-election. The club had to continue selling their best players to survive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1906–07 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season</span> Burslem Port Vale 1906–07 football season

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 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.

The 1975–76 season was Port Vale's 64th season of football in the Football League, and their sixth-successive season in the Third Division. Manager Roy Sproson brought Mick Cullerton back to Vale Park. Cullerton was to become the top-scorer for the season with 21 goals. However, the ongoing success of rivals Stoke City in winning the League Cup, playing in Europe, and competing at the top of the First Division caused Vale's support to suffer. The loyal support of a few thousand fans was not enough to balance the books, and so Brian Horton was controversially sold to Brighton & Hove Albion for £30,000.

The 1890–91 season was Burslem Port Vale's first season in the newly formed Midland League. They finished in eighth-place, having only picked up two points away from home. They failed to go on any cup runs and were beaten by a club record 12–0 margin by Aston Villa in the Second Round of the Staffordshire Senior Cup. They did, though, share the North Staffordshire Challenge Cup after holding Stoke to a draw in the final.

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 struggled 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

Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities: A Biographical Dictionary of Players, Officials and Supporters. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.
Kent, Jeff (1990). The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
Soccerbase
Neil Brown stat site

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v t e Port Vale Football Club
Honours Matches European record
Club	Head-to-head History Potteries derby Records Seasons
Notable seasons	1953–54 (FA Cup semi-finalists) 2023–24 (current season)
Grounds	Limekin Lane (1876–81) Westport (1881–84) Moorland Road (1884–86) Athletic Ground (1886–1913) Old Recreation Ground (1913–50) Vale Park (1950–present)
People	Managers Player of the Year winners Players with: 25+ appearances 1–24 appearances internationals caps
Category:Port Vale F.C. Portal:Association football Commons:Port Vale F.C.

v t e Lists of male footballers in England by club
Premier League	AFC Bournemouth Arsenal 100+ 25–99 1–24 POTY Aston Villa Brentford 100+ 25–99 1–24 Internationals Hall of Fame POTY Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea 100+ 25–99 1–24 POTY Crystal Palace 100+ POTY Everton 100+ Internationals Hall of Fame Fulham 100+ 25–99 1–24 Ipswich Town 100+ Hall of Fame POTY Leicester City Liverpool 100+ 25–99 1–24 POTY Manchester City 100+ 25–99 1–24 Manchester United 100+ 25–99 1–24 POTY Captains Newcastle United Nottingham Forest 100+ Internationals Southampton 100+ 25–99 1–24 POTY Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Championship	Blackburn Rovers Bristol City Burnley 100+ Internationals Cardiff City 100+ 25–99 1–24 Captains Internationals Coventry City 100+ Internationals POTY Derby County 100+ POTY Hull City Leeds United Luton Town 100+ POTY Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City 100+ 25–99 Hall of Fame POTY Oxford United Plymouth Argyle 100+ POTY Portsmouth Preston North End 100+ POTY Queens Park Rangers Sheffield United 100+ 25–99 Internationals POTY Sheffield Wednesday All Internationals POTY Stoke City 100+ 25–99 1–24 POTY Sunderland Swansea City 100+ Internationals Watford 50+ 1–49 POTY West Bromwich Albion
League One	Barnsley Birmingham City 100+ 25–99 1–24 Blackpool Bolton Wanderers 100+ 25–99 1–24 POTY Bristol Rovers 100+ 25–99 Internationals POTY Burton Albion Cambridge United Charlton Athletic Crawley Town Exeter City Huddersfield Town Leyton Orient Lincoln City 100+ 25–99 Mansfield Town Northampton Town Peterborough United Reading 100+ 25–99 1–24 Internationals POTY Rotherham United Shrewsbury Town Stevenage Stockport County Wigan Athletic Wrexham 100+ 25–99 1–24 Wycombe Wanderers
League Two	Accrington Stanley AFC Wimbledon Barrow Bradford City 50+ 1–49 Bromley Carlisle United Cheltenham Town Chesterfield Colchester United 100+ 25–99 1–24 POTY Crewe Alexandra Doncaster Rovers 100+ 1879–1918 Fleetwood Town Gillingham 50+ 25–49 1–24 Grimsby Town Harrogate Town Milton Keynes Dons Morecambe Newport County Notts County Port Vale 25+ 1–24 POTY Salford City Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers 100+ 1921–1939 1945–present Walsall
Non-League	Bradford (Park Avenue) Bury 100+ 25–99 1–24 Chester 100+ 25–99 1–24 Darlington 100+ 25–99 1–24 Dagenham & Redbridge Nelson Oldham Athletic 100+ 25–99 1–24 Rochdale 100+ 25–99 1–24 Southend United Torquay United Yeovil Town 100+ Internationals York City 100+ 25–99 1–24 POTY
Defunct	Halifax Town Hereford United Macclesfield Town Scarborough Wanderers Wigan Borough
Clubs are grouped by their division in the 2024–25 season. Includes the Welsh clubs where lists have been created. 'POTY' = 'Player of the Year / Season'.