1936–37 Port Vale F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Port Vale 1936–37 Warney Cresswell Frank Huntbach Old Recreation Ground Football League Third Division North 11th (44 points) FA Cup Third Round(eliminated by Sheffield Wednesday) Football League Third Division North Cup Semi-finals(eliminated by Chester) Tommy Ward (14) Tommy Ward (18) 12,950 vs. Chester, 5 December 1936 2,148 vs. Rochdale, 17 April 1937 7,298 4–0 (twice) and 5–1 1–7 vs. Mansfield Town, 27 March 1937 _white stripes _band_white ffffff ffffff ffffff 000000 000000 1935–36 1937–38 The 1936–37 season was Port Vale's 31st season of football in the English Football League and their first season (second overall) back in the Third Division North following their relegation from the Second Division.Kent Jeff The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale Witan Books 1990 124–150 From Glory to Despair (1929–1939) 978-0-9508981-4-8 Under newly appointed manager Warney Cresswell, Vale aimed to bounce back at the first attempt, but ultimately finished 11th in the Third Division North with 44 points, well short of promotion contention. Vale's campaign had its ups and downs — most notably a mid-season unbeaten league run of 13 games between late October and early January, which rallied them near the promotion places before form tapered off in the final third of the season. Their league season peaked with emphatic wins including 5–1 over Mansfield Town, 4–0 over Chester (their largest attendance at home, 12,950), and another 4–0 victory vs. Chester earlier in December. Leading the attack was Tommy Ward, the club's top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions (14 in the league), delivering a reliable goals return in turbulent times. In the FA Cup, Vale were knocked out in the Third Round — a modest cup run that ended without fanfare. Off the pitch, Warney Cresswell implemented modern training methods — as described in contemporary accounts — including rigorous fitness routines and team bonding activities, as well as making several targeted signings. The integrated strategy helped Vale briefly challenge near the top—but consistency proved elusive, and Cresswell departed at season's end. 200px|thumb|right|Chairman Frank Huntbach. Overview Third Division North During the pre-season build-up, former England international full-back Warney Cresswell was appointed as manager-coach, filling a position which had remained vacant since September 1936. Described as 'a very knowledgeable man about football', he increased the playing staff to twenty, signing winger Gerry Kelly (Chester); right-half Tommy Ward (Grimsby Town); and left-half Spencer Evans (Altrincham). Cresswell also began running the players and pushing them in the gym, to get them fit for the season. In between heavy training sessions, he encouraged the players to relax with snooker and billiards competitions. The club also decided to introduce a new strip of white shirts and black shorts, a look they retain to this day. The season opened with two defeats, as Vale found it tough to acclimatize to third-tier football, their 3–1 home defeat to Hull City came despite them doing the double over the "Tigers" the previous season. Following this, George Stabb transferred to Bradford Park Avenue, in a deal which saw Tom Nolan return to the Old Recreation Ground. Nolan scored on his second debut on 12 September, a 2–2 draw at home to Darlington. Two days later, Vale fell to a 5–1 defeat at Oldham Athletic. Continuing their poor form, by the end of September, they had fallen to seventh from bottom. This prompted Cresswell to sign inside-forward Alfred Dickinson from Everton. On 26 September, Nolan scored a hat-trick past Stockport County. Still, the Vale would have to wait a little longer before getting into their stride. Their poor form concluded with a 5–2 defeat at Carlisle United on 17 October, which was in part due to Arthur Caldwell leaving the game injured. Seven changes were made for the 24 October win over Hartlepools United, and the wait would be worth it, as Vale then went on a 13-game unbeaten run. Nevertheless, Cresswell continued to travel the country in the hunt for talented young amateurs. By the end of October the 40,000 Shilling Fund completed its mission. Michael Curley and George Heywood were judged as surplus to requirements, and moved on to Colwyn Bay and Southport respectively. Fred Obrey also proved to be a revelation in the centre of the pitch. On 21 November, Vale beat Mansfield Town by five goals to one.Fielding Rob Press clippings of Port Vale’s first game against Mansfield in 1936 https://www.onevalefan.co.uk/2026/10/press-clippings-of-port-vales-first-game-against-mansfield-in-1936/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=press-clippings-of-port-vales-first-game-against-mansfield-in-1936 4 October 2026 onevalefan 4 October 2026 They held league leaders Chester to a goalless draw seven days later. Vale beat Chester by four clear goals in the return fixture, with Ward claiming a hat-trick. Hull City scored a late equaliser to deny Vale a 1–0 win on Boxing Day. On 2 January, Vale won 4–2 at home to Gateshead to move up to fourth in the table. Vale lost their unbeaten run – 1–0 at struggling Darlington's Feethams. The Vale were then in indifferent form for the remainder of the season, as their promotion hopes petered away. These hopes were extinguished with three successive defeats starting from 27 February. On 27 March, a heavy 7–1 defeat was recorded to Mansfield Town at Field Mill. Cresswell's contract was cancelled by mutual consent, and he quickly took up the management reins at Third Division South side Northampton Town. They finished in eleventh position with 44 points. They were 16 points short of promotion and twelve points clear of the re-election zones. With 58 goals scored, they had the third weakest attack in the division and had almost half the tally of runners-up Lincoln City. Finances On the financial side, a profit of £401 was made, though £1,923 of income came through the Shilling Fund. Gate receipts had tailed off by another £1,065, whilst the wage bill was trimmed to £5,656 and a transfer credit of £465 was made. 14 players departed at the season's end, including: Ken Gunn (sold to Creswell's Northampton Town); Eric Hayward (sold to Blackpool); goalkeeper Allan Todd (refused terms and was transferred to Nottingham Forest); 14-year club veteran Roger Jones (retirement); and Gerry Kelly (signed with Southampton). The club also petitioned the Football League for a switch to the Third Division South, where gates were believed to be higher, however, the League replied that circumstance and not applications determined where clubs were placed – despite this Mansfield Town were the ones transferred, Mansfield being a town some 40 mi north of Stoke-on-Trent. Cup competitions In the FA Cup, they fell in the third round to First Division Sheffield Wednesday with a 2–0 defeat at Hillsborough, having been forced to play six reserves due to injury. In the short-lived Football League Third Division North Cup, the club progressed to the semi-finals with victories over Mansfield Town (2–0), Stockport County (4–0), and Rotherham United (1–0); where they lost 3–0 to Chester. Attendances of around 100 exemplified the lack of interest in the competition. Results Football League Third Division North 1936–37 Football League League table Third Division North y PVA Results by matchday table b Round Ground H/A/A/H/H/A/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/A/H/H/A/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/H/A/A/H/H/A/H Result L/L/W/W/D/L/L/W/L/D/L/W/D/W/W/W/D/W/D/W/W/D/D/W/L/W/L/L/W/W/W/L/L/L/W/D/L/L/D/D/L/W Position 18/21/17/9/12/13/16/11/15/14/18/14/13/13/13/9/8/6/6/5/5/5/5/4/5/5/6/6/5/4/4/4/6/5/4/4/6/6/6/7/11/11 Points 0p/0p/2p/4p/5p/5p/5p/7p/7p/8p/8p/10p/11p/13p/15p/17p/18p/20p/21p/23p/25p/26p/27p/29p/29p/31p/31p/31p/33p/35p/37p/37p/37p/37p/39p/40p/40p/40p/41p/42p/42p/44p Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss green1 red1 StattoPort Vale 1936–1937 : Results & Fixtures https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064034/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/port-vale/1936-1937/results 4 March 2016 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012. Matches 1 29 August 1936 15:15 BST Port Vale 1–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-hull-city-29-august-1936-150818/ Hull City Miller Mayson 8 65 Spivey 75 Old Recreation Ground Hanley 9,207 2 2 September 1936 New Brighton 2–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/new-brighton-v-port-vale-02-september-1936-150831/ Port Vale Sandheys Park New Brighton, Merseyside 4,522 3 5 September 1936 Gateshead 0–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/gateshead-v-port-vale-05-september-1936-150837/ Port Vale Rhodes Redheugh Park Gateshead 4,538 4 7 September 1936 Port Vale 3–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-new-brighton-07-september-1936-150848/ New Brighton Roberts Rhodes Old Recreation Ground Hanley 6,096 5 12 September 1936 Port Vale 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-darlington-12-september-1936-150862/ Darlington Caldwell Nolan Old Recreation Ground Hanley 7,628 6 14 September 1936 Oldham Athletic 5–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/oldham-athletic-v-port-vale-14-september-1936-150867/ Port Vale Roberts Boundary Park Oldham 3,622 7 19 September 1936 15:15 BST Wrexham 1–0 L https://www.wrexhamafcarchive.co.uk/matchdetails.php?id=6031 Port Vale Mitchell 39 Racecourse Ground Wrexham R.S. Warr N.L. Smith & H Hartles 7,746 8 26 September 1936 Port Vale 3–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-stockport-county-26-september-1936-150891/ Stockport County Nolan Old Recreation Ground Hanley F Percy 9,407 9 3 October 1936 Rotherham United 2–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/rotherham-united-v-port-vale-03-october-1936-150900/ Port Vale Millmoor Rotherham 7,032 10 10 October 1936 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-york-city-10-october-1936-150915/ York City Caldwell Old Recreation Ground Hanley 7,627 11 17 October 1936 Carlisle United 5–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/carlisle-united-v-port-vale-17-october-1936-150918/ Port Vale Nolan Rhodes Brunton Park Carlisle 4,691 12 24 October 1936 Port Vale 1–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-hartlepools-united-24-october-1936-150935/ Hartlepools United Roberts Old Recreation Ground Hanley I Caswell 6,659 13 31 October 1936 Southport 3–3 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/southport-v-port-vale-31-october-1936-150947/ Port Vale Roberts Nolan Ash Lane Southport 7,483 14 7 November 1936 Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-tranmere-rovers-07-november-1936-150957/ Tranmere Rovers Roberts Nolan Old Recreation Ground Hanley 6,551 15 14 November 1936 Halifax Town 0–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/halifax-town-v-port-vale-14-november-1936-150965/ Port Vale Goodfellow The Shay Halifax, West Yorkshire 7,443 16 21 November 1936 Port Vale 5–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-mansfield-town-21-november-1936-150979/ Mansfield Town Jones Ward Dean Atkinson Old Recreation Ground Hanley 8,983 17 28 November 1936 Chester 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/chester-v-port-vale-28-november-1936-150983/ Port Vale Sealand Road Chester 7,616 18 5 December 1936 Port Vale 4–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-chester-05-december-1936-150991/ Chester Ward Rhodes pen. Old Recreation Ground Hanley 12,950 19 12 December 1936 Rochdale 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/rochdale-v-port-vale-12-december-1936-150996/ Port Vale Spotland Stadium Rochdale 2,218 20 19 December 1936 Port Vale 3–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-barrow-19-december-1936-151005/ Barrow Nolan Kelly Old Recreation Ground Hanley 8,431 21 25 December 1936 Accrington Stanley 2–3 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/accrington-stanley-v-port-vale-25-december-1936-151009/ Port Vale Ward Jones Peel Park Accrington 5,997 22 26 December 1936 14:15 GMT Hull City 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/hull-city-v-port-vale-26-december-1936-151025/ Port Vale Bell 88 Ward Anlaby Road Kingston upon Hull 14,928 23 28 December 1936 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-accrington-stanley-28-december-1936-151036/ Accrington Stanley Ward Old Recreation Ground Hanley 8,030 24 2 January 1937 Port Vale 4–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-gateshead-02-january-1937-151053/ Gateshead Ward Dean Old Recreation Ground Hanley 8,472 25 9 January 1937 Darlington 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/darlington-v-port-vale-09-january-1937-151060/ Port Vale Feethams Darlington 5,177 26 20 January 1937 Crewe Alexandra 0–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/crewe-alexandra-v-port-vale-20-january-1937-151076/ Port Vale Kelly Gresty Road Crewe 2,059 27 23 January 1937 14:45 GMT Port Vale 0–3 L https://www.wrexhamafcarchive.co.uk/matchdetails.php?id=6052 Wrexham Lapham 22 Lawrence 63 Burgon 78 Old Recreation Ground Hanley R.S. Warr 7,432 28 30 January 1937 15:00 GMT Stockport County 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/stockport-county-v-port-vale-30-january-1937-151093/ Port Vale Oxley Edgeley Park Stockport F Percy 10,690 29 6 February 1937 Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-rotherham-united-06-february-1937-151107/ Rotherham United Dean Rhodes Old Recreation Ground Hanley 7,440 30 13 February 1937 York City 1–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/york-city-v-port-vale-13-february-1937-151120/ Port Vale Obrey Jones Bootham Crescent York 4,241 31 20 February 1937 Port Vale 1–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-carlisle-united-20-february-1937-151128/ Carlisle United Ward Old Recreation Ground Hanley 6,585 32 27 February 1937 Hartlepools United 2–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/hartlepools-united-v-port-vale-27-february-1937-151136/ Port Vale English Victoria Park Hartlepool I Caswell 2,645 33 6 March 1937 Port Vale 0–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-southport-06-march-1937-151148/ Southport Old Recreation Ground Hanley 6,986 34 13 March 1937 Tranmere Rovers 4–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/tranmere-rovers-v-port-vale-13-march-1937-151160/ Port Vale Ward Prenton Park Prenton 5,732 35 20 March 1937 Port Vale 3–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-halifax-town-20-march-1937-151170/ Halifax Town Jones Old Recreation Ground Hanley 8,815 36 26 March 1937 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-lincoln-city-26-march-1937-151180/ Lincoln City Dean Old Recreation Ground Hanley 6,243 37 27 March 1937 Mansfield Town 7–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/mansfield-town-v-port-vale-27-march-1937-151191/ Port Vale Anderson Harston Wood Jones Field Mill Mansfield 6,348 38 29 March 1937 Lincoln City 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/lincoln-city-v-port-vale-29-march-1937-151202/ Port Vale Sincil Bank Lincoln 13,715 39 3 April 1937 Port Vale 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-crewe-alexandra-03-april-1937-151215/ Crewe Alexandra Old Recreation Ground Hanley 6,365 40 17 April 1937 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-rochdale-17-april-1937-151241/ Rochdale Nolan Hunt Old Recreation Ground Hanley 2,148 41 24 April 1937 Barrow 3–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/barrow-v-port-vale-24-april-1937-151252/ Port Vale Nolan Holker Street Barrow-in-Furness 4,298 42 1 May 1937 Port Vale 1–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-oldham-athletic-01-may-1937-151270/ Oldham Athletic Roberts Old Recreation Ground Hanley 2,353 FA Cup 1936–37 FA Cup R3 16 January 1937 Sheffield Wednesday 2–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/sheffield-wednesday-v-port-vale-16-january-1937-208800/ Port Vale Drury Robinson Hillsborough Stadium Owlerton 27,450 Third Division North Cup R1 11 November 1936 Mansfield Town 0–2 W Port Vale Ward Field Mill Mansfield 1,000 R2 8 February 1937 Port Vale 4–0 W Stockport County Ward Evans pen. Tunnicliffe Old Recreation Ground Hanley 100+ R3 8 March 1937 Port Vale 1–0 W Rotherham United Nolan Old Recreation Ground Hanley 1,000 Semi-final 10 April 1937 Chester 3–0 L Port Vale Sealand Road Chester Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward Third Division North FA Cup Third Division North Cup GK SCO Allan Todd 39 0 0 0 4 0 FB ENG George Heywood 2 0 0 0 0 0 FB ENG Bill Wright 0 0 0 0 0 0 HB ENG Edwin Blunt 0 0 0 0 0 0 HB WAL 1807 Spencer Evans 34 0 1 0 3 1 HB ENG Harry Griffiths 8 0 0 0 0 0 HB SCO Ken Gunn 37 0 0 0 3 0 HB ENG Eric Hayward 18 0 1 0 2 0 HB ENG Roger Jones 36 9 1 0 2 0 HB ENG Fred Obrey 29 1 1 0 3 0 HB ENG Trevor Rhodes 33 5 0 0 3 0 HB ENG Tommy Ward 27 14 1 0 4 4 FW ENG Percy Adams 1 0 0 0 0 0 FW ENG Arthur Caldwell 13 2 0 0 1 0 FW ENG Arthur Cumberlidge 8 0 0 0 1 0 FW ENG Luke Dean 13 4 0 0 1 0 FW ENG Arthur Ford 3 0 0 0 1 0 FW ENG Gerry Kelly 20 2 1 0 0 0 FW ENG Tom Nolan 37 11 1 0 3 1 FW ENG Jack Roberts 15 8 0 0 1 0 FW ENG Billy Tunnicliffe 2 0 0 0 2 0 |- |colspan="14"|Players who featured but departed the club during the season: GK WAL 1807 John Jones 3 0 1 0 0 0 FB ENG Claude Barrett 19 0 0 0 0 0 FB ENG Roderick Welsh 17 0 1 0 3 0 HB ENG Michael Curley 3 0 0 0 0 0 HB ENG Wilf Smith 1 0 0 0 0 0 FW WAL 1807 Alfred Dickinson 5 0 0 0 0 0 FW ENG Syd Goodfellow 16 1 0 0 0 0 FW ENG Jack Harrison 2 0 0 0 2 0 FW SCO Peter Miller 13 1 1 0 3 0 FW ENG Frank Ryder 6 0 1 0 1 0 FW ENG George Stabb 2 0 0 0 0 0 |} Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameThird Division NorthFA CupNorthern CupTotal1HBEnglandTommy Ward1404182FWEnglandTom Nolan1101123HBEnglandRoger Jones90094FWEnglandJack Roberts80085HBEnglandTrevor Rhodes50056FWEnglandLuke Dean40047FWEnglandArthur Caldwell2002–FWEnglandGerry Kelly20028FWScotlandPeter Miller1001–FWEnglandSyd Goodfellow1001–FWEnglandBilly Tunnicliffe0011–HBEnglandFred Obrey1001–HBWales 1807Spencer Evans0011TOTALS580765 Transfers Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. May 1936 FW ENG Jack Harrison Sneyd Colliery Free transfer Kent Jeff Port Vale Personalities Witan Books 1996 0-9529152-0-0 June 1936 FB ENG Claude Barrett Bradford Park Avenue Free transfer June 1936 FW ENG Gerry Kelly Chester 'Substantial' June 1936 FW SCO Peter Miller Rotherham United Free transfer June 1936 HB ENG Tommy Ward Grimsby Town Free transfer July 1936 HB WAL 1807 Spencer Evans Altrincham Free transfer August 1936 FW ENG Arthur Ford Wolverhampton Wanderers Free transfer September 1936 FW WAL 1807 Alfred Dickinson Everton Free transfer September 1936 FW ENG Tom Nolan Bradford Park Avenue Exchange October 1936 FW ENG Syd Goodfellow Silverdale Free transfer Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. September 1936 HB ENG George Stabb Bradford Park Avenue Free transfer October 1936 FW WAL 1807 Alfred Dickinson Everton Free transfer October 1936 HB ENG Wilf Smith Sneyd Colliery Free transfer November 1936 HB ENG Michael Curley Colwyn Bay Free transfer November 1936 FB ENG Roderick Welsh Southport Free transfer April 1937 FB ENG Claude Barrett York City Free transfer April 1937 FW ENG Syd Goodfellow NIR Glentoran Free transfer April 1937 FW ENG Jack Harrison Released April 1937 GK WAL 1807 John Jones Northampton Town Free transfer April 1937 FW SCO Peter Miller Released April 1937 FW ENG Frank Ryder Released May 1937 HB SCO Ken Gunn Northampton Town Free transfer May 1937 HB ENG Eric Hayward Blackpool Free transfer Summer 1937 HB ENG Roger Jones Released Summer 1937 GK SCO Allan Todd Nottingham Forest Exchange August 1937 FW ENG Luke Dean Northwich Victoria Free transfer August 1937 FW ENG Gerry Kelly Southampton Free transfer References Specific General Kent Jeff The Port Vale Record 1879-1993 Witan Books 1993 978-0-9508981-9-3 Category:Port Vale F.C. seasons Port Vale