1896–97 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Burslem Port Vale 1896–97 Sam Gleaves(from 14 December) Secretary Edward Oliver(from 14 December) Athletic Ground Midland League 7th (31 points) FA Cup Fifth Qualification Round(eliminated by Burton Swifts) Birmingham Senior Cup First Round(eliminated by Brierley Hill Alliance) Staffordshire Senior Cup Preliminary Round(eliminated by Dresden United) Wellingborough Cup Semi-finals(eliminated by Wellingborough Town) Staffordshire Senior Charity Cup Winners Dick Evans (12) Dick Evans, Danny Simpson (14 each) 967 8–0 vs. Grantham Rovers, 20 February 1897 1–7 vs. Heanor Town, 5 December 1896 317873 317873 317873 317873 317873 1895–96 1897–98 The 1896–97 season was Burslem Port Vale's first season of football (third overall) back in the Midland League following a four-season stay in the Football League.Kent Jeff The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale Witan Books 1990 26–50 Trying to make the Grade (1888-1898) 0-9508981-4-7 Under the fresh leadership of chairman Edward Oliver and secretary-manager Sam Gleaves (appointed in December), the club finished seventh in a 15-team Midland League with 31 points from 28 matches (14 wins, 3 draws, 11 losses). In cup competitions, Vale were knocked out in the Fifth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup by Burton Swifts, exited at the First Round of the Birmingham Senior Cup (losing to Brierley Hill Alliance), and went out in the Preliminary Round of the Staffordshire Senior Cup, but captured the Staffordshire Senior Charity Cup. They also reached the semi-final of the Wellingborough Town, narrowly losing to Wellingborough Town. Forward Dick Evans claimed the league scoring title for the season with 12 Midland League goals, while both Evans and Danny Simpson ended the campaign as joint top scorers with 14 in all competitions. Vale's form improved markedly in the second half of the campaign after a precarious start, which prompted calls for dissolution early on. A new committee and the revival of financial support, bolstered by a public share issue, stabilised the club. Highlights included an 8–0 hammering of Grantham Rovers in February and strong home support with average crowds rising to around 967. Overview Midland League Having failed a vote to stay in the Football League, Burslem Port Vale successfully re-applied for membership of the Midland League. They started positively with a 4–1 home win over Wellingborough Town, though only 200 spectators turned up to the Athletic Ground. Bad news followed as centre-half Ralph Barlow suffered a breakdown and was sent to a convalescent home. The team then lost home and away to Glossop North End, with Danny Simpson being sent off in the home fixture for making an "objectionable remark" to the referee. A 1–0 defeat at Worksop was followed by a 5–2 win over a strong Doncaster Rovers side. Wellingborough Town then took their revenge with a 3–2 win in Wellingborough. Feeling the need to raise funds, Vale sold goalkeeper Tom Baddeley to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £50. The financial boost was needed as a 3–1 home win over Barnsley St Peter's on 7 November saw just 100 spectators, raising gross takings of £5 for a match-day loss of around £8. In Baddeley's absence Vale conceded six in a home defeat to Rushden and "the disgust of the spectators was general". A public meeting was held on 14 December to debate the club's future, if any; the outlook seemed extremely bleak as a poorly attended meeting heard that the club had a debt of £110 and the current committee were unwilling to continue funding the club. Heanor Town lent Vale the necessary £5 expenses for the trip to Heanor, and the home side subsequently romped to a 7–1 victory. Just as the club seemed to be heading for oblivion, a new committee of "all the football worthies in the town" was formed to take the club forward in a meeting at Burslem town hall that was "packed to suffocation"; Edward Oliver was voted as the new chairman, with Sam Gleaves as the new secretary. In January, a public company was floated with £2,000 capital in £1 shares. On 2 January, Vale recorded their first away win of the campaign, beaten second-bottom Grantham Rovers 1–0. The turnaround in form was confirmed with a 2–1 win over champions Kettering. Now in a position to strengthen the team, Vale signed left-sided attacker James Peake from Crewe Alexandra. A 7–2 defeat at Barnsley St Peter's proved to be the one blip in a run of nine unbeaten in the league, with the team grumbling about foul play from the hosts and "incompetence" from the referee. On 20 February, Vale managed to humiliate Grantham Rovers 8–0. Supporters returned to the Athletic Ground, and a crowd of 1,500 witnessed a 3–1 victory over Long Eaton Rangers on 6 March. Two away victories saw the club rise to fourth in the league, including a 1–0 win at Rushden in which Fred Belfield was "advised to leave the field" by the referee as the home crowd were threatening to rush the pitch in response to Belfield's repeated kicking of defender Minney. More crowd trouble also occurred in the 1–0 win at Doncaster Rovers, as Dick Evans was grabbed by the throat and Teddy Morse was "hurled under the waggonette". Morse was sent off in the following game, a 1–0 home defeat by Ilkeston Town, after Willett claimed he had bitten his nose. Vale went on to win their final two home fixtures, ending the campaign in seventh-place with 31 points from 28 matches, just one point away from third-place. Dick Evans finished as the club's top-scorer, claiming 12 league goals – though some of these might have been scored by namesake Ted Evans. The team's form in 1897 saw the club given a vote on whether they should be readmitted into the Football League at the league's annual meeting; however, their 11 votes were two fewer than successful applicants Luton Town. Cup competitions Vale claimed a walkover victory over Hereford in the third qualification round of the FA Cup after they could not guarantee the visitor's expenses. They then beat Birmingham League side Stourbridge in the next round, but failed to overcome Football League Second Division side Burton Swifts in the fifth qualification round in what was described as "the best game seen at Cobridge for two years". They exited the Birmingham Senior Cup at the first round, losing 2–1 to Brierley Hill Alliance. They failed to make it past the preliminary round of the Staffordshire Senior Cup, falling to a 4–2 defeat at Dresden United in a replayed fixture after the initial match was tied 1–1. In the Wellingborough Cup, Vale beat Football League Second Division side Walsall 3–2 at Fellows Park, but then lost 3–1 at Wellingborough Town in the semi-finals. On 28 April, Vale claimed the Staffordshire Senior Charity Cup after beating Dresden United 3–0. Results WinDrawLoss Midland League 1 5 September 1896 Burslem Port Vale 4–1 W Wellingborough Town Mason D.Evans Randles Fallows Athletic Ground Cobridge 200 2 19 September 1896 Glossop North End 3–1 L Burslem Port Vale D.Evans Glossop immense 3 26 September 1896 Burslem Port Vale 0–1 L Glossop North End Athletic Ground Cobridge 500 4 17 October 1896 Worksop 1–0 L Burslem Port Vale Bridge Meadow Worksop 1,000 5 24 October 1896 Burslem Port Vale 5–2 W Doncaster Rovers Simpson T.Evans D.Evans Athletic Ground Cobridge 500 6 31 October 1896 Wellingborough Town 3–2 L Burslem Port Vale D.Evans McLean Wellingborough 7 7 November 1896 Burslem Port Vale 3–1 W Barnsley St Peter's T.Evans Belfield Athletic Ground Cobridge 100 8 14 November 1896 Burslem Port Vale 0–6 L Rushden Athletic Ground Cobridge few 9 28 November 1896 Burslem Port Vale 4–1 W Worksop Proctor T.Evans og. Athletic Ground Cobridge 100 10 5 December 1896 Heanor Town 7–1 L Burslem Port Vale Simpson Heanor fair 11 19 December 1896 Chesterfield 3–2 L Burslem Port Vale scrimmage Simpson Saltergate Chesterfield, Derbyshire 1,000 12 25 December 1896 Dresden United 2–2 D Burslem Port Vale Hewitt Fallows Dresden, Staffordshire 2,000 13 26 December 1896 Ilkeston Town 3–3 D Burslem Port Vale Simpson T.Evans Manor Ground Ilkeston 2,000 14 2 January 1897 Grantham Rovers 0–1 W Burslem Port Vale Belfield Harlaxton Road Grantham more than the rule 15 9 January 1897 Burslem Port Vale 2–1 W Kettering Belfield Hewitt Athletic Ground Cobridge 16 16 January 1897 Burslem Port Vale 2–0 W Mexborough Proctor Fallows Athletic Ground Cobridge 17 23 January 1897 Barnsley St Peter's 7–2 L Burslem Port Vale D.Evans Belfield Oakwell Barnsley small 1R 30 January 1897 Walsall 2–3 W Burslem Port Vale D.Evans T.Evans Belfield Fellows Park Walsall 200 18 6 February 1897 Long Eaton Rangers 2–3 W Burslem Port Vale D.Evans Simpson Belfield Recreation Ground Long Eaton 19 13 February 1897 Kettering 2–2 D Burslem Port Vale D.Evans Green Lane Kettering 20 20 February 1897 Burslem Port Vale 8–0 W Grantham Rovers Belfield T.Evans Peake Simpson D.Evans Beech Athletic Ground Cobridge record 21 27 February 1897 Mexborough 3–2 L Burslem Port Vale D.Evans other Recreation Ground Mexborough 1,500 22 6 March 1897 Burslem Port Vale 3–1 W Long Eaton Rangers scrimmage Simpson D.Evans Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,500 23 13 March 1897 Burslem Port Vale 2–3 L Chesterfield Peake T.Evans Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 24 20 March 1897 Rushden 0–1 W Burslem Port Vale Simpson Rushden 1,200 25 27 March 1897 Doncaster Rovers 0–1 W Burslem Port Vale Hewitt Intake Ground Doncaster 1,500 26 3 April 1897 Burslem Port Vale 0–1 L Ilkeston Town Athletic Ground Cobridge 800 27 10 April 1897 Burslem Port Vale 3–0 W Heanor Town T.Evans Simpson Peake Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,000 28 16 April 1897 Burslem Port Vale 3–2 W Dresden United Morse scrimmage D.Evans Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 FA Cup 3Q 21 November 1896 Hereford walkover W Burslem Port Vale Hereford 4Q 12 December 1896 Stourbridge 1–3 W Burslem Port Vale Simpson T.Evans War Memorial Athletic Ground Stourbridge 100 5Q 7 January 1897 Burslem Port Vale 2–3 L Burton Swifts D.Evans other Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 Birmingham Senior Cup 1R 14 December 1896 Burslem Port Vale 1–2 L Brierley Hill Alliance Fallows Athletic Ground Cobridge large Staffordshire Senior Cup Preliminary 10 October 1896 Burslem Port Vale 1–1 D Dresden United Proctor Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,500 Replay 26 October 1896 Dresden United 4–2 L Burslem Port Vale Dresden, Staffordshire Wellingborough Cup 1R 30 January 1897 Walsall 2–3 W Burslem Port Vale D.Evans T.Evans Belfield Fellows Park Walsall 200 SF 20 April 1897 Wellingborough Town 3–1 L Burslem Port Vale Simpson Wellingborough Staffordshire Senior Charity Cup Final 28 April 1897 Burslem Port Vale 3–0 W Dresden United Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward Midland League FA Cup Other GK Bert Hammond 14 0 2 0 2 0 GK George Lawton 9 0 0 0 1 0 FB George Hulme 1 0 0 0 0 0 FB ENG Teddy Morse 25 1 2 0 5 0 FB Henry Platt 13 0 2 0 4 0 FB ENG Thomas Spilsbury 9 0 0 0 0 0 FB ENG George Youds 3 0 0 0 1 0 HB Ralph Barlow 1 0 0 0 0 0 HB Jim Beech 24 1 2 0 5 0 HB Bentley 1 0 0 0 0 0 HB Fred Bickerton 5 0 1 0 1 0 HB Buck 1 0 0 0 0 0 HB John Fallows 21 3 2 0 3 1 HB ENG James Holdcroft 16 0 1 0 4 0 HB ENG Tommy Lander 1 0 0 0 0 0 HB ENG Jos Randles 4 1 0 0 1 0 HB Smith 2 0 0 0 1 0 FW ENG Fred Belfield 22 7 1 0 4 1 FW ENG Dick Evans 27 12 2 1 5 1 FW ENG Ted Evans 21 10 1 1 4 1 FW George Hewitt 4 3 1 0 1 0 FW Jim Mason 7 1 1 0 1 0 FW J McLean 1 1 0 0 1 0 FW ENG James Peake 12 3 0 0 2 0 FW Edward Proctor 13 3 2 0 2 1 FW Salmon 3 0 0 0 1 0 FW Danny Simpson 25 11 2 2 5 1 |- |colspan="14"|Players who featured but departed the club during the season: GK ENG Tom Baddeley 2 0 0 0 1 0 |} Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameMidland LeagueFA CupOtherTotal1FWEnglandDick Evans121114–FWDanny Simpson1121143FWEnglandTed Evans1011124FWEnglandFred Belfield70185FWEdward Proctor3014–HBJohn Fallows30147FWGeorge Hewitt3003–FWEnglandJames Peake30039FWJ McLean1001–FWJim Mason1001–HBEnglandJos Randles1001–FBEnglandTeddy Morse1001–HBJim Beech1001–––Own goals1001–––Scrimmage3003–––Unknown1001TOTALS624672 Transfers Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 1896 FB ENG George Hulme Free transfer Kent Jeff Port Vale Personalities Witan Books 1996 0-9529152-0-0 Summer 1896 GK Bert Hammond Newcastle White Star Free transfer Summer 1896 FW J McLean Sneyd Free transfer Summer 1896 FB Henry Platt Free transfer Summer 1896 FW Salmon Free transfer Autumn 1896 FW Ted Evans Bury Free transfer Autumn 1896 FW George Hewitt Free transfer October 1896 FW Edward Proctor Stoke Free transfer January 1897 FW James Peake Crewe Alexandra Free transfer February 1897 FB ENG Thomas Spilsbury Free transfer March 1897 HB ENG Tommy Lander Talke Alexandra Free transfer April 1897 HB Smith Free transfer Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. October 1896 GK ENG Tom Baddeley Wolverhampton Wanderers £50 Summer 1897 HB ENG Ralph Barlow Released Summer 1897 HB Fred Bickerton Released Summer 1897 HB ENG John Fallows Released Summer 1897 FW Edward Proctor Released 1897 HB ENG James Holdcroft Released 1897 FW J McLean Released 1897 FW Salmon Released 1897 FB ENG George Youds Released References Specific General Kent, Jeff Jeff Kent (author) The Port Vale Record 1879-1993 Witan Books 1993 0-9508981-9-8 Category:Port Vale F.C. seasons Burslem Port Vale