1888–89 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Burslem Port Vale 1888–89 Athletic Ground The Combination Abandoned FA Cup Second Qualifying Round(eliminated by Small Heath Alliance) Staffordshire Senior Cup Fourth Round(eliminated by Burton Wanderers) North Staffordshire Challenge Cup Semi-finals(eliminated by Leek) Jimmy Ditchfield (8) Jimmy Ditchfield (12) 5,000 vs. Stoke, 16 February 1889 2,200 6–1 vs. Gainsborough Trinity, 8 September 1888 1–5 and 2–6 _borderonwhite _whitehalf 523a18 523a18 523a18 The 1888–89 season was Burslem Port Vale's first season and only season of football in The Combination, a short-lived regional league formed for clubs omitted from the inaugural Football League, before its premature abandonment in April 1889.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 Managed by an amateur committee and playing home fixtures at the Athletic Ground, the club finished the incomplete competition with a record of seven wins, four draws and 15 losses, scoring 40 goals and conceding 57. They were knocked out in the early stages of all cup competitions: the FA Cup in the Second Qualifying Round, the Staffordshire Senior Cup in the Fourth Round, and the North Staffordshire Challenge Cup at the semi-final stage. The season's top scorer was Jimmy Ditchfield with eight league goals (12 in all competitions), while attendances peaked at around 5,000 for the Potteries derby match against Stoke in February 1889. Overview The Combination Burslem Port Vale prepared for their first-ever league campaign by signing Lewis Ballham from Stoke and Dick Danks from Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, they lost Harry Cookson to South Shore and Bob Ramsay to Stoke. Despite being overweight, forward Billy Reynolds scored the winning goal in the season-opening victory over Birmingham St George's at the Athletic Ground. Though they lost 2–1 at home to Halliwell, they recorded 6–1 and 3–0 home victories over Gainsborough Trinity and South Shore. However, a sequence of away fixtures followed, in which they picked two points on the road all season. Their home form remained steady, though, picking up 16 out of 26 points at home. On 20 October, full-back W. E. Powell badly disjointing a knee in a 4–1 defeat at Crewe Alexandra. The injury was so severe that a doctor had to be brought onto the pitch before Powell was carried off. Powell was dubbed "Pull-it" Powell thereafter. In December, Lewis Ballham was forced to pay his former club Stoke £20 damages and costs at £1 a week by the Stoke County Court after being found guilty of breach of contract. Desperate to turn around their poor form, in March the club signed "the best centre-forward that ever left Scotland" in 19-year-old Frank McGinnes, who had built up a formidable reputation at Halliwell. The Combination league collapsed, but the team's poor form meant they were not invited to compete in either the new Football Alliance. The club management resolved to strengthen the team and had to be content with friendlies for the following campaign. Cup competitions and friendlies Vale's interest in the FA Cup ended early as they were beaten 3–2 at Small Heath Alliance. Their friendlies in the first part of the season were also largely disappointing, losing 4–0 to Preston North End and 8–1 to Blackburn Rovers – both strong sides – but more worryingly they were humbled 4–0 at the little-known side Witton. A 3–1 home defeat to Lancashire village team Oswaldtwistle Rovers on 12 January was embarrassing, one of the worst results in the club's short history as they proved themselves "not worthy of a club their standing" on the day. On 16 February, they fell to a 5–1 defeat at home to Potteries derby rivals Stoke in front of a season-high crowd of 5,000. The return fixture ended in a 4–2 defeat, and Vale players had spent eight minutes protesting a throw-in, resulting in a lengthy halt to proceedings. They managed to beat Burton Wanderers 4–2 in the fourth round of the Staffordshire Senior Cup on 9 March, but were forced to replay the game after the visitors complained about the state of the Athletic Ground pitch; the replay was lost 3–1 as the team reverted to "the old game of a long kick and a sharp rush". They travelled to Anfield on 20 April and recorded a 1–0 victory over Everton, but the season petered out with defeat to Leek in the semi-finals of the North Staffordshire Challenge Cup and a 7–1 thumping after fielding a weakened side at Bootle. Results WinDrawLoss The Combination 1 1 September 1888 Burslem Port Vale 2–1 W Birmingham St George's Ditchfield Reynolds Athletic Ground Cobridge 3,500 2 3 September 1888 Burslem Port Vale 1–2 L Halliwell Ditchfield Athletic Ground Cobridge 3,000 3 8 September 1888 Burslem Port Vale 6–1 W Gainsborough Trinity Sproston Ditchfield Reynolds Randles Danks Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,500 4 17 September 1888 Burslem Port Vale 3–0 W South Shore rush Ditchfield Sproston Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 5 29 September 1888 Walsall Town Swifts 1–0 L Burslem Port Vale The Chuckery Walsall 2,000 6 13 October 1888 Burslem Port Vale 1–2 L Notts Rangers rush Athletic Ground Cobridge 7 20 October 1888 Crewe Alexandra 4–1 L Burslem Port Vale Reynolds Alexandra Recreation Ground Crewe 3,000 8 22 October 1888 Leek 5–3 L Burslem Port Vale Westwood Lane Leek, Staffordshire 3,000 9 3 November 1888 Birmingham St George's 3–3 D Burslem Port Vale Danks Ballham Poulson Cape Hill Brewery Smethwick 200 10 10 November 1888 Burslem Port Vale 1–1 D Newton Heath scrimmage J. Davies Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,500 11 12 November 1888 Burslem Port Vale 4–1 W Leek Ditchfield Poulson Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 12 17 November 1888 Long Eaton Rangers 3–1 L Burslem Port Vale Ditchfield Recreation Ground Long Eaton 13 24 November 1888 Burslem Port Vale 1–2 L Walsall Town Swifts Poulson Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 14 1 December 1888 Burslem Port Vale 2–1 W Lincoln City Ballham Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,500 15 15 December 1888 Halliwell 5–1 L Burslem Port Vale scrimmage The Bennetts Halliwell, Greater Manchester small 16 22 December 1888 Lincoln City 1–0 L Burslem Port Vale John O'Gaunts Lincoln 1,500 17 24 December 1888 Gainsborough Trinity 1–1 D Burslem Port Vale Ballham The Northolme Gainsborough, Lincolnshire fair 18 25 December 1888 Grimsby Town 6–2 L Burslem Port Vale Clee Park Cleethorpes 1,500 19 29 December 1888 Burslem Port Vale 1–3 L Crewe Alexandra Randles Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,500 20 5 January 1889 Notts Rangers 4–1 L Burslem Port Vale Reynolds Meadow Lane Nottingham 21 19 January 1889 Newton Heath 3–0 L Burslem Port Vale G. Owen Gale Burke North Road Newton Heath 2,500 22 26 January 1889 Burslem Port Vale 1–1 D Long Eaton Rangers McHarg Athletic Ground Cobridge moderate 23 2 February 1889 Northwich Victoria 2–1 L Burslem Port Vale Drill Field Northwich 24 11 March 1889 Burslem Port Vale 1–0 W Northwich Victoria Athletic Ground Cobridge several hundred 25 16 March 1889 South Shore 3–0 L Burslem Port Vale Cow Gap Lane South Shore, Blackpool not very big 26 6 April 1889 Burslem Port Vale 2–1 W Grimsby Town Ballham Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,500 FA Cup 1888–89 FA Cup 2Q 27 October 1888 Small Heath Alliance 3–2 L Burslem Port Vale scrimmage og. Muntz Street Small Heath Staffordshire Senior Cup R4 9 March 1889 Burslem Port Vale 4–2 W Burton Wanderers Sproston Ballham Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,500 Replay 23 March 1889 Burslem Port Vale 1–3 L Burton Wanderers Elson Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 North Staffordshire Challenge Cup Semi-final 4 May 1889 Leek 2–3 L Burslem Port Vale Danks Stokes Friendlies Friendly 15 September 1888 Burslem Port Vale 1–1 D Derby St Luke's rush Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 Friendly 22 September 1888 Burslem Port Vale 3–4 L Blackburn Park Road Randles Sproston Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,500 Friendly 24 September 1888 Burslem Port Vale 0–4 L Preston North End Athletic Ground Cobridge 3,000 Friendly 1 October 1888 Burslem Port Vale 2–0 W Burnley Reynolds Randles Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,400 Friendly 6 October 1888 Witton 4–0 L Burslem Port Vale Northwich Friendly 15 October 1888 Burslem Port Vale 3–1 W Bolton Wanderers og. Stokes Ditchfield Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 Friendly 29 October 1888 Burslem Port Vale 1–8 L Blackburn Rovers Ballham Athletic Ground Cobridge 3,000 Friendly 8 December 1888 Rotherham Town 3–2 L Burslem Port Vale Reynolds other Clifton Lane Rotherham 3,000 Friendly 10 December 1888 Burslem Port Vale 2–2 D Everton Ballham og. Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 Friendly 12 January 1889 Burslem Port Vale 1–3 L Oswaldtwistle Rovers Ditchfield Athletic Ground Cobridge small Friendly 16 February 1889 Burslem Port Vale 1–5 L Stoke Vessey Athletic Ground Cobridge 5,000 Friendly 2 March 1889 Stoke 4–2 L Burslem Port Vale Victoria Ground Stoke-upon-Trent Friendly 30 March 1889 Leek 1–1 D Burslem Port Vale Ditchfield Westwood Lane Leek, Staffordshire Friendly 15 April 1889 Burslem Port Vale 1–2 L Halliwell Ballham Athletic Ground Cobridge Friendly 20 April 1889 Everton 0–1 W Burslem Port Vale Reynolds Anfield Liverpool 8,000 Friendly 22 April 1889 Burslem Port Vale 1–2 L Witton og. Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,500 Friendly 29 April 1889 Burslem Port Vale 0–0 D Crewe Alexandra Athletic Ground Cobridge Friendly 14 May 1889 Bootle 7–1 L Burslem Port Vale Ditchfield Hawthorne Road Bootle 1,500 Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward The Combination Staffordshire Senior Cup Challenge Cup Friendlies GK ENG Arthur Broomhall 5 0 2 0 1 0 9 0 GK Joseph Mawdesley 9 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 GK Meakin 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 GK Millward 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 GK W Morgan 6 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 FB T Marriott 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 FB G Martin 4 0 2 0 1 0 3 0 FB Matthews 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 FB ENG W. E. Powell 6 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 FB ENG Albert Skinner 12 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 FB Udall 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 FB Underwood 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 FB G Wardle 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 HB ENG George Bateman 18 0 2 0 0 0 14 0 HB E Chadwick 11 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 HB ENG Billy Elson 19 0 2 1 1 0 17 0 HB ENG Fred Farrington 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 HB ENG Billy Poulson 19 3 2 0 1 0 17 0 HB ENG Jos Randles 18 2 0 0 0 0 9 3 HB Robinson 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 HB ENG Charlie Simpson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 HB ENG John Surtees 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 FW Kirkham 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 FW Locker 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 FW G McHarg 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 FW J.H. Sproston 9 3 2 2 1 0 4 1 FW H Wardle 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 FW ENG Lewis Ballham 16 6 2 2 1 0 12 3 FW ENG Dick Danks 15 2 0 0 1 1 9 0 FW ENG Jimmy Ditchfield 18 8 2 0 1 0 17 4 FW SCO Frank McGinnes 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 FW Oxley 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 FW ENG Ernie Payne 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 FW ENG Billy Reynolds 14 4 0 0 0 0 14 3 FW Fred Stokes 4 0 2 0 1 1 7 1 FW Vessey 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 FW F Wood 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 |- |colspan="14"|Players who featured but departed the club during the season: HB Jack Shields 20 0 2 0 1 0 17 0 |} Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameThe CombinationFA CupOtherTotal1FWEnglandJimmy Ditchfield804122FWEnglandLewis Ballham605113FWEnglandBilly Reynolds40374FWJ.H. Sproston30365HBEnglandJos Randles20356HBEnglandBilly Poulson3003–FWEnglandDick Danks20138FWFred Stokes00229FWG McHarg1001–FWVessey0011–HBEnglandBilly Elson0011–––Own goals0134–––Scrimmage2103TOTALS3122659 Transfers Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. Summer 1888 GK ENG Arthur Broomhall Stoke Free transfer Kent Jeff Port Vale Personalities Witan Books 1996 0-9529152-0-0 Summer 1888 FB Udall Free transfer Summer 1888 FW F Wood Free transfer Autumn 1888 FW ENG Lewis Ballham Stoke Free transfer Autumn 1888 HB ENG Fred Farrington Free transfer Autumn 1888 HB E Chadwick Free transfer September 1888 GK Joseph Mawdesley Free transfer December 1888 FW G McHarg Free transfer 1889 FB Matthews Free transfer January 1889 GK Meakin Free transfer April 1889 HB SCO Fred Farrington Halliwell Free transfer Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. December 1888 HB Jack Shields Quit Summer 1889 HB E Chadwick Released Summer 1889 GK Joseph Mawdesley Released Summer 1889 GK Meakin Released Summer 1889 FW G McHarg Burslem Port Vale Released Summer 1889 GK W Morgan Released Summer 1889 HB Robinson Released Summer 1889 FW J.H. Sproston Released Summer 1889 HB ENG John Surtees Released Summer 1889 FB Udall Released Summer 1889 FW F Wood Free transfer 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