1962–63 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1962–63 season
ChairmanJoe Machin
ManagerNorman Low
(until 30 October)
Freddie Steele
(from October)
StadiumVale Park
Football League Third Division3rd (54 Points)
FA CupFourth Round
(knocked out by Sheffield United)
League CupFirst Round
(knocked out by Bristol Rovers)
Top goalscorerLeague: Tony Richards (13)
All: Tony Richards (13)
Highest home attendance22,207 vs. Sheffield United, 13 March 1963
Lowest home attendance4,673 vs. Hull City, 20 April 1962
Average home league attendance8,130
Biggest win5–1 vs. Southend United, 24 September 1962
Biggest defeat0–3 vs. Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, 13 May 1962

The 1962–63 season was Port Vale's 51st season of football in the English Football League, and their fourth season in the Third Division.[1] A season of near-glory and managerial upheaval, it began under Norman Low, who unexpectedly resigned on 30 October, with Freddie Steele returning to the helm and re-establishing his famous "Steele Curtain" defence. Vale powered their way to a third‑place finish with 54 points, just four behind promotion, although rivals Stoke City and Crewe Alexandra's promotions made Vale's strong campaign feel particularly bittersweet.

In the FA Cup, Vale advanced to the Fourth Round, eventually falling 2–1 to First Division side Sheffield United in front of a home crowd of 22,207 on 13 March 1963 — their highest attendance of the season. In the League Cup, Vale were knocked out in the First Round by Bristol Rovers. Tony Richards became the club's league and overall top scorer, netting 13 goals in just 14 appearances, despite only being signed for £9,000 from Walsall in March. Earlier-season goalscoring had proven meagre until his mid-season arrival. Attendance figures reflected cautious optimism at Vale Park: an average of approximately 8,130, with the low point at 4,673 against Hull City (20 April) and the standout high during the cup clash with Sheffield United.

Ultimately, the 1962–63 campaign was defined by resurgence under Steele, a haul of crucial clean sheets, and a thrilling FA Cup run — but promotion narrowly slipped through Vale's grasp.

Overview

[edit]

Third Division

[edit]

The pre-season saw the arrival of John Rowland, a 'tall and skilful' outside-right from Nottingham Forest for £6,000.[1]

The season opened with six points from four games, with three clean sheets. The increasing violence in the game was in evidence, though, as trainer Eric Jones was hit with a bottle in the 1–0 victory at Wrexham. The players remained unfazed and managed to claim a goalless draw at Millwall's Den on 27 August. Rowland was dropped from the first XI following a 2–0 defeat at Ashton Gate on 1 September.[1] Vale responded two days later with a "rip-roaring display of punchy soccer" in a 4–2 victory over Colchester United. They then became inconsistent, and so Low added young forward Terry Harkin to the squad from Coleraine, and transfer-listed Stan Steele after he began to be targeted by hecklers at Vale Park.[1] Despite coming from a goal down to beat Southend United 5–1, the club continued to fall down the table.[1] They then began a nine-game unbeaten streak on 20 October with a 1–1 draw with Carlisle United at Brunton Park.[1]

On 30 October, manager Norman Low tendered his resignation, to the shock of fans and pundits.[1] Low cited disagreements with the board as the reason for his departure.[1] The club felt they needed a marquee signing and so approached first Tom Finney and then European cup winning coach Béla Guttmann, who had just departed Benfica, both declined the role.[2] Low's successor instead proved to be his predecessor, Freddie Steele, in another development that took many by surprise.[1] Roy Sproson later noted "He [Steele] had changed. He had not got the enthusiasm or drive as before, but the lads still responded to him".[1]

On 9 November, Vale beat Barnsley by a goal to nil, though a section of the Vale Park crowd threatened violence against referee Jack Pickles after he sent off Stan Steele. It took until the sixth game of Freddie Steele's reign for a goal to be conceded (525 minutes) as 'the Steele Curtain' again descended upon Vale Park.[1] The goal was scored by former Valiant turned bogey player Ronnie Allen for Crystal Palace in a 4–1 home win for Vale.[1] This win was followed by a 2–2 draw with Wrexham that left the Vale within two points of second place. They finished the year chasing promotion, despite losing 4–3 to Reading at Elm Park. No league games were played in January or February due to the Big Freeze.[1] To help with finances during this spell of two months without competitive action, Bert Llewellyn was sold to Northampton Town for £7,000 and Arthur Longbottom was sold to Millwall for £2,000.[1]

Back in action in March, Steele found his offence wanting, and so purchased Tony Richards from Walsall for £9,000.[1] Richards immediately impacted himself on the club's scoring charts, bagging a brace at Halifax Town, eventually finishing as top-scorer for his two months of work.[1] A 2–0 victory over Carlisle United was the first game at Vale Park in 12 weeks, as the club had found themselves with up to four games in hand on their rivals. For the four weeks following 20 April, Vale recorded eight wins from their final ten matches, though this would prove to be too little too late regarding promotion.[1] Hopes of promotion were extinguished with a 3–0 home defeat to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic on 13 May.[1]

They finished in third spot with 54 points, four short of promotion, though enough to earn them £500 in talent money.[1] Their 58 goals conceded total was fewer only than Swindon Town.[1]

Finances

[edit]

On the financial side, a profit of £2,275 was made despite an operating loss of £20,557.[1] A donation from the Sportsmen's Association and social club stood at a highly impressive £22,832.[1] Whilst wages remained fairly constant at £33,120, gate receipts had fallen by £8,000.[1] The club's overdraft stood at £41,000, leading to a discussion over whether or not to take out a mortgage on Vale Park.[1] The club management decided to replace the black and amber kit with the traditional white shirts, black shorts and black and white socks – the kit Steele's men triumphed in almost ten years previously.[1] On the playing front, Peter Ford's departure to Macclesfield Town was the only transfer of note.[1]

Cup competitions

[edit]

In the FA Cup, Vale took their revenge upon Bristol Rovers, dumping them out of the competition at the first stage with a 2–0 win at Burslem on 21 November. Three weeks later, Aldershot suffered the same fate in Sproson's 500th appearance for the club.[1] In the third round they beat Fourth Division side Gillingham 4–2 at Priestfield. The tie had been postponed 12 times due to consistently freezing conditions. They then lost 2–1 to First Division club Sheffield United in front of 22,207 rain-soaked supporters.[1]

In the League Cup, Bristol Rovers won the first round clash at the Memorial Stadium 2–0.

League table

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Northampton Town (C, P) 46 26 10 10 109 60 1.817 62 Promotion to the Second Division
2 Swindon Town (P) 46 22 14 10 87 56 1.554 58
3 Port Vale 46 23 8 15 72 58 1.241 54
4 Coventry City 46 18 17 11 83 69 1.203 53
5 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 46 18 16 12 63 46 1.370 52
Source: [citation needed]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Results

[edit]

Football League Third Division

[edit]

Results by matchday

[edit]
Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundAHHAAHHAAAHHAHAAHAHHAAHHAAHAAHAAHHAAHHAHAHHHAH
ResultWDWDLWLWLLWWLDDLLDWWDWWDLLWWLWLWWDLLWWLWWWWLWW
Position12128484811847681013121159988813121011910108791098106653643
Points2356688101010121414151616161719212224262727272931313333353738383840424244464850505254
Source: Statto[3]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

[edit]
18 August 1962 1 Wrexham 0–1 Port Vale Wrexham
Llewellyn Stadium: Racecourse Ground
Attendance: 14,042
20 August 1962 2 Port Vale 1–1 Millwall Burslem
Longbottom Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 12,469
25 August 1962 3 Port Vale 2–0 Reading Burslem
Llewellyn
Grainger
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 9,506
27 August 1962 4 Millwall 0–0 Port Vale New Cross, Lewisham
Stadium: The Den
Attendance: 20,553
1 September 1962 5 Bristol City 2–0 Port Vale Ashton Gate, Bristol
Stadium: Ashton Gate
Attendance: 9,626
3 September 1962 6 Port Vale 4–2 Colchester United Burslem
Longbottom
Grainger
Ford
Poole
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 11,719
8 September 1962 7 Port Vale 1–3 Watford Burslem
Grainger pen' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 11,108
10 September 1962 8 Colchester United 0–1 Port Vale Colchester
Wright Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,919
15 September 1962 9 Bradford (Park Avenue) 2–1 Port Vale Bradford
Llewellyn Stadium: Park Avenue
Attendance: 8,935
17 September 1962 10 Southend United 2–0 Port Vale Southend-on-Sea
Stadium: Roots Hall
Attendance: 10,963
22 September 1962 11 Port Vale 2–1 Coventry City Burslem
o.g.
Grainger
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 9,816
24 September 1962 12 Port Vale 5–1 Southend United Burslem
Edwards
Harkin
Ford
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 9,618
29 September 1962 13 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 2–0 Port Vale Bournemouth
Stadium: Dean Court
Attendance: 9,715
1 October 1962 14 Port Vale 1–1 Notts County Burslem
Edwards Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 9,245
6 October 1962 15 Bristol Rovers 1–1 Port Vale Bristol
Poole Stadium: Eastville Stadium
Attendance: 12,374
11 October 1962 16 Notts County 1–0 Port Vale Nottingham
Stadium: Meadow Lane
Attendance: 14,320
13 October 1962 17 Port Vale 1–2 Brighton & Hove Albion Burslem
Poole Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 7,503
20 October 1962 18 Carlisle United 1–1 Port Vale Carlisle
Steele Stadium: Brunton Park
Attendance: 5,627
27 October 1962 19 Port Vale 2–1 Swindon Town Burslem
Harkin Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 5,825
9 November 1962 20 Port Vale 1–0 Barnsley Burslem
Steele Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 8,798
17 November 1962 21 Northampton Town 0–0 Port Vale Northampton
Stadium: County Cricket Ground
Attendance: 8,718
1 December 1962 22 Hull City 0–1 Port Vale Kingston upon Hull
Rowland Stadium: Boothferry Park
Attendance: 7,259
8 December 1962 23 Port Vale 4–1 Crystal Palace Burslem
Llewellyn
Rowland
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 6,537
15 December 1962 24 Port Vale 2–2 Wrexham Burslem
Grainger
Llewellyn
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 7,172
22 December 1962 25 Reading 4–3 Port Vale Reading, Berkshire
Ford
Miles
Stadium: Elm Park
Attendance: 5,578
2 March 1963 26 Brighton & Hove Albion 3–1 Port Vale Hove
Edwards Stadium: Goldstone Ground
Attendance: 10,050
9 March 1963 27 Port Vale 2–0 Carlisle United Burslem
Rowland
Harkin
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 6,308
16 March 1963 28 Swindon Town 2–3 Port Vale Swindon
o.g.
Steele
Rowland
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 12,090
18 March 1963 29 Peterborough United 3–1 Port Vale Peterborough
Harkin Stadium: London Road Stadium
Attendance: 10,162
23 March 1963 30 Port Vale 3–2 Peterborough United Burslem
Steele
Harkin
Edwards
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 10,260
29 March 1963 31 Barnsley 2–1 Port Vale Barnsley
Edwards Stadium: Oakwell
Attendance: 4,368
3 April 1963 32 Halifax Town 0–4 Port Vale Halifax, West Yorkshire
Harkin
Richards
Stadium: The Shay
Attendance: 2,808
6 April 1963 33 Port Vale 3–1 Northampton Town Burslem
Richards
Harkin
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 8,781
12 April 1963 34 Port Vale 0–0 Shrewsbury Town Burslem
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 11,315
13 April 1963 35 Queens Park Rangers 3–1 Port Vale Shepherd's Bush, West London
Steele Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 5,690
15 April 1963 36 Shrewsbury Town 2–1 Port Vale Shrewsbury
Ford Stadium: Gay Meadow
Attendance: 6,819
20 April 1963 37 Port Vale 1–0 Hull City Burslem
Rowland Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,673
22 April 1963 38 Port Vale 2–0 Halifax Town Burslem
Richards Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 5,968
27 April 1963 39 Crystal Palace 2–1 Port Vale Selhurst, Croydon
Richards Stadium: Selhurst Park
Attendance: 13,183
29 April 1963 40 Port Vale 3–2 Queens Park Rangers Burslem
Richards
Rowland
Sproson
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 5,974
4 May 1963 41 Coventry City 0–1 Port Vale Coventry
Richards Stadium: Highfield Road
Attendance: 18,307
6 May 1963 42 Port Vale 2–1 Bradford (Park Avenue) Burslem
Miles
Steele
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 6,680
11 May 1963 43 Port Vale 3–1 Bristol City Burslem
Richards
Rowland
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 5,337
13 May 1963 44 Port Vale 0–3 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic Burslem
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 7,362
18 May 1963 45 Watford 1–2 Port Vale Watford
Richards
Wright
Stadium: Vicarage Road
Attendance: 5,955
20 May 1963 46 Port Vale 2–0 Bristol Rovers Burslem
Richards pen'
Miles
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 5,015

FA Cup

[edit]
3 November 1962 R1 Bristol Rovers 0–2 Port Vale Bristol
Llewellyn Stadium: Eastville Stadium
Attendance: 8,180
24 November 1962 R2 Port Vale 2–0 Aldershot Burslem
Llewellyn
Edwards pen'
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 12,638
27 February 1963 R3 Gillingham 2–4 Port Vale Gillingham, Kent
Steele
Edwards
Ford
Grainger pen'
Stadium: Priestfield Stadium
Attendance: 6,713
13 March 1963 R4 Port Vale 1–2 Sheffield United Burslem
Grainger Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 22,207

League Cup

[edit]
27 September 1962 R1 Bristol Rovers 2–0 Port Vale Bristol
Stadium: Eastville Stadium
Attendance: 6,126

Player statistics

[edit]

Appearances and goals

[edit]
Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
Pos. Name Football League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Ken Hancock 46 0 4 0 1 0 51 0
DF England Roy Sproson 42 1 4 0 1 0 47 1
DF England Selwyn Whalley 20 0 1 0 0 0 21 0
DF England Terry Lowe 35 0 4 0 1 0 40 0
DF England John Nicholson 46 0 4 0 1 0 51 0
MF England Terry Miles 37 3 3 0 1 0 41 3
MF England Peter Ford 25 5 3 1 1 0 29 6
MF England Colin Grainger 25 5 3 2 1 0 29 7
MF England Stan Edwards 27 6 4 2 0 0 31 8
MF Northern Ireland Bernard Wright 14 2 0 0 1 0 15 2
MF England Jim Watton 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
MF England Mel Machin 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW England Harry Poole 43 3 4 0 0 0 47 3
FW England Stan Steele 35 6 4 1 1 0 40 7
FW England Bert Llewellyn 18 7 2 3 1 0 21 10
FW England Barry Hancock 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
FW England Arthur Longbottom 10 2 0 0 1 0 11 2
FW England John Rowland 37 7 4 0 0 0 41 7
FW England Tony Richards 14 13 0 0 0 0 14 13
FW Northern Ireland Terry Harkin 17 10 0 0 0 0 17 10

Top scorers

[edit]
Place Position Nation Name Third Division FA Cup League Cup Total
1 FW  England Tony Richards 13 0 0 13
2 FW  Northern Ireland Terry Harkin 10 0 0 10
FW  England Bert Llewellyn 7 3 0 10
4 MF  England Stan Edwards 6 2 0 8
5 FW  England John Rowland 7 0 0 7
FW  England Stan Steele 6 1 0 7
MF  England Colin Grainger 5 2 0 7
8 FW  England Peter Ford 5 1 0 6
9 MF  England Terry Miles 3 0 0 3
FW  England Harry Poole 3 0 0 3
11 MF  Northern Ireland Bernard Wright 2 0 0 2
FW  England Arthur Longbottom 2 0 0 2
13 DF  England Roy Sproson 1 0 0 1
Own goals 2 0 0 2
TOTALS 72 9 0 81

Transfers

[edit]

Transfers in

[edit]
Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
August 1962 FW England John Rowland Nottingham Forest £6,000 [4]
August 1962 MF Northern Ireland Bernard Wright Republic of Ireland Sligo Rovers Free transfer [4]
September 1962 MF Northern Ireland Terry Harkin Northern Ireland Coleraine £2,000 [4]
September 1962 MF England Jim Watton Netherlands De Graafschap Free transfer [4]
March 1963 FW England Tony Richards Walsall £9,000 [4]

Transfers out

[edit]
Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
January 1963 FW England Arthur Longbottom Millwall £2,000 [4]
February 1963 FW England Bert Llewellyn Northampton Town £7,000 [4]
May 1963 MF Northern Ireland Bernard Wright Released [4]
July 1963 MF England Stan Edwards Wales Bangor City Free transfer [4]
Summer 1963 MF England Peter Ford Macclesfield Town Released [4]

Loans out

[edit]
Date from Position Nationality Name To Date until Ref.
April 1963 MF Northern Ireland Bernard Wright Stafford Rangers May 1963 [4]

References

[edit]
Specific
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Kent, Jeff (1990). "Flattering Only to Deceive (1960–1969)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 196–226. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
  2. ^ "Why Port Vale tried to sign the 60's "Mourinho"". onevalefan.co.uk. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  3. ^ Port Vale 1962–1963 : Results & Fixtures Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
General