1948–49 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1948–49 season
Chairman	William Holdcroft
Manager	Gordon Hodgson
Stadium	The Old Recreation Ground
Football League Third Division South	13th (39 Points)
FA Cup	First Round
Top goalscorer	League: Walter Aveyard (13) All: Walter Aveyard (13)
Highest home attendance	18,497 vs. Aldershot (28 August 1948)
Lowest home attendance	7,738 vs. Millwall (18 December 1948)
Average home league attendance	12,069
Home colours
← 1947–48 1949–50 →

The 1948–49 season was Port Vale's 37th season of football in the Football League, and their fourth full season in the Third Division South.^[1] A promotion campaign soon tailed off into an unremarkable mid-table finish, as bad form persuaded the club to sell off Bill Pointon for a then-club record fee.

Manager Gordon Hodgson during his playing days.

Overview

Third Division South

The pre-season saw the club attempt to sign Huddersfield Town's star forward Peter Doherty, when this failed Gordon Hodgson instead signed Liverpool left-wing duo Stan Palk and Mick Hulligan for £10,000.^[1] Striker Walter Aveyard was also signed from Birmingham City, despite his belief that a leg injury had finished him.^[1] Fans were convinced promotion to the Second Division was possible, and so there was a surge in season ticket sales.^[1]

The season started with seven points from the opening four games, leaving the club top of the table.^[1] The season-high 18,497 fans that turned up for a 3–0 win over Aldershot were impressed by the skill of the three new signings.^[1] The club's good form continued to the end of September, despite the sale of Walter Keeley to Accrington Stanley for £1,500 – who had found himself relegated to the sidelines by Hulligan's good performances.^[1] After this Hulligan broke his ankle, whilst other injuries also hit the squad.^[1] Six weeks of six defeats in seven games followed, leaving Vale sixth from bottom.^[1] During this spell Joe Dale was offloaded to Witton Albion, as Hodgson attempted to fill the gaps in the first team with young reserves.^[1] Winning three games on the trot, the Vale put an end to this bad spell, also keeping three clean sheets.

Over the Christmas period talk was dominated by 'The Wembley of the North', which had been projected as an 80,000 capacity stadium, now it was planned as a 40,000 capacity ground with room for future expansion.^[1] Finding just fifty members for the '100 club', the financing was helped by a £8,000 grant from The Football Association.^[1] In January the club initiated a fire-sale of players: Bill Pointon went to Queens Park Rangers for a then-club record five-figure fee, whilst Harry Hubbick was sold to Rochdale for around £1,000.^[1] Meanwhile, the club transfer listed Palk, Aveyard, and Eric Eastwood (who all lived outside North Staffordshire); whilst Hulligan returned from injury.^[1] A two-month run without a win followed, in which Hodgson again experimented with the first eleven.^[1] This run finally ended with a 1–0 win over Notts County on 9 April.^[1] Nine days later at Ashton Gate, keeper Harry Prince was given a chance in place of regular George Heppell, who embarrassed himself by attempting to punch a forty-yard punt from Stone, only to miss the ball entirely and thereby concede the equalizer.^[1] Later in the month, Hodgson signed George King from Hull City for a four-figure fee.^[1] King scored twice in his debut against Torquay United.^[1]

They finished a disappointing thirteenth, boasting just 39 points.^[1] They had scored twelve fewer goals than the previous campaign, though their defensive record was identical.^[1] Harry Prince's move to Stafford Rangers was the only significant departure of the summer.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a large transfer credit helped the club record a gross profit of £7,120.^[1] Gate receipts had declined to £25,831, whilst wages had risen to £16,095.^[1] The Burslem Supporters Club put forward a donation of £600, and the club issued 22,000 new five shilling shares to help with the New Ground Fund.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale were knocked out in the First Round by Notts County at Meadow Lane in front of 36,514 spectators.^[1]

Final league table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Swansea Town	42	27	8	7	87	34	2.559	62
2	Reading	42	25	5	12	77	50	1.540	55
3	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	42	22	8	12	69	48	1.438	52
4	Swindon Town	42	18	15	9	64	56	1.143	51
5	Bristol Rovers	42	19	10	13	61	51	1.196	48
6	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	15	18	9	55	55	1.000	48
7	Ipswich Town	42	18	9	15	78	77	1.013	45
8	Millwall	42	17	11	14	63	64	0.984	45
9	Torquay United	42	17	11	14	65	70	0.929	45
10	Norwich City	42	16	12	14	67	49	1.367	44
11	Notts County	42	19	5	18	102	68	1.500	43
12	Exeter City	42	15	10	17	63	76	0.829	40
13	Port Vale	42	14	11	17	51	54	0.944	39
14	Walsall	42	15	8	19	56	64	0.875	38
15	Newport County	42	14	9	19	68	92	0.739	37
16	Bristol City	42	11	14	17	44	62	0.710	36
17	Watford	42	10	15	17	41	54	0.759	35
18	Southend United	42	9	16	17	41	46	0.891	34
19	Leyton Orient	42	11	12	19	58	80	0.725	34
20	Northampton Town	42	12	9	21	51	62	0.823	33
21	Aldershot	42	11	11	20	48	59	0.814	33
22	Crystal Palace	42	8	11	23	38	76	0.500	27

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	D	W	W	W	L	W	L	W	D	D	L	L	D	L	L	L	L	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	D	W	D	L	D	L	L	L	L	D	D	W	W	L	D	W	L	D
Position	9	1	2	1	3	1	3	2	2	5	6	8	10	12	15	17	17	16	15	11	13	9	9	10	10	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	13

Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Third Division South

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
21 August 1948	Millwall	A	1–1	32,122	Aveyard
23 August 1948	Reading	H	3–0	17,394	Aveyard (2), Hulligan
28 August 1948	Aldershot	H	3–0	18,497	Hulligan (2), Dale
1 September 1948	Reading	A	2–1	13,955	Palk, Martin
4 September 1948	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–1	20,383
6 September 1948	Swindon Town	H	2–0	17,581	Palk, Pointon
11 September 1948	Southend United	H	0–2	16,592
15 September 1948	Swindon Town	A	2–0	16,894	Allen, Aveyard
18 September 1948	Northampton Town	A	2–2	9,964	Allen, Aveyard
25 September 1948	Norwich City	H	0–0	15,361
2 October 1948	Exeter City	A	1–2	10,672	Martin
9 October 1948	Swansea Town	H	0–2	17,888
16 October 1948	Newport County	A	2–2	10,037	Aveyard (2)
23 October 1948	Ipswich Town	H	1–2	11,424	Aveyard
30 October 1948	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	A	0–2	18,436
6 November 1948	Walsall	H	0–2	11,559
13 November 1948	Notts County	A	1–2	29,332	Aveyard
20 November 1948	Bristol Rovers	H	2–0	10,342	Cheadle, Palk
18 December 1948	Millwall	H	1–0	7,738	Pointon
25 December 1948	Leyton Orient	H	3–0	9,480	Allen, Pointon, Hubbick
27 December 1948	Leyton Orient	A	0–2	8,953
1 January 1949	Aldershot	A	1–0	4,510	Pointon
8 January 1949	Watford	H	3–1	8,681	Aveyard (2), Allen
15 January 1949	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	3–4	9,562	Martin, Pointon, Aveyard
22 January 1949	Southend United	A	0–0	9,713
5 February 1949	Northampton Town	H	1–0	9,369	Allen
12 February 1949	Crystal Palace	A	1–1	12,409	Cheadle
19 February 1949	Norwich City	A	0–2	26,323
26 February 1949	Exeter City	H	1–1	8,437	o.g.
5 March 1949	Swansea Town	A	1–3	13,769	Allen
12 March 1949	Newport County	H	1–2	9,487	Hulligan
19 March 1949	Ipswich Town	A	1–4	10,722	Allen
26 March 1949	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	0–2	8,560
30 March 1949	Torquay United	A	0–0	6,483
2 April 1949	Walsall	A	1–1	9,767	Martin
9 April 1949	Notts County	H	1–0	12,198	Martin
15 April 1949	Bristol City	H	4–2	13,571	Allen (2), Martin, Hulligan
16 April 1949	Bristol Rovers	A	1–4	15,477	Aveyard
18 April 1949	Bristol City	A	1–1	11,094	Palk
23 April 1949	Torquay United	H	3–1	11,914	King (2), McGarry
30 April 1949	Watford	A	1–2	6,316	Allen
7 May 1949	Crystal Palace	H	0–0	7,821

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	27 November 1948	Notts County	A	1–2	36,514	Martin

Player statistics

Appearances Pos. Name Football League FA Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK George Heppell 37 0 1 0 38 0 GK Ray Hancock 3 0 0 0 3 0 GK Harry Prince 2 0 0 0 2 0 DF Basil Hayward 41 0 1 0 42 0 DF Tommy Cheadle 22 2 1 0 23 2 DF Garth Butler 33 0 1 0 34 0 DF Harry Hubbick 20 1 1 0 21 1 DF Reg Potts 19 0 0 0 19 0 DF Jim Elsby 1 0 0 0 1 0 MF Wilf Smith 1 0 0 0 1 0 MF Jimmy Todd 11 0 0 0 11 0 MF Alan Martin 42 6 1 1 43 7 MF Bill McGarry 40 1 1 0 41 1 MF Eric Eastwood 4 0 0 0 4 0 MF Walter Keeley 2 0 0 0 2 0 MF Joe Dale 6 1 0 0 6 1 MF Mick Hulligan 28 5 0 0 28 5 MF Alan Bennett 1 0 0 0 1 0 MF Bernard Jones 6 0 1 0 7 0 FW Bill Pointon 15 5 0 0 15 5 FW Ronnie Allen 40 10 1 0 41 10 FW Lewis White 1 0 0 0 1 0 FW Pat Raftery 2 0 0 0 2 0 FW John Sherratt 2 0 0 0 2 0 FW George King 2 2 0 0 2 2 FW George O'Neill 5 0 0 0 5 0 FW Stan Palk 42 4 1 0 43 4 FW Walter Aveyard 34 13 1 0 35 13

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Walter Aveyard 13 Ronnie Allen 10 Alan Martin 7 Bill Pointon 5 Mick Hulligan Stan Palk 4 George King 2 Tommy Cheadle Harry Hubbick 1 Bill McGarry Joe Dale League Scorer Goals Walter Aveyard 13 Ronnie Allen 10 Alan Martin 6 Bill Pointon 5 Mick Hulligan Stan Palk 4 George King 2 Tommy Cheadle Harry Hubbick 1 Bill McGarry Joe Dale

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1948	GK		Ray Hancock	Bury	Free transfer	[3]
June 1948	FW		Walter Aveyard	Birmingham City	Free transfer	[3]
July 1948	MF		Mick Hulligan	Liverpool	£10,000	[3]
July 1948	FW		Stan Palk	Liverpool	£10,000	[3]
October 1948	MF		Bernard Jones	Longport	Free transfer	[3]
October 1948	FW		Lewis White		Free transfer	[3]
November 1948	DF		Jim Elsby		Free transfer	[3]
November 1948	FW		George O'Neill	Ellesmere Port Town	Free transfer	[3]
November 1948	FW		Pat Raftery	Ravensdale	Free transfer	[3]
January 1949	FW		John Sherratt		Free transfer	[3]
March 1949	MF		Alan Bennett		Free transfer	[3]
March 1949	DF		Stan Turner		Free transfer	[3]
April 1949	FW		George King	Hull City	'four-figure fee'	[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
September 1948	MF		Walter Keeley	Accrington Stanley	£1,500	[3]
October 1948	MF		Joe Dale	Witton Albion	'Cheshire League record fee'	[3]
January 1949	DF		Harry Hubbick	Rochdale	£1,000	[3]
January 1949	FW		Bill Pointon	Queens Park Rangers	'club record five-figure fee'	[3]
May 1949	GK		Harry Prince	Stafford Rangers	Released	[3]
July 1949	DF		Bob Pursell	Winsford United	Free transfer	[3]
July 1949	FW		Lewis White	Winsford United	Free transfer	[3]
Summer 1949	FW		George O'Neill		Released	[3]
Summer 1949	FW		John Sherratt		Released	[3]

References

Specific

1. Kent, Jeff (1990). "Creating Sunshine from the Shadows (1939–1950)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 151–171. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
2. Port Vale 1948–1949 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
3. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

General

• Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.