1952–53 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1952–53 season
Chairman	Fred Burgess
Manager	Freddie Steele
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Third Division North	2nd (58 Points)
FA Cup	Second Round
Coronation Cup	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: Basil Hayward (22) All: Basil Hayward (22)
Highest home attendance	25,398 vs. Oldham Athletic (6 December 1952)
Lowest home attendance	6,000 vs. Bradford City (20 December 1952)
Average home league attendance	14,504
Home colours
← 1951–52 1953–54 →

The 1952–53 season was Port Vale's 41st season of football in the Football League, and their first season (fourth overall) back in the Third Division North, following their switch from the Third Division South.^[1] Using an incredibly settled squad (only nineteen players were used all season), manager Freddie Steele led the Vale to a second-place finish, just a single point from the promotion spot. Built upon an 'iron curtain defence', just 35 goals were conceded in 46 league games. All this was achieved with pretty much the same bottom-placed team that Steele inherited in December 1951.

Following from 9 February the previous season until 8 September the club racked up a club record streak of twelve consecutive home wins.

Overview

Third Division North

The pre-season saw the club switched from the Third Division South to the Third Division North, very much against the wishes of the directors, who believed a loss of income would follow.^[1] Manager Freddie Steele decided against making any new signings, and instead kept faith with the young team he had inherited the previous season.^[1] Offers were made for some of the young prospects, but none were accepted.^[1]

The season began with a 1–0 defeat at Valley Parade with a goal from Ray King's brother George, managed by Steele's predecessor Ivor Powell.^[1] This did not affect the team's spirits, as they went straight on to a seven match unbeaten run, conceding just three goals.^[1] Steele picked up an injury and so selected the versatile Basil Hayward to replace him.^[1] A shrewd move, Hayward would go on to become the club's top scorer.^[1] It took awhile to pay off however, as Vale went five games scoring just one goal.^[1] Steele attempted to sign a new forward, but to no avail.^[1] A 1–0 home defeat to wooden spoon contenders Accrington Stanley exemplified the club's trouble in front of goal, and also ended their record-breaking run of twelve consecutive home wins.^[1] Steele and trainer Ken Fish put the squad to work on the special fitness regime they devised, as the "Valiants" marched onwards.^[1]

Travelling to Boundary Park on 15 November, they beat Oldham Athletic 1–0, taking themselves up into third place.^[1] They dropped points during the Christmas period, though picked up a useful 4–1 win at Gresty Road on Boxing day.^[1] Three points out of a possible eight in February allowed leaders Oldham to pull away from the chasing Vale.^[1] In March Oldham and Grimsby Town struggled, and so Vale took advantage with six points from ten, conceding just three goals.^[1] With six of the final nine games at home, and all of the chasing pack yet to visit Burslem, the omens seemed good for promotion.^[1] Vale duly remained unbeaten until the season's end, however drawing five of these games proved not enough.^[1] The 4 April encounter with Oldham proved to be the title decider, Vale had dominated the game but conceded a fatal equalizing goal on 86 minutes.^[1] Two draws against strugglers Chester were also costly.^[1] Nevertheless, they finished strongly, hammering Grimsby Town 4–0, Reg Potts scoring with a lob from 35 yards out.^[1]

They finished second, a single point away from top spot.^[1] Steele's emphasis on teamwork had turned the team around, and earned the club its best finish since their relegation from the second tier in 1935–36.^[1] Their defensive record of 35 goals conceded was bettered only by Second Division Huddersfield Town.^[1] Their tally of 58 points was second only to the club's extraordinary 1929–30 campaign.^[1] Their main weakness was an average offence, though Hayward proved to be a revelation with 22 goals.^[1]

On 4 May, Vale played Potteries derby rivals Stoke City, who had just been relegated from the First Division.^[1] This Coronation Cup match ended in a 2–0 win for the Potters, with £1,053 raised for charity.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a £1,676 profit was recorded.^[1] This was due to a club record average attendance of 14,504 – which took gate receipts to £39,929 – and a £5,000 slash in the wage bill to £18,246.^[1] For once the club did not sell its best players, and yet it also made a profit.^[1] Steele was rewarded with a three-year contract.^[1] He again kept on almost all of the squad, with two exceptions being Jimmy Todd (Wellington Town) and Norman Hallam (Halifax Town).^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Third Division South Exeter City were beaten 2–1. However, in the Second Round league leaders Oldham Athletic won 3–0 in front of a season best 25,398 crowd at Vale Park – 8,000 of them Oldham supporters.^[1]

Final league table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Oldham Athletic	46	22	15	9	77	45	1.711	59
2	Port Vale	46	20	18	8	67	35	1.914	58
3	Wrexham	46	24	8	14	86	66	1.303	56
4	York City	46	20	13	13	60	45	1.333	53
5	Grimsby Town	46	21	10	15	75	59	1.271	52
6	Southport	46	20	11	15	63	60	1.050	51
7	Bradford Park Avenue	46	19	12	15	75	61	1.230	50
8	Gateshead	46	17	15	14	76	60	1.267	49
9	Carlisle United	46	18	13	15	82	68	1.206	49
10	Crewe Alexandra	46	20	8	18	70	68	1.029	48
11	Stockport County	46	17	13	16	82	69	1.188	47
12	Chesterfield	46	18	11	17	65	63	1.032	47
13	Tranmere Rovers	46	21	5	20	65	63	1.032	47
14	Halifax Town	46	16	15	15	68	68	1.000	47
15	Scunthorpe & Lindsey United	46	16	14	16	62	56	1.107	46
16	Bradford City	46	14	18	14	75	80	0.938	46
17	Hartlepools United	46	16	14	16	57	61	0.934	46
18	Mansfield Town	46	16	14	16	55	62	0.887	46
19	Barrow	46	16	12	18	66	71	0.930	44
20	Chester	46	11	15	20	64	85	0.753	37
21	Darlington	46	14	6	26	58	96	0.604	34
22	Rochdale	46	14	5	27	62	83	0.747	33
23	Workington	46	11	10	25	55	91	0.604	32
24	Accrington Stanley	46	8	11	27	39	89	0.438	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	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	H
Result	L	W	W	D	W	W	D	W	L	W	D	L	W	D	W	L	W	D	W	L	D	D	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	L	D	L	W	D	W	D	L	D	D	D	D	W	D	D	D	D
Position	20	7	3	5	3	2	3	2	4	3	3	5	5	3	3	5	4	4	3	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	4	4	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Third Division North

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
23 August 1952	Bradford City	A	0–1	16,326
25 August 1952	Tranmere Rovers	H	2–0	17,138	Mullard, Griffiths
30 August 1952	Rochdale	H	5–2	15,448	Griffiths (2), Steele, Mullard, Bennett
2 September 1952	Tranmere Rovers	A	1–1	10,194	Hayward
6 September 1952	Darlington	A	2–0	8,600	Mullard, Hayward
8 September 1952	Stockport County	H	2–0	15,185	Steele, Mullard
13 September 1952	Gateshead	H	1–1	17,803	Steele
15 September 1952	Stockport County	A	2–0	10,142	Bennett, Hayward
20 September 1952	Hartlepools United	A	0–2	9,945
22 September 1952	Bradford Park Avenue	H	1–0	12,553	Hulligan
27 September 1952	Carlisle United	H	0–0	10,803
29 September 1952	York City	A	0–1	7,289
4 October 1952	Southport	A	0–0	7,616
11 October 1952	Chesterfield	H	3–0	14,352	Steele (2), Sproson
18 October 1952	Workington	A	1–1	6,705	Hayward
25 October 1952	Accrington Stanley	H	0–1	12,202
1 November 1952	Halifax Town	A	2–1	11,693	Griffiths (2)
8 November 1952	Mansfield Town	H	1–1	14,103	Hayward
15 November 1952	Oldham Athletic	A	1–0	21,407	o.g.
29 November 1952	Wrexham	A	1–3	11,082	Griffiths
13 December 1952	Grimsby Town	A	1–1	13,801	o.g.
20 December 1952	Bradford City	H	0–0	6,000
26 December 1952	Crewe Alexandra	A	4–1	13,962	Griffiths (2), Hayward (2)
27 December 1952	Crewe Alexandra	H	3–1	22,478	Hayward (2), Griffiths
3 January 1953	Rochdale	A	1–1	6,899	Hayward
17 January 1953	Darlington	H	2–1	11,417	Hulligan, Hayward
24 January 1953	Gateshead	A	1–1	7,785	Hayward
31 January 1953	Scunthorpe & Lindsey United	A	2–1	6,984	Cunliffe, Hayward
7 February 1953	Hartlepools United	H	3–0	13,919	Hayward (2), Griffiths
14 February 1953	Carlisle United	A	0–2	10,419
21 February 1953	Southport	H	0–0	13,919
28 February 1953	Chesterfield	A	0–1	9,772
7 March 1953	Workington	H	2–0	12,093	Bennett, Hayward
14 March 1953	Accrington Stanley	A	1–1	5,499	Griffiths
16 March 1953	Scunthorpe & Lindsey United	H	4–0	11,371	Cunliffe (2), Hayward, Leake
21 March 1953	Halifax Town	H	1–1	17,945	Hayward
28 March 1953	Mansfield Town	A	0–1	6,083
3 April 1953	Chester	H	1–1	19,413	Griffiths
4 April 1953	Oldham Athletic	H	1–1	24,499	Sproson
6 April 1953	Chester	A	2–2	10,553	Cunliffe, Askey
11 April 1953	Bradford Park Avenue	A	2–2	11,790	Griffiths, Hayward
13 April 1953	Barrow	H	3–0	10,010	Hayward, Hulligan, Mullard
18 April 1953	Wrexham	H	0–0	21,585
20 April 1953	York City	H	2–0	11,379	Leake, Hayward
25 April 1953	Barrow	A	2–1	5,080	Hayward, Leake
30 April 1953	Grimsby Town	H	4–0	7,964	Potts, Leake, Mullard, Hulligan

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	22 November 1952	Exeter City	H	2–1	14,394	Mullard, Griffiths
R2	6 December 1952	Oldham Athletic	H	0–3	25,398

Coronation Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
Final	4 May 1953	Stoke City	A	0–2	9,981

Player statistics

Appearances Pos. Name Football League FA Cup Coronation Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK Ray King 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 GK Ray Hancock 43 0 2 0 1 0 46 0 DF Tommy Cheadle 46 0 2 0 1 0 49 0 DF Reg Potts 46 1 2 0 1 0 49 1 DF Stan Turner 43 0 2 0 1 0 46 0 DF Roy Sproson 45 2 2 0 1 0 48 2 DF Jim Elsby 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 MF Jimmy Todd 11 0 1 0 0 0 12 0 MF Mick Hulligan 42 4 2 0 1 0 45 4 MF Alan Bennett 27 3 2 0 0 0 29 3 MF Albert Leake 24 4 1 0 1 0 26 4 MF John Cunliffe 19 4 0 0 0 0 19 4 MF Albert Mullard 40 6 2 1 1 0 43 7 MF Norman Hallam 8 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 MF Colin Askey 9 1 0 0 1 0 10 1 FW Basil Hayward 37 22 2 0 1 0 40 22 FW Ken Griffiths 44 13 2 1 1 0 47 14 FW Freddie Steele 11 5 0 0 0 0 11 5 FW Derek Tomkinson 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Basil Hayward 22 Ken Griffiths 14 Albert Mullard 7 Freddie Steele 5 Albert Leake 4 Mick Hulligan John Cunliffe Alan Bennett 3 Roy Sproson 2 Colin Askey 1 Reg Potts League Scorer Goals Basil Hayward 22 Ken Griffiths 13 Albert Mullard 6 Freddie Steele 5 Albert Leake 4 Mick Hulligan John Cunliffe Alan Bennett 3 Roy Sproson 2 Colin Askey 1 Reg Potts

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
December 1952	FW		Derek Tomkinson	Burton Albion	Free transfer	[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
May 1953	DF		John Abbotts		Released	[3]
May 1953	MF		Norman Hallam	Halifax Town	Free transfer	[3]
May 1953	MF		Jimmy Todd	Wellington Town	Free transfer	[3]
Summer 1953	FW		Freddie Steele		Retired	[3]

References

Specific

1. Kent, Jeff (1990). "Fame and Fortune (1950–1959)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 171–196. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
2. Port Vale 1952–1953 : 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.