Cliff Pinchbeck

Cliff Pinchbeck

Personal information
Full name	Clifford Brian Pinchbeck[1]
Date of birth	20 January 1925[1]
Place of birth	Cleethorpes, England[1]
Date of death	1996 (aged 70–71)
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
	Scunthorpe United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1947–1948	Everton	3	(0)
1948–1949	Brighton & Hove Albion	14	(5)
1949–1951	Port Vale	69	(34)
1951–1952	Northampton Town	3	(3)
1953–1955	Bath City	60	(27)
	Salisbury
Total		149+	(69+)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Clifford Brian "Cliff" Pinchbeck (20 January 1925 – 1996) was an English footballer who played as a forward. He spent six years in the Football League, between 1947 and 1953, with Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion, Port Vale, and Northampton Town. He later played non-league football for Bath City and Salisbury.

Playing career

Pinchbeck began his career at Scunthorpe United, before moving on to Everton. He played three First Division games for Theo Kelly's "Toffees" in 1947–48, before leaving Goodison Park for Don Welsh's Brighton & Hove Albion. He helped the "Seagulls" to finish sixth in the Third Division South in 1948–49. He left the Goldstone Ground and joined league rivals Port Vale for a £3,500 fee in November 1949.^[1]

He made a perfect start for his new club, scoring a hat-trick in a 4–0 win over Millwall at The Old Recreation Ground on 12 November.^[1] He went on to finish the 1949–50 campaign as the club's top-scorer with 16 goals in 31 appearances – twice as many goals as his nearest rivals.^[1] He hit 19 goals in 34 games in 1950–51, including one against rivals Stoke City at the Victoria Ground, to become the club's top-scorer for a second successive season.^[1] However he was transfer-listed and dropped from the side by manager Gordon Hodgson in March 1951, and failed to turn up at the start of the 1951–52 season, claiming illness.^[1] He regained his first team place in September 1951 under new boss Ivor Powell, and hit five goals in 13 games in 1951–52.^[1] He finally got his wish, and secured a move away from Vale Park in November 1951, when he was sold to league rivals Northampton Town for 'an undisclosed sum'.^[1]

Pinchbeck scored three goals in three league games for Bob Dennison's "Cobblers" in 1951–52. He left the County Ground, and signed for Eddie Hapgood's Southern League side Bath City in August 1953, scoring 23 goals within his first year at Twerton Park.^[3] He moved on to Western League side Salisbury in January 1955.

Statistics

• Sourced from Cliff Pinchbeck profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Everton	1947–48	First Division	3	0	0	0	3	0
Brighton & Hove Albion	1949–50	Third Division South	14	5	0	0	14	5
Port Vale	1949–50	Third Division South	27	14	4	2	31	16
	1950–51	Third Division South	30	16	4	3	34	19
	1951–52	Third Division South	12	4	1	1	13	5
	Total		69	34	9	6	78	40
Northampton Town	1951–52	Third Division South	3	3	0	0	3	3
Career Total			89	42	9	6	98	48

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 231. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
2. Dawson, Denis (1997). Grass Roots. Chell Publications. p. 7. ISBN 0953209008.
3. "Past Players". ilovebathcity.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.