1937–38 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1937–38 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Manager	Tom Morgan; (from December)
Stadium	The Old Recreation Ground
Football League Third Division North	15th (38 Points)
FA Cup	First Round; (knocked out by Gainsborough Trinity)
Football League Third Division North Cup	First Round; (knocked out by Tranmere Rovers)
Top goalscorer	League: Jack Roberts (28); All: Jack Roberts (30)
Highest home attendance	10,984 vs. Hull City, 15 April 1938
Lowest home attendance	2,992 vs. Rochdale, 30 April 1938
Average home league attendance	6,716
Biggest win	4–0 and 5–1
Biggest defeat	0–5 and 2–7
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1936–37 1938–39 →

The 1937–38 season was Port Vale's 32nd season of football in the English Football League, and their second-successive season (third overall) in the Third Division North.^[1] With thirty goals, Jack Roberts was the division's top scorer. However, the club managed only a mid-table finish, exiting both cup competitions at the first stage.

Overview

Third Division North

The pre-season saw the arrival of goalkeepers James Nicholls and George Heppell (Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers); veteran right-back Johnny Rowe (Queen's Park Rangers); left-back Harry Johnson (Newcastle United); winger Charlie Rattray (Mansfield Town); experienced inside-right Arthur Masters (Nottingham Forest); and 'clever' inside-left William Price (Fulham).^[1] Pre-season training included bowls, cricket, and practice with rubbers balls and rubber boots to improve ball control.^[1] The fans were not optimistic about the campaign, so ticket sales were low despite lowered prices.^[1]

The season began with a 3–0 defeat at Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park.^[1] Tom Nolan found himself dropped in favour of Jack Roberts, who immediately went on a run of three goals in three games.^[1] The team went on to go six games unbeaten, including a 4–0 win over Barrow in which Roberts scored all four.^[1] Their 5–1 win over Hartlepools United – in which Arthur Caldwell scored a hat-trick – took them into seventh in the table.^[1] This run ended with a 5–0 drubbing at Valley Parade.^[1] After this defeat to Bradford City the Vale signed forward Ken Fish from Aston Villa for 'a sizeable fee'.^[1] In November, William Price was released from his contract.^[1] The next month the side were on the end of a 7–2 beating by Chester at Sealand Road.^[1] Soon after this Tom Morgan was re-appointed as manager, having been demoted to assistant-secretary in June 1932.^[1] Immediately following this, the club went on a run of one defeat in nine games.^[1] During this run, Roberts scored a hat-trick past Accrington Stanley in a 4–1 win.^[1]

In February, Tommy Ward was traded to Stoke City in exchange for Harry Davies and a small fee.^[1] On 5 March, Vale inflicted a 4–3 win over Bradford City, soon after which Sam Baum was signed from Bolton Wanderers just two minutes before the transfer deadline closed.^[1] On 15 April, the club saw its first five-figure crowd of the season, as promotion-chasing Hull City took away both the points despite a brace from Roberts.^[1] Revenge came at Anlaby Road three days later, when the "Valiants" held a clean sheet to damage the "Tigers" promotion prospects.^[1] On the final home game of the season a seventeen-year-old Alf Bellis scored on his debut as Vale beat Rochdale 4–1.^[1]

They finished fifteenth with 38 points, just six points clear of the re-election zone.^[1] Away from The Old Recreation Ground, the side struggled, managing just a single win.^[1] Jack Roberts was the club's top goalscorer with 28 league strikes in 37 games – also making him the division's top scorer.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a bare profit of some £300 was recorded due to a transfer credit of £2,900.^[1] The annual summer clear-out saw the departure of fourteen of the twenty-six players, including Sam Baum; Spencer Evans (Northwich Victoria); Roderick Welsh; Charlie Rattray (Accrington Stanley); Harry Johnson (Hartlepools United); Trevor Rhodes; and Fred Obrey (who was sold to Tranmere Rovers).^[1] At the season's end the club were delighted to hear they had been transferred to the Third Division South, where gate receipts were higher.^[1] On 27 June, another meeting at the Grand Hotel (Hanley) saw the issue of a name change debated, where Stoke United and Stoke North End were again considered.^[1] A name change was advocated by every letter written in by supporters; however, once again, there was insufficient time to implement a name change before the upcoming season.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, a first-round exit came at the hands of Midland League Gainsborough Trinity, after Trinity won the replay 2–1.^[1] In the short-lived Football League Third Division North Cup, Vale went out in the first round to Tranmere Rovers – a 1–1 stalemate at home was followed by a 2–0 defeat in the replay at Prenton Park.^[1]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion
13	New Brighton	42	15	8	19	60	61	0.984	38
14	Bradford City	42	14	10	18	66	69	0.957	38
15	Port Vale	42	12	14	16	65	73	0.890	38	Transferred to the Third Division South
16	Southport	42	12	14	16	53	82	0.646	38
17	Rochdale	42	13	11	18	67	78	0.859	37

Source: rsssf.com

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Third Division North

Results by matchday

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	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	A	H	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A
Result	L	D	W	L	L	W	W	W	D	W	D	L	W	L	L	L	L	D	L	W	D	D	W	D	D	D	L	W	L	L	W	D	W	L	D	L	L	D	D	L	W	D
Position	20	17	14	14	17	13	11	10	9	9	7	9	9	10	11	13	16	15	17	14	14	13	12	12	11	12	13	11	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	14	15	14	14	16	13	15

Source: Statto^[2]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
28 August 1937	Oldham Athletic	A	0–3	5,781
30 August 1937	Gateshead	H	2–2	6,699	Caldwell, Roberts
4 September 1937	Darlington	H	1–0	7,233	Roberts
8 September 1937	Gateshead	A	1–2	9,641	Roberts
11 September 1937	Doncaster Rovers	A	2–3	11,538	Price, Caldwell
13 September 1937	New Brighton	H	3–2	4,257	Caldwell, Roberts, Masters
18 September 1937	Crewe Alexandra	A	2–1	5,888	Price, Roberts
25 September 1937	Barrow	H	4–0	7,416	Roberts (4)
2 October 1937	Wrexham	A	0–0	5,364
9 October 1937	Hartlepools United	H	5–1	7,951	Caldwell (3), Ward (2)
16 October 1937	Southport	H	1–1	8,151	Masters
23 October 1937	Bradford City	A	0–5	3,176
30 October 1937	York City	H	3–2	5,139	Masters (2), Caldwell
6 November 1937	Tranmere Rovers	A	1–2	7,597	Masters
13 November 1937	Halifax Town	H	0–2	6,579
20 November 1937	Carlisle United	A	1–3	4,959	Fish
4 December 1937	Chester	A	2–7	3,849	Roberts (2 [1 pen])
18 December 1937	Rochdale	A	1–1	3,560	Roberts (pen)
27 December 1937	Lincoln City	A	0–1	13,354
28 December 1937	Lincoln City	H	1–0	5,740	Roberts (pen)
1 January 1938	Oldham Athletic	H	2–2	6,878	Roberts, Ward
3 January 1938	Rotherham United	H	0–0	3,604
8 January 1938	Accrington Stanley	H	4–1	5,443	Roberts (3), Masters
15 January 1938	Darlington	A	2–2	2,330	Roberts, Ward
22 January 1938	Doncaster Rovers	H	1–1	7,153	Caldwell
29 January 1938	Crewe Alexandra	H	1–1	5,851	Caldwell
5 February 1938	Barrow	A	0–3	5,759
12 February 1938	Wrexham	H	2–0	7,861	Davies, Caldwell
19 February 1938	Hartlepools United	A	1–2	4,483	Roberts
26 February 1938	Southport	A	0–1	3,797
5 March 1938	Bradford City	H	4–3	8,022	Nolan (2), Davies, Roberts
12 March 1938	York City	A	2–2	7,319	Roberts (2)
19 March 1938	Tranmere Rovers	H	1–0	9,916	Nolan
26 March 1938	Halifax Town	A	1–2	4,363	Roberts
2 April 1938	Carlisle United	H	2–2	6,463	Rattray, Roberts
9 April 1938	Accrington Stanley	A	1–2	2,990	Nolan
15 April 1938	Hull City	H	2–4	10,984	Roberts (2)
16 April 1938	Chester	H	2–2	6,695	Nolan (2)
18 April 1938	Hull City	A	0–0	13,564
23 April 1938	Rotherham United	A	2–3	5,346	Roberts, Nolan
30 April 1938	Rochdale	H	4–1	2,992	Masters (2), Roberts, Bellis
7 May 1938	New Brighton	A	1–1	3,259	Griffiths

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	27 November 1937	Gainsborough Trinity	H	1–1	6,772	Roberts
R1 Replay	1 December 1937	Gainsborough Trinity	A	1–2	4,220	Roberts

Third Division North Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1	11 October 1937	Tranmere Rovers	H	1–1	900	Rattray
Replay	10 November 1937	Tranmere Rovers	A	0–2	500

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	George Heppell	25	0	1	0	27	0
GK	James Nicholls	17	0	1	0	19	0
DF	Trevor Rhodes	13	0	0	0	14	0
DF	Roderick Welsh	27	0	2	0	31	0
DF	Harry Griffiths	27	1	1	0	28	1
DF	Johnny Rowe	37	0	2	0	40	0
DF	Harry Johnson	19	0	0	0	21	0
MF	Arthur Caldwell	35	10	1	0	37	10
MF	Tommy Ward	11	4	1	0	14	4
MF	Billy Tunnicliffe	1	0	1	0	2	0
MF	Wilf Smith	21	0	0	0	22	0
MF	Fred Obrey	16	0	2	0	18	0
MF	Spencer Evans	34	0	2	0	37	0
MF	Arthur Cumberlidge	23	0	1	0	26	0
MF	Arthur Whittaker	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Charlie Rattray	22	1	1	0	24	2
MF	William Price	13	2	0	0	14	2
MF	Stanley Dimbleby	1	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Sam Baum	3	0	0	0	3	0
MF	Alf Bellis	1	1	0	0	1	1
MF	Frank Briggs	8	0	0	0	8	0
MF	Harry Sellars	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Jack Roberts	37	28	2	2	40	30
FW	Tom Nolan	18	7	1	0	20	7
FW	Arthur Masters	33	8	2	0	35	8
FW	Ken Fish	5	1	1	0	6	1
FW	Harry Davies	15	2	0	0	15	2

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Third Division North	FA Cup	Northern Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Jack Roberts	28	2	0	30
2	MF	England	Arthur Caldwell	10	0	0	10
3	FW	England	Arthur Masters	8	0	0	8
4	FW	England	Tom Nolan	7	0	0	7
5	MF	England	Tommy Ward	4	0	0	4
6	MF	England	Charlie Rattray	1	0	1	2
–	MF	England	William Price	2	0	0	2
–	FW	England	Harry Davies	2	0	0	2
9	FW	South Africa	Ken Fish	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Harry Griffiths	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Alf Bellis	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	0	0	0	0
			TOTALS	65	2	1	68

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1937	GK	George Heppell	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1937	MF	William Price	Fulham	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1937	MF	Charlie Rattray	Mansfield Town	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1937	DF	Johnny Rowe	Queen's Park Rangers	Free transfer	^[3]
June 1937	MF	Stanley Dimbleby	Hull City	Free transfer	^[3]
June 1937	DF	Harry Johnson	Newcastle United	Free transfer	^[3]
June 1937	FW	Arthur Masters	Nottingham Forest	Exchange	^[3]
June 1937	GK	James Nicholls	Brentford	Free transfer	^[3]
November 1937	FW	Ken Fish	Aston Villa	'Sizeable'	^[3]
February 1938	FW	Harry Davies	Stoke City	Exchange	^[3]
March 1938	MF	Sam Baum	Bolton Wanderers	Free transfer	^[3]
March 1938	MF	Alf Bellis	Burnell's Ironworks	Free transfer	^[3]
March 1938	FW	Joe Wheatley	Ellesmere Port Town	Free transfer	^[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
September 1937	FW	Arthur Ford	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	^[3]
November 1937	MF	William Price		Mutual consent	^[3]
February 1938	MF	Tommy Ward	Stoke City	'Small'	^[3]
May 1938	MF	Sam Baum		Released	^[3]
May 1938	MF	Frank Briggs	Aston Villa	Released	^[3]
May 1938	MF	Stanley Dimbleby		Released	^[3]
May 1938	DF	Spencer Evans	Northwich Victoria	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1938	MF	Charlie Rattray	Accrington Stanley	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1938	FW	Billy Tunnicliffe	Bournemouth	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1938	DF	Roderick Welsh		Released	^[3]
June 1938	MF	Fred Obrey	Tranmere Rovers	Free transfer	^[3]
Summer 1938	DF	Harry Johnson	Hartlepools United	Free transfer	^[3]
Summer 1938	GK	James Nicholls		Released	^[3]
Summer 1938	MF	Trevor Rhodes		Released	^[3]

References

Specific

^ ^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 ^ac ^ad Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Glory to Despair (1929–1939)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 124–150. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ Port Vale 1937–1938 : Results & Fixtures Archived 19 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
^ ^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 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.

[Kent-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 ^ac ^ad Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Glory to Despair (1929–1939)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 124–150. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.

[2] Port Vale 1937–1938 : Results & Fixtures Archived 19 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[transfers-3] ^ ^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 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Port Vale F.C. seasons
1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27 2027–28 2028–29 2029–30