1917–18 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1917–18 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Manager	Tom Holford
Stadium	Old Recreation Ground
Football League Lancashire Section	11th (26 points)
Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament	4th (2 points)
Top goalscorer	League: David Bowcock (7); All: David Bowcock (7)
Highest home attendance	10,000 vs. Stoke City, 29 September 1917
Lowest home attendance	562 vs. Oldham Athletic, 1 December 1917
Average home league attendance	3,507
Biggest win	4–0 and 5–1
Biggest defeat	0–7 vs. Everton, 9 March 1918

The 1917–18 season was Port Vale's second season of football after going into abeyance during World War I.^[1] It was a second wartime campaign in the Football League Lancashire Section (Principal Competition), under manager-secretary Tom Holford and chairman Frank Huntbach at the Old Recreation Ground. Improving on the previous year, Vale finished 11th in the 30-game league season, collecting 26 points from 9 wins, 8 draws and 13 losses, scoring 47 goals and conceding 55.

Cup competition was confined to the Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament, where Vale placed 14th with 2 points. The campaign featured notable highs and lows, including 4–0 and 5–1 victories, but also a 7–0 loss to Everton on 9 March 1918. Forward David Bowcock led the team's attack, finishing as both league and season top scorer with seven goals. Attendance fluctuated markedly, with a season-high 10,000 spectators attending the match against Stoke City on 29 September 1917, and an average attendance of approximately 3,507.

Overall, the 1917–18 season represented a gradual consolidation for Port Vale in wartime football — showing competitive improvement and a measure of stability amid the regionalised football structure imposed by World War I.

Overview

Port Vale had a difficult start to the season, losing key players to conscription and facing champions Liverpool home and away.^[1] They led 2–0 at half-time in the season opener, though they ended the match with a 3–2 defeat and then were beaten 4–0 at Anfield.^[1] They picked up a draw and win over Southport Central, but were beaten home and away by Potteries derby rivals Stoke; the home tie with Stoke saw a season-high crowd of 10,000.^[1] A 5–2 win over Burnley, in which David Bowcock scored a hat-trick, was the first of a five-match unbeaten run, though they did draw the other four matches.^[1] A 4–0 home defeat in which they were "outclassed" by Stockport County ruined this run before they put together another five-match unbeaten run.^[1]

A 4–0 win over Blackpool on 26 January took Vale to seventh place. However, they then suffered poor form until the end of the campaign, picking up just three points from their remaining eight matches.^[1] This poor run of defeats included a heavy 7–0 loss at Everton, though they were comforted by their £60 share of the 15,000 crowd.^[1] They picked up an expected two points away with a 5–1 win at rock-bottom Blackburn Rovers but lost the final game of the season 2–0 at home to Rovers, which was only the away side's second victory of the season.^[1] Around this time, club nicknames were becoming popular, and The Staffordshire Sentinel reporter "The Wanderer" suggested "the Colliers" in reference to local coal mines. However, the nickname failed to catch on.^[1] They ended the season in a respectable 11th place; David Bowcock's seven goals made him top-scorer, as few attackers could play in half the club's matches.^[1] The six-game Subsidiary Tournament was used as an exercise to blood young players. They lost five of their games in a difficult group of Manchester City, Manchester United and Stoke.^[1] Despite low costs, the club announced a loss of £33 and the total debt reached £4,000, leaving directors grumbling about their financial responsibilities.^[1]

Results

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Football League Lancashire Section

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
10	Preston North End	30	12	3	15	38	53	0.717	27
11	Port Vale	30	9	8	13	47	58	0.810	26
12	Blackpool	30	10	5	15	46	70	0.657	25

Source: Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Matches

1 September 1917 1	Burslem Port Vale	2–3	Liverpool	Hanley
	Worthy			Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 4,000

8 September 1917 2	Liverpool	4–0	Burslem Port Vale	Liverpool
				Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 12,000

15 September 1917 3	Burslem Port Vale	1–1	Southport Central	Hanley
	Worthy			Stadium: Old Recreation Ground

22 September 1917 4	Southport Central	2–4	Burslem Port Vale	Southport
			Lyons Bowcock A.Pearson Edgeley	Stadium: Ash Lane Attendance: 1,000

29 September 1917 5	Burslem Port Vale	0–2	Stoke	Hanley
			Herbert Whittingham	Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,000

6 October 1917 6	Stoke	4–1	Burslem Port Vale	Stoke-upon-Trent
	Herbert Whittingham Howell		Hill	Stadium: Victoria Ground

13 October 1917 7	Burslem Port Vale	5–2	Burnley	Hanley
	Bowcock Spooner A.Pearson			Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: poor

20 October 1917 8	Burnley	2–2	Burslem Port Vale	Burnley
			A.Pearson Bowcock	Stadium: Turf Moor

27 October 1917 9	Manchester United	3–3	Burslem Port Vale	Old Trafford
	Anderson Connor Ellis		Whittaker A.Pearson	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 7,000

3 November 1917 10	Burslem Port Vale	2–2	Manchester United	Hanley
	Edgeley A.Pearson		Anderson Ellis	Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 4,000

10 November 1917 11	Stockport County	2–2	Burslem Port Vale	Stockport
			Whittaker Edgeley	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 2,000

17 November 1917 12	Burslem Port Vale	0–4	Stockport County	Hanley
				Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 3,000

24 November 1917 13	Oldham Athletic	1–1	Burslem Port Vale	Oldham
			Hill	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 1,203

1 December 1917 14	Burslem Port Vale	2–0	Oldham Athletic	Hanley
	Spooner Malkin			Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 562

8 December 1917 15	Bury	0–2	Burslem Port Vale	Bury, Greater Manchester
			Spooner Whittaker	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 2,000

15 December 1917 16	Burslem Port Vale	2–2	Bury	Hanley
	o.g. Whittaker			Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,000

22 December 1917 17	Bolton Wanderers	0–2	Burslem Port Vale	Bolton
			Bowcock	Stadium: Burnden Park Attendance: 1,000

29 December 1917 18	Burslem Port Vale	1–2	Bolton Wanderers	Hanley
	Daley			Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: few hundred

5 January 1918 19	Preston North End	1–0	Burslem Port Vale	Preston, Lancashire
				Stadium: Deepdale

12 January 1918 20	Burslem Port Vale	3–0	Preston North End	Hanley
	Brennan H.Pearson			Stadium: Old Recreation Ground

19 January 1918 21	Blackpool	0–1	Burslem Port Vale	Blackpool
			Rogers	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 7000

26 January 1918 22	Burslem Port Vale	4–0	Blackpool	Hanley
	Brennan Rogers			Stadium: Old Recreation Ground

2 February 1918 23	Manchester City	5–1	Burslem Port Vale	Gorton
	Broad Lomas Thompson		Hill	Stadium: Hyde Road Attendance: 11,000

9 February 1918 24	Burslem Port Vale	0–2	Manchester City	Hanley
			Lomas Cunningham	Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,000

16 February 1918 25	Burslem Port Vale	1–1	Rochdale	Hanley
	Brennan		Page	Stadium: Old Recreation Ground

23 February 1918 26	Rochdale	2–0	Burslem Port Vale	Rochdale
	Thomas Page			Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2,000

2 March 1918 27	Burslem Port Vale	0–1	Everton	Hanley
				Stadium: Old Recreation Ground

9 March 1918 28	Everton	7–0	Burslem Port Vale	Walton, Liverpool
				Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 15,000

16 March 1918 29	Blackburn Rovers	1–5	Burslem Port Vale	Blackburn
			Jolly A.Pearson Foster J.Bennett	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 100

23 March 1918 30	Burslem Port Vale	0–2	Blackburn Rovers	Hanley
				Stadium: Old Recreation Ground

Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
2	Manchester United	6	3	1	2	6	7	0.857	7
3	Stoke	6	2	2	2	10	5	2.000	6
4	Port Vale	6	1	0	5	4	15	0.267	2

Source: Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Matches

29 March 1918	Burslem Port Vale	0–2	Stoke	Hanley
			Herbert P. Jones	Stadium: Old Recreation Ground

30 March 1918	Burslem Port Vale	1–4	Manchester City	Hanley
	Brennan		Royle Thompson P. Fairclough	Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,000

1 April 1918	Stoke	6–0	Burslem Port Vale	Stoke-upon-Trent
	Herbert Lockett Bassett			Stadium: Victoria Ground

6 April 1918	Manchester City	1–0	Burslem Port Vale	Gorton
	Fletcher			Stadium: Hyde Road Attendance: 1,000

13 April 1918	Manchester United	2–0	Burslem Port Vale	Old Trafford
	Bourne			Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 3,000

20 April 1918	Burslem Port Vale	3–0	Manchester United	Hanley
	Foster Daley			Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 4,000

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

Pos.	Name	League		Subsidiary		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Teddy Bateup	5	0	0	0	5	0
GK	John Powell	5	0	0	0	5	0
GK	Jonathan Hammond	20	0	5	0	25	0
FB	Jock Cameron	27	0	5	0	32	0
FB	Ted Collins	2	0	0	0	2	0
FB	George Holmes	13	0	4	0	17	0
FB	Willie Hawley	0	0	1	0	1	0
FB	Tom Lyons	30	1	4	0	34	1
HB	Jim Bennett	15	1	4	0	19	1
HB	Harry Pearson	24	1	2	0	26	1
HB	B Phillips	14	0	0	0	14	0
HB	Bill Taylor	0	0	1	0	1	0
HB	G Arrowsmith	23	0	5	0	28	0
HB	Tom Holford	2	0	0	0	2	0
HB	J Lawton	3	0	0	0	3	0
FW	John Griffiths	2	0	0	0	2	0
FW	George Shelton	2	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Billy Spooner	26	3	1	0	27	3
FW	Joe Daley	3	1	2	1	5	2
FW	Harold Edgeley	14	3	0	0	14	3
FW	James Hill	15	3	0	0	15	3
FW	W Malkin	1	1	2	0	3	1
FW	W Pepper	1	0	1	0	2	0
FW	Herbert Bennett	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Joe Brough	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Jack Shelton	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	David Bowcock	10	7	0	0	10	7
FW	Tom Brennan	11	5	5	1	16	6
FW	Billy Briscoe	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Jack Foster	5	1	4	2	9	3
FW	Jack Jolly	7	2	1	0	8	2
FW	A MacKenzie	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	G Maddock	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Albert Pearson	28	6	5	0	33	6
FW	Arthur Rogers	6	3	3	0	6	3
FW	J Wellings	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	Sam Whittaker	6	5	0	0	6	5
FW	S Worthy	5	3	0	0	5	3

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	League	Subsidiary	Total
1	FW	England	David Bowcock	7	0	7
2	FW	England	Albert Pearson	6	0	6
–	FW	England	Tom Brennan	5	1	6
4	FW	England	Sam Whittaker	5	0	5
5	FW	England	S Worthy	3	0	3
–	FW	England	Billy Spooner	3	0	3
–	FW	England	Harold Edgeley	3	0	3
–	FW	England	James Hill	3	0	3
–	FW	England	Arthur Rogers	3	0	3
–	FW	England	Jack Foster	1	2	3
11	FW	England	Jack Jolly	2	0	2
–	FW	England	Joe Daley	1	1	2
13	HB	England	Jim Bennett	1	0	1
–	FB	England	Tom Lyons	1	0	1
–	HB	England	Harry Pearson	1	0	1
–	FW	England	W Malkin	1	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	1
			TOTALS	47	4	51

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1917	FW	Joe Daley		Free transfer	^[2]
1917	FW	W Pepper		Free transfer	^[2]
1917	FW	Arthur Rogers		Free transfer	^[2]
Summer 1917	FW	David Bowcock		Free transfer	^[2]
Summer 1917	FW	James Hill		Free transfer	^[2]
Autumn 1917	FW	W Malkin		Free transfer	^[2]
September 1917	HB	Harry Pearson	Bury	Free transfer	^[2]
November 1917	FW	Jack Foster		Free transfer	^[2]
November 1917	HB	J Lawton		Free transfer	^[2]
January 1918	FW	Billy Briscoe	Leek United	Free transfer	^[2]
February 1918	FW	Jack Jolly		Free transfer	^[2]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1918	GK	Teddy Bateup	Retired		^[2]
1918	HB	J Lawton		Released	^[2]
1918	FW	W Pepper		Released	^[2]
1918	FW	S Worthy		Released	^[2]
April 1918	FW	W Malkin		Released	^[2]
Summer 1918	HB	Jim Bennett		Released	^[2]
Summer 1918	FW	Jack Jolly		Released	^[2]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Kent, Jeff (1990). "The Hard Road Back (1907–1919)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 71–97. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r 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 Kent, Jeff (1990). "The Hard Road Back (1907–1919)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 71–97. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.

[transfers-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

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 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