Wikipedia

1949–50 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1949–50 season was Port Vale's 38th season of football in the English Football League, and their fifth full season in the Third Division South.[1] It was the last season to be played at The Old Recreation Ground – despite numerous clashes with the authorities over the construction of the new stadium. The sale of Ronnie Allen raised a massive £20,000.

Port Vale
1949–50 season
ChairmanWilliam Holdcroft
ManagerGordon Hodgson
StadiumThe Old Recreation Ground
Football League Third Division South13th (41 Points)
FA CupFourth Round
(knocked out by Burnley)
Top goalscorerLeague: Cliff Pinchbeck (14)
All: Cliff Pinchbeck (16)
Highest home attendance18,218 vs. Nottingham Forest, 11 February 1950
Lowest home attendance8,496 vs. Torquay United, 27 March 1950
Average home league attendance12,983
Biggest win4–0 vs. Millwall, 12 November 1949
Biggest defeat0–3 vs. Millwall, 1 April 1950
Manager Gordon Hodgson during his playing days.

Overview

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Third Division South

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The pre-season saw the arrival of experienced full-back Lol Hamlett from Bolton Wanderers, young keeper Ray King from Leyton Orient (brother of George).[1] On his arrival King stated that The Old Recreation Ground was like 'some shanty town out west' and compared the dressing room to 'a dungeon', despite which somehow he 'felt completely at home'.[1] The playing staff now stood at 59 amateurs and 27 full-time professionals.[1]

The season opened with a 1–0 win over Bristol Rovers, which was followed by a 1–0 reverse to Southend United at Roots Hall three days later.[1] This loss was thanks to an own goal from Garth Butler, who put the ball into his own net despite being some distance from any Southend players.[1] A seven match unbeaten run followed, built upon a defence that leaked just five goals, King and Hamlett settling in well.[1] Bad news off the field returned however, when Stoke-on-Trent City Council rejected the club's application to move two stands from The Old Rec to the new stadium.[1] As a result, the club set up a 100,000 Shilling Fund to build the two stands from scratch.[1] On the pitch results began to turn against the "Valiants", and so striker Cliff Pinchbeck was signed from Brighton & Hove Albion for a £3,500 fee.[1] Pinchbeck marked his debut with a hat-trick over Millwall, receiving a standing ovation from his new fans.[1] More off-field stadium troubles came when the Regional Officer of the Minister of Works refused a licence for the stadium on unspecified grounds.[1] Club officials were forced to travel to London to discuss the matter with the minister, eventually convincing him to change his mind.[1] The home match with Newport County on 15 October was notable as the first Vale match to offer a matchday programme.[2]

A successful Christmas period took Vale into sixth place by mid-February.[1] George King was then sold to Barrow for a four-figure fee, after which Pinchbeck was the only regular scorer.[1] Six games without a win followed, ending the club's hopes of opening the new stadium in the Second Division.[1] The Shilling Fund had only raised 17,738 shillings. So Ronnie Allen was sold to top-flight West Bromwich Albion for a massive £20,000, smashing the club's transfer record.[1] Allen went on to play for England, whilst the fee went towards the new ground.[1] Back to the league, the Vale were seventh at the start of April, but six defeats in their final eight games saw them tumble down the table.[1]

They finished in thirteenth place with 41 points.[1] The defence was the third strongest in the division. However, only Watford scored fewer goals.[1] Pinchbeck was the only goalscorer of any consistency.[1]

Finances

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On the financial side, a profit of £10,671 was made, another record: this was due to the sale of Allen, which gave them a transfer credit of £15,000.[1] The wage bill had risen by £6,000 to £22,333, whereas gate receipts had risen by around £3,000 to £29,050.[1] Eric Eastwood was the only major departure of the summer.[1] Trouble with the new ground continued, as the Regional Officer of the Ministry of Works refused to permit the transfer of the stand from the old to the new stadium, despite having approved similar procedures at Liverpool and Millwall.[1] Chairman William Holdcroft felt this was unfair and was supported by Stoke-on-Trent North MP Albert Davies.[1] Despite this set-back the stadium was opened on 2 August in a ceremony attended by 12,000 rain-soaked people.[1]

Cup competitions

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In the FA Cup, Vale progressed past Athenian League amateurs Wealdstone and Tranmere Rovers of the Third Division North with 1–0 home wins. Beating Newport County at Somerton Park with a Ronnie Allen brace, they came up against First Division Burnley in the Fourth Round at Turf Moor. There, they lost 2–1 in front of 49,692 spectators – including 12,000 Vale fans.[1]

League table

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Main article: 1949–50 Football League

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
11 Norwich City 42 16 10 16 65 63 1.032 42
12 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 42 16 10 16 57 56 1.018 42
13 Port Vale 42 15 11 16 47 42 1.119 41
14 Swindon Town 42 15 11 16 59 62 0.952 41
15 Bristol City 42 15 10 17 60 61 0.984 40
Source: [citation needed]

Results

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Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Third Division South

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Results by matchday

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Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundHAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAA
ResultWLDDWDWDLWWWLWLWDLLDWDWWLWDLDDLLWWLLLWDLLL
Position19128758899757598781010798786569681086791097101113
Source: Statto[3]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
20 August 1949 Bristol Rovers H 1–0 15,097 Allen
23 August 1949 Southend United A 0–1 9,434
27 August 1949 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic A 2–2 19,101 King (2)
29 August 1949 Southend United H 0–0 14,686
3 September 1949 Crystal Palace H 2–0 13,788 Martin (2)
5 September 1949 Ipswich Town H 2–2 12,297 Martin, Cheadle
10 September 1949 Watford A 2–0 10,583 King, Aveyard
17 September 1949 Reading H 1–1 12,948 o.g.
24 September 1949 Leyton Orient A 0–1 15,698
1 October 1949 Exeter City H 1–0 11,499 Martin
8 October 1949 Norwich City A 1–0 26,831 Allen
15 October 1949 Newport County H 1–0 12,599 Allen
22 October 1949 Bristol City A 0–2 19,855
29 October 1949 Brighton & Hove Albion H 3–0 11,189 Aveyard, Allen, Barber
5 November 1949 Walsall A 0–1 9,605
12 November 1949 Millwall H 4–0 12,918 Pinchbeck (3), Aveyard
19 November 1949 Swindon Town A 0–0 9,039
3 December 1949 Aldershot A 0–1 4,043
17 December 1949 Bristol Rovers A 1–2 10,105 Palk
24 December 1949 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic H 1–1 13,092 Pinchbeck
26 December 1949 Northampton Town H 3–1 17,212 Pinchbeck (2), Martin
27 December 1949 Northampton Town A 1–1 19,263 Martin
31 December 1949 Crystal Palace A 1–0 12,609 Pinchbeck
14 January 1950 Watford H 2–0 17,387 Allen, Pinchbeck
21 January 1950 Reading A 1–2 11,284 Pinchbeck
4 February 1950 Leyton Orient H 2–0 14,176 Allen, Martin
11 February 1950 Nottingham Forest H 1–1 18,218 Pinchbeck
18 February 1950 Exeter City A 1–3 9,632 Pinchbeck
25 February 1950 Norwich City H 2–2 11,204 Hayward, Palk
4 March 1950 Newport County A 1–1 8,762 Aveyard
11 March 1950 Bristol City H 0–2 11,444
18 March 1950 Brighton & Hove Albion A 1–2 11,852 Aveyard
25 March 1950 Walsall H 2–0 9,763 Aveyard, Pinchbeck
27 March 1950 Torquay United H 2–0 8,496 Hulligan, Potts
1 April 1950 Millwall A 0–3 18,088
7 April 1950 Notts County A 1–3 32,097 Palk
8 April 1950 Swindon Town H 0–1 9,607
10 April 1950 Notts County H 3–1 15,380 Pinchbeck (2), Hulligan
15 April 1950 Torquay United A 0–0 8,037
22 April 1950 Aldershot H 0–1 9,645
29 April 1950 Nottingham Forest A 0–2 5,906
6 May 1950 Ipswich Town A 1–2 12,451 McGarry

FA Cup

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Main article: 1949–50 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 26 November 1949 Wealdstone H 1–0 14,935 Pinchbeck
R2 10 December 1949 Tranmere Rovers H 1–0 14,716 Pinchbeck
R3 7 January 1950 Newport County A 2–1 17,781 Allen (2)
R4 28 January 1950 Burnley A 1–2 49,692 Martin

Player statistics

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Appearances and goals

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Pos. Name Football League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   George Heppell 3 0 0 0 3 0
GK   Ray King 39 0 4 0 43 0
DF   Basil Hayward 1 1 0 0 1 1
DF   Tommy Cheadle 42 1 4 0 46 1
DF   Garth Butler 39 0 4 0 43 0
DF   Reg Potts 3 1 0 0 3 1
DF   Jim Elsby 2 0 0 0 2 0
DF   Lol Hamlett 40 0 4 0 44 0
MF   Jimmy Todd 37 0 4 0 41 0
MF   Alan Martin 24 7 4 1 28 8
MF   Bill McGarry 42 1 4 0 46 1
MF   Mick Hulligan 38 2 4 0 42 2
MF   Alan Bennett 10 0 0 0 10 0
MF   Norman Hallam 1 0 0 0 1 0
MF   Colin Askey 4 0 0 0 4 0
FW   Ronnie Allen 27 6 4 2 31 8
FW   Pat Raftery 3 0 0 0 3 0
FW   George King 8 3 0 0 8 3
FW   Stan Palk 42 3 4 0 46 3
FW   Walter Aveyard 23 6 0 0 23 6
FW   Cliff Pinchbeck 27 14 4 2 31 16
FW   Ken Griffiths 2 0 0 0 2 0
FW   Len Barber 5 1 0 0 5 1

Top scorers

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Place Position Nation Name Third Division South FA Cup Total
1 FW   England Cliff Pinchbeck 14 2 16
2 MF   England Alan Martin 7 1 8
– FW   England Ronnie Allen 6 2 8
4 FW   England Walter Aveyard 6 0 6
5 FW   England Stan Palk 3 0 3
– FW   England George King 3 0 3
7 MF   England Mick Hulligan 2 0 2
8 FW   England Len Barber 1 0 1
– DF   England Basil Hayward 1 0 1
– DF   England Reg Potts 1 0 1
– DF   England Tommy Cheadle 1 0 1
– MF   England Bill McGarry 1 0 1
– – – Own goals 1 0 1
TOTALS 47 5 52

Transfers

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Transfers in

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Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
May 1949 DF   John Abbotts Ravenscliffe Free transfer [4]
May 1949 GK   Ray King Ashington Free transfer [4]
May 1949 DF   Lol Hamlett Bolton Wanderers Free transfer [4]
July 1949 DF   Roy Sproson Stoke City Free transfer [4]
November 1949 FW   Cliff Pinchbeck Brighton & Hove Albion £3,500 [4]
February 1950 FW   Ken Griffiths Northwood Mission Free transfer [4]
February 1950 MF   Albert Leake Stoke City Free transfer [4]
March 1950 FW   Roland Lewis Congleton Town Free transfer [4]

Transfers out

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Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
November 1949 MF   Bernard Jones Winsford United Free transfer [4]
February 1950 FW   George King Barrow 'four-figure fee' [4]
February 1950 FW   Pat Raftery Wellington Town Free transfer [4]
March 1950 FW   Ronnie Allen West Bromwich Albion £20,000 [4]
April 1950 DF   Eric Eastwood Released [4]
April 1950 MF   Wilf Smith Buxton Free transfer [4]

References

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Specific
  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 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. ^ "The first Vale Park match programme". onevalefan.co.uk. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. ^ Port Vale 1949–1950 : Results & Fixtures Archived 16 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
General
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