Trevor Dance (born 31 July 1958) is an English former football goalkeeper who played 84 league games in the Football League for Port Vale between 1975 and 1980. He also played for non-League sides Stafford Rangers, Altrincham, and Telford United, and also played for American club Cleveland Cobras.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Trevor Dance[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 31 July 1958 | ||
| Place of birth | South Hetton, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1975–1976 | Port Vale | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1980 | Port Vale | 84 | (0) |
| 1978 | → Stoke City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1978 | → Cleveland Cobras (loan) | ||
| 1980 | → Stafford Rangers (loan) | ||
| 1980–1983 | Stafford Rangers | ||
| 1983–198? | Altrincham | ||
| Telford United | |||
| Total | 84+ | (0+) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editPort Vale
editDance moved with his family to Staffordshire as a child as his father found work in the coal mines.[3] Dance joined Port Vale as an apprentice in August 1975, signing his first professional forms in July 1976, and making his debut in a 2–1 defeat at Mansfield Town on 28 December 1976.[4] An understudy to John Connaughton, he made a highly impressive Vale Park debut on 10 January 1977, his saves were a key part of a 3–1 victory over Second Division Hull City in the FA Cup third round replay game.[5] He finished the 1976–77 campaign with 12 appearances to his name as Connaughton recovered from injury, and featured eight times in 1977–78, as manager Roy Sproson was replaced by Bobby Smith, and the "Valiants" were relegated out of the Third Division.[4] He was sent on loan to local rivals Stoke City in May 1978 as the Potters required a goalkeeper under the age of 21 for a tournament in the Netherlands.[3] He was loaned out to American Soccer League club Cleveland Cobras the next month, returning in August 1978.[4]
He became the regular Vale keeper in January 1979 under new boss Dennis Butler. He made 27 Fourth Division appearances in 1978–79.[4] He played 40 games in 1979–80, and retained his first-team place under new manager John McGrath.[4] However, he lost his first-team place in August 1980 after refusing to sign a new contract without a pay increase. He was loaned out to non-League Stafford Rangers in September 1980 and signed a permanent deal the next month, Rangers paying Vale £10,000.[4][3]
Later career
editDance stayed with Rangers for three years, making over 150 appearances, before he joined Altrincham in October 1983.[6] He was an ever-present for Altrincham during the 1984–85 season.[7] He later played for Telford United, before retiring to concentrate on his tiling business.[3]
Personal life
editDance's brother-in-law, Bob Young, was the administrator who took charge at Port Vale in the 2000s.[3]
Career statistics
editSource:[8]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Port Vale | 1976–77 | Third Division | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 1977–78 | Third Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1978–79 | Fourth Division | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| 1979–80 | Fourth Division | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 1980–81 | Fourth Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 84 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 91 | 0 | ||
References
edit- ^ "Trevor Dance". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ Rollin, Jack (1980). Rothmans football yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 299. ISBN 0362020175. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "The Trevor Dance Interview". The Vale Park Beano. 77.
- ^ a b c d e f Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 76. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- ^ "How a last-minute strike turned around cup clash". The Sentinel. 5 September 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "Altrincham FC". www.lusaweb.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ "Altrincham FC Legends". www.lusaweb.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Trevor Dance at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)