The 1963–64 season was Port Vale's fifty-second season of football in the Football League, and their fifth season in the Third Division.[1] Freddie Steele spent big on transfers, bringing in players such as Billy Bingham, Albert Cheesebrough, and Jackie Mudie. However it was a disappointing season in the league and a disaster financially. The highlights of the season came in the FA Cup, where Vale beat top-flight Birmingham City at St Andrew's, and drew 0–0 with Liverpool at Anfield.
Overview
Third Division
The pre-season saw manager Freddie Steele spend unprecedented sums of money – though Vale's spending was insignificant to the standard of many of their rivals.[1] Steele brought in Northern Ireland international Billy Bingham from Everton for £15,000; Albert Cheesebrough from Leicester City for another £15,000; as well as Walsall's Tim Rawlings for £4,000.[1] Chairman Tom Talbot approved of these signings despite the club's financial problems.[1] The club also took a tour of Northern Ireland, though a friendly with Benfica (arranged to match rivals Stoke City's match with Real Madrid) was cancelled due to fixture congestion.[1]
The season opened with a 1–0 defeat to Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow.[1] This was followed with two victories, including a 4–1 win over Bristol City in which Tony Richards bagged a hat-trick.[1] After another three poor away games came a 3–0 win over Brentford in which Cheesebrough scored a hat-trick, and a 4–0 win over nearby Crewe Alexandra in front of 17,118 fans.[1] Richards sustained a bad leg injury in this win over Crewe.[1] In the beginning of October, Steele bought winger Ron Smith from Crewe for £6,500.[1] Vale improved as a consequence, and three successive victories followed, leaving Vale in fifth spot.[1] However with Richards' return came a downturn in form, as Vale's impressive strikers failed to find the net in a run of one win in nine league games.[1] This one win was a 1–0 victory over struggling Barnsley at Vale Park, though a subsequent pitch invasion by youths emphasised a growing hooligan culture that would plague the club and the sport itself for decades.[1]
In November, Vale paid Stoke City £12,000 for both ex-Scotland striker Jackie Mudie and left-back Ron Wilson.[1] The defeats kept coming, and so Steele experimented with a 4–2–4 formation, dropping Richards from the first eleven.[1] Vale then went six league games unbeaten, including a 4–4 draw with Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.[1] However a 1–0 home loss inflicted by Notts County sent Vale on a run of seven defeats and two draws in nine league games.[1] By March the club was in a relegation battle, though results then began to go Vale's way.[1] Only one defeat in their final eleven games ensured safety, as the season ended with a 5–0 drubbing of relegated Wrexham.[1]
They finished in thirteenth place with 46 points, a poor finish for the money spent on transfers.[1] Only 53 goals were scored, as Richards and Cheeseborough were affected with injuries, and Bingham struggled to find his footing in the third tier.[1] Their 49 goals conceded was an excellent record though.[1]
Finances
On the financial side, good attendance figures failed to prevent a massive loss of £42,650, which had come from a £45,567 deficit in transfer fees.[1] A donation of the £19,867 from the Sportsmen's Association and the social club could not disguise the disaster of poor finances.[1] The wage bill had also risen by 20% to over £40,000.[1] Leaving the club were Colin Grainger to Doncaster Rovers and Terry Harkin to Crewe Alexandra for a £3,000 fee.[1]
Cup competitions
In the FA Cup, Vale conquered Fourth Division Bradford City with a 2–1 win at Valley Parade. They then defeated Workington 2–1 in a 'slipshod affair'.[1] The Third Round held First Division Birmingham City at St Andrew's. Three thousand of the 21,652 spectators were Vale fans, who 'sung and chanted their way through' a 2–1 victory.[1] In the Fourth Round Vale were drawn against top-flight giants Liverpool at Anfield. The "Reds" had inflicted a 6–1 thrashing of Stoke on Boxing day, in an ominous sign of the challenge the "Valiants" faced.[1] Vale achieved a goalless draw in front of 52,327 fans – 8,000 of them Vale supporters – in a fantastic team performance.[1] The replay at Vale Park ended in a 2–1 loss in front of 42,179 paying fans (as well as an additional 6,000 or so Liverpool supporters who 'mob stormed' the gates to enter the Railway Paddock).[1] Crowd trouble ate into the £8,000 worth of gate receipts, and more significantly caused the death of a Leek man (Harold Birch), and saw serious injuries inflicted to Liverpool fans Harry Taylor and James McDonough, as well as Vale supporter Billy Poulson.[1]
In the League Cup, a First Round exit came with a 2–1 defeat at Southend United's Roots Hall.
Final league table
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points
Results
Port Vale's score comes first
Legend
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 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
Ground | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H |
Result | L | W | W | L | D | L | W | W | L | W | D | L | W | W | W | L | D | D | L | W | L | D | D | D | W | D | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | D | W | D | D | W | W | D | W | L | D | W |
Position | 21 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
Sourced from Statto.[2]
Football League Third Division
Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
24 August 1963 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 0–1 | 9,710 | |
26 August 1963 | Mansfield Town | H | 1–0 | 14,451 | Richards |
31 August 1963 | Bristol City | H | 4–1 | 10,363 | Richards (3), Rowland |
7 September 1963 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–1 | 14,730 | |
9 September 1963 | Mansfield Town | A | 1–1 | 12,064 | B.Hancock |
14 September 1963 | Notts County | A | 0–2 | 7,309 | |
16 September 1963 | Brentford | H | 3–0 | 11,539 | Cheesebrough (3) |
21 September 1963 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 4–0 | 17,118 | Cheesebrough, Bingham, Steele, Richards |
28 September 1963 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–2 | 15,044 | |
1 October 1963 | Brentford | A | 2–1 | 11,914 | Poole, Cheesebrough |
5 October 1963 | Walsall | H | 2–2 | 12,760 | Bingham, o.g. |
9 October 1963 | Luton Town | A | 0–1 | 5,914 | |
12 October 1963 | Southend United | H | 4–1 | 10,306 | Rowland, Smith, Harkin, Miles |
14 October 1963 | Luton Town | H | 1–0 | 11,449 | Rawlings |
19 October 1963 | Wrexham | A | 2–1 | 6,781 | Bingham (2) |
23 October 1963 | Reading | A | 0–1 | 8,731 | |
26 October 1963 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | H | 0–0 | 12,402 | |
28 October 1963 | Reading | H | 0–0 | 9,492 | |
2 November 1963 | Hull City | A | 1–4 | 8,460 | Richards |
9 November 1963 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | 9,083 | Steele |
23 November 1963 | Colchester United | H | 0–2 | 11,108 | |
30 November 1963 | Watford | A | 1–1 | 9,890 | Poole |
14 December 1963 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 1–1 | 6,906 | Mudie |
21 December 1963 | Bristol City | A | 0–0 | 6,021 | |
26 December 1963 | Bristol Rovers | H | 1–0 | 11,442 | Mudie |
28 December 1963 | Bristol Rovers | A | 4–4 | 12,954 | Richards (2), Mudie (2) |
11 January 1964 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–0 | 12,322 | Richards |
18 January 1964 | Notts County | H | 0–1 | 7,337 | |
31 January 1964 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–1 | 9,425 | |
8 February 1964 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–2 | 8,204 | Richards |
15 February 1964 | Walsall | A | 1–2 | 7,056 | Mudie |
22 February 1964 | Southend United | A | 1–1 | 7,612 | Smith |
29 February 1964 | Peterborough United | H | 1–2 | 6,613 | Poole |
7 March 1964 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | A | 0–3 | 7,584 | |
16 March 1964 | Millwall | A | 1–3 | 8,312 | Mudie |
23 March 1964 | Peterborough United | A | 1–1 | 10,408 | Steele |
28 March 1964 | Millwall | H | 1–0 | 5,385 | Bingham |
30 March 1964 | Coventry City | H | 1–1 | 17,567 | Steele |
31 March 1964 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | 29,641 | Smith |
4 April 1964 | Colchester United | A | 2–1 | 3,263 | Miles, Rowland |
6 April 1964 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–0 | 7,167 | Steele, Smith |
11 April 1964 | Watford | H | 0–0 | 7,698 | |
13 April 1964 | Hull City | H | 1–0 | 6,090 | Rowland |
18 April 1964 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–3 | 4,955 | |
20 April 1964 | Barnsley | A | 0–0 | 4,918 | |
25 April 1964 | Wrexham | H | 5–0 | 4,497 | Richards (2), Bingham (pen), Smith, Cheesebrough |
FA Cup
Main article:
1963–64 FA Cup
League Cup
Player statistics
Appearances
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Scorers
All competitions
League
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References
- Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.
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