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
Chairman	William Holdcroft
Manager	Gordon Hodgson
Stadium	The Old Recreation Ground
Football League Third Division South	13th (41 Points)
FA Cup	Fourth Round (knocked out by Burnley)
Top goalscorer	League: Cliff Pinchbeck (14) All: Cliff Pinchbeck (16)
Highest home attendance	18,218 vs. Nottingham Forest, 11 February 1950
Lowest home attendance	8,496 vs. Torquay United, 27 March 1950
Average home league attendance	12,983
Biggest win	4–0 vs. Millwall, 12 November 1949
Biggest defeat	0–3 vs. Millwall, 1 April 1950
Home colours
← 1948–49 1950–51 →

Manager Gordon Hodgson during his playing days.

Overview

Third Division South

The pre-season saw the arrival of experienced full-back Lol Hamlett from Bolton Wanderers, and 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, and 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

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

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 – 12,000 of which were Vale fans.^[1]

League table

Main article: 1949–50 Football League

Pos	Team v t e	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

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Third Division South

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	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A
Result	W	L	D	D	W	D	W	D	L	W	W	W	L	W	L	W	D	L	L	D	W	D	W	W	L	W	D	L	D	D	L	L	W	W	L	L	L	W	D	L	L	L
Position	1	9	12	8	7	5	8	8	9	9	7	5	7	5	9	8	7	8	10	10	7	9	8	7	8	6	5	6	9	6	8	10	8	6	7	9	10	9	7	10	11	13

Source: Statto^[3]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

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

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

Appearances

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

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

Transfers in

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

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

Specific

1. 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 16 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
4. 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.