Reuben Vine (12 September 1903 – 13 January 1969) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who scored 11 goals from 48 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing as an

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

between 1929 and 1931. He was on the books of

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

without playing for their League team, and played

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for Stanley United and Eden Colliery Welfare.

Personal life

Vine was born in 1903 in Leadgate,

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. His father, Joseph, was a coal miner originally from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, and his mother, Barbara Ann ''née'' Day, was a local girl. By the time of the

1911 Census The United Kingdom Census 1911 of 2 April 1911 was the 12th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The total population of the United Kingdom was approximately 45,221,000, with 36,070,000 recorded in England ...

, Vine's father was dead and his mother worked as a charwoman to support her five young sons. Vine married Phyllis May Barham in

Ashbourne, Derbyshire Ashbourne is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district in Derbyshire, England. Its population was measured at 8,377 in the 2011 census and was estimated to have grown to 9,163 by 2019. It has many historical buildings and independent sho ...

, in 1938. The 1939 Register finds the couple living in

Cheddleton Cheddleton is an ancient parish and village in the Staffordshire Moorlands, near to the town of Leek, Staffordshire, Leek, England. History The village is divided into two distinct communities – the traditional village and the modern Redrow ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, where Vine is working as a mental nurse at the county asylum. His death in 1969 at the age of 65 was registered in the Cheadle district, which includes Cheddleton.

Football career

Vine played football for Stanley United and Eden Colliery Welfare before joining

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated In sports leagues, promotion and ...

club

in 1929. He came into the first team for the

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fixture against

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

, and scored with his first touch of the ball in League football. Vine played twice more over the festive period, then returned to the side on 25 January and scored five goals from five matches during February. He retained the left-wing position to the end of the season, and Darlington retained his services for 1930–31. In September, Vine was left out of the side for two matches to accommodate triallist Tommy Duff, who was not taken on, but was a regular thereafter until he was injured during a match against

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

in March 1931. He regained fitness, but not his place,

George Hurst George Hurst may refer to: * George Hurst (conductor) (1926–2012), British conductor * George Hurst (artist) (born 1933), American leather artist * George Samuel Hurst (1927–2010), health physicist, scientist, inventor, educator and innovator * ...

being preferred initially, and then newcomer Mike Westgarth. Vine returned in place of the injured Westgarth to score the only goal after two minutes of the visit to

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

on 11 April, but it was Westgarth who completed the season. He was given a free transfer at the end of the season, and signed for another Northern Section club,

, who were without an outside left after the departures of Jimmy Talbot and Albert Taylor. However, it was another new arrival, Dicky Boland, who "found his place on the Gateshead side without much difficulty"; by early October, he was "playing at the top of his form", and he did not miss a game until the following February. Vine saw out the season in the reserve team. The financially struggling club retained only nine players, and Vine was not among them.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vine, Reuben 1903 births 1969 deaths People from Leadgate, County Durham Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Stanley United F.C. players Eden Colliery Welfare F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players English Football League players Place of death missing