1961–62 Port Vale F.C. season
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The 1961–62 season was
Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
's 50th season of football in the English Football League, and their third season in the
Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...
. The season was most notable for the win over
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
in the FA Cup, which followed a goalless draw at Roker Park in which the Vale defence prevented Brian Clough from even having a
shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *''Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 fi ...
. The club also hosted a
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against the Czechoslovakia national football team and later took a tour of Poland. In the league, they failed to gain promotion and settled for mid-table obscurity.


Overview


Third Division

The pre-season saw
Norman Low Norman Harvey Low (23 March 1914 – 21 May 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the son of Scottish international footballer, Wilf Low. A central defender, he played for Newcastle United between 1931 and 1933, before a th ...
spend some of the £10,000 in transfer funds he was allocated. He spent £2,000 acquiring inside-forward Arthur Longbottom from Queens Park Rangers. Low then repaid West Bromwich Albion the £10,000 for
Stan Steele Stanley Frederick Steele (5 January 1937 – 15 July 2005) was an English association football, footballer. A Midfielder, half-back and Forward (association football), inside-forward, he scored 97 goals in 370 league and cup games for Port Vale ...
to bring him back to Vale Park. This meant a 'shock' for the fans, as
Cliff Portwood Clifford Portwood (17 October 1937 – 10 January 2012) was an English Association football, footballer and later singer and television personality. A Midfielder#Winger, winger and inside-forward, he scored 96 goals in 252 league games in a fou ...
was sold to Grimsby Town for £6,000 to balance the books. Another £2,000 was spent on bringing centre-half John Nicholson from Liverpool. Free signings included winger
Stan Edwards Stanley J. Edwards (born May 20, 1959) is a former American football running back. A native of Detroit, Edwards played college football at the University of Michigan from 1977 to 1981 and for six years in the National Football League (NFL) for t ...
( Everton), goalkeeper Peter Taylor ( Middlesbrough), and
Joe Maloney Joseph John Maloney (26 January 1934 – 17 October 2006) was an English footballer. A half-back, he had an 11-year career in the English Football League, making 289 league and cup appearances. He graduated from a youth player at Liverpool t ...
( Shrewsbury Town). Low declared that the logic behind the signings was to improve the defence and that his side was now 'capable of getting promotion'. To whip the new signings into shape trainer Lol Hamlett took them on a seven-mile run. The defence began poorly, in an opening day 4–2 defeat to Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow. Maloney was subsequently dropped and sold to Crewe Alexandra for 'a small fee'. The first match at Burslem saw Vale ' casually steamroller' Hull City 4–0. On 2 September, John Nicholson made the first of his club record 208 consecutive appearances, that would end on 8 September 1965. On a four-match sequence without a win, '' The Sentinel'' commented that "gloom has descended". The mood lifted with a 1–0 win over
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
at Ashton Gate on 9 September, in the first of five wins in six games. On 2 October Czechoslovakia beat Vale 3–1 in front of 22,895 fans at Vale Park, repaying the club for their successful tour of the country at the end of the 1959–60 season. Later that month
Dennis Fidler Dennis John Fidler (22 June 1938 – 2 June 2015) was an English footballer. A winger, he scored 59 goals in 229 league appearances in an 11-year career in the Football League. A two-time FA Youth Cup winner with Manchester United, he turned ...
was sold to Grimsby Town for £2,000, and the "Valiants" struggled. Vale then signed Colin Grainger from Leeds United for £6,000, and the former
England international The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affiliat ...
scored on his debut. In December, Low further added to his firepower by signing Ralph Hunt from Swindon Town for £3,500. Hunt scored a hat-trick in his second game for the club, a 4–1 win over Shrewsbury Town. He also hit the back of the net in the following two victories. Vale then struggled in the league, losing four games on the bounce. Around this time rivals
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
faced an upsurge in support with the return of Stanley Matthews. Low attempted to tempt
Tom Finney Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of the spor ...
out of retirement, but was unsuccessful. By the end of February, Vale lay four points clear of relegation, and star player Grainger was injured. Beating
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
2–0, they picked up six points out of a possible ten. They remained unbeaten throughout the opening six games of April to ensure survival. At this time,
Noel Kinsey Noel Kinsey (24 December 1925 – 20 May 2017) was a Welsh international footballer who played as an inside right. He won seven international caps and scored 111 goals in 444 league games in a 14-year career in the Football League. He began ...
's contract was cancelled, as he wished to go into the pottery business in Norwich. At Vale Park, an £8,000 social club was opened, as the club management stated their intention to turn the ground into 'a real family social centre'. They finished the season in twelfth position with 45 points, closer to the drop than promotion. A weak attack did not support a strong defence. Llewellyn and Longbottom scored twenty goals each in all competitions but received little support.


Finances

On the financial side, declining attendance failed to prevent a profit of £1,261. This profit came thanks to a hefty £16,250 donation from the Sportsmen's Association and Vale's daily pools. Gate receipts stood at £44,388, whilst expenditures rose to £73,059 despite wages being kept at around £31,000. Peter Taylor was allowed to leave for Burton Albion as he failed to dislodge
Ken Hancock Kenneth Paul Hancock (born 25 November 1937) is an English former football goalkeeper. He is the younger brother of Ray Hancock. He made 442 league appearances in a 15-year career in the Football League. He began his professional career at P ...
; Taylor later became acquainted with Brian Clough at Burton. Low also sold three players for £2,000 each: Brian Jackson to Peterborough United, Ralph Hunt to Newport County, and
David Raine David Raine (born 28 March 1937) is an English former footballer who played as a full-back for Port Vale, Doncaster Rovers, Colchester United, and Burton Albion. He made 299 league appearances in a ten-year career in the English Football Le ...
to Doncaster Rovers. In May, the team took a tour of Poland, playing four
friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
, climbing the Tatra Mountains, and sailing on the Tatras River. When one boat capsized, 'the lads told the attendant in colourful Potteries language what they thought of him'. The final game of the tour was a goalless draw with
Legia Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...
.


Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale brushed past
Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...
with a 1–0 win at Horsfall Stadium. In the second round, they faced Crewe Alex, who beat 3–0 in a
replay Replay may refer to: * Replay (sports), a replayed match between two sport teams Technology * Game replay, a recording of a game session. * Instant replay, in motion pictures and television, a showing again of part of a film * Replay Professional, ...
, following a 1–1 draw at Gresty Road. Vale then beat Northampton Town 3–1, all the goals coming from
Bert Llewellyn Herbert Arthur Llewellyn (5 February 1939 – 8 September 2016) was an English footballer. A centre-forward, he scored 114 goals in 239 league and cup appearances in a nine-year career in the Football League. He began his career at Everton i ...
. In the Fourth Round, they travelled to
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
's Roker Park, holding the "Mackems" to a goalless draw in front of 49,468 noisy Sunderland fans - not even £50,000 star striker Brian Clough could master the Vale defence. For the return, 28,226 witnessed a 3–1 victory for the Vale over the Second Division side in 'a magical piece of soccer history'. The club won the Giant Killers' Cup for the season. The Vale had 'spat and hissed like angry alley cats' for their win, intimidating tricky winger Harry Hooper. In the Fifth Round they were beaten by First Division
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
at
Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...
with a disputed late penalty. The
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
also gave the "Cottagers" a goal kick when the ball had in fact crossed the line for a goal – to the fury of the Vale supporters. In the League Cup, First Division
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
took a 2–1 win at Bloomfield Road to dump Vale out of the competition.


League table


Results

''Port Vale's score comes first''


Football League Third Division


Results by matchday


Matches


FA Cup


League Cup


Player statistics


Appearances and goals


Top scorers


Transfers


Transfers in


Transfers out


References

;Specific ;General * {{DEFAULTSORT:1961-62 Port Vale F.C. season Port Vale F.C. seasons
Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...