Freddie Steele (footballer)
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Frederick Charles Steele (6 May 1916 – 23 April 1976) was an English professional
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 ...
who played as a forward for Stoke City and
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He also had spells at
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
and Port Vale as a
player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
, leading Vale to a league title. He remains a legendary figure in the histories of both Stoke and Vale. His nephew is former England cricketer David Steele. Signing with Stoke City in 1931 at the age of fifteen, he set a club record when he scored 33 league goals in the 1936–37 season. During the season his 214-day-long international career also made for impressive reading, as he hit eight goals in six games for England. However a series of misfortunes severely disrupted his playing career. Picking up a serious knee injury in 1937, he retired two years later after suffering from depression – aged just 23. After an improvement in his physical and mental state he resumed his career, only to have it cut short again, this time due to the outbreak of World War II. Guesting for several clubs, he also had a spell in Iceland where he coached
KR Reykjavík KR is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and WMO country code for South Korea. KR or Kr may also refer to: Sports * KR (basketball club), associated with Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur * Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, an Icelandic football club * Kickoff ...
and was appointed manager of the national team for their first ever international match in 1946. He continued his Stoke career after the war, before joining
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
as player-manager in 1949. In 1951 he was appointed as Port Vale manager. His six years with the club were some of the most significant in the club's history, as he masterminded a
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 from a higher division allocated to ...
title winning season, as well the club's only ever
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
semi-final appearance. After the team he cultivated proved to be 'past it' by 1957, he too left the club. Returning as manager in 1962, his second spell would prove less successful and he left the club for good three years later.


Club career


Stoke City

Freddie Steele was signed for Stoke City in 1931, aged 15, by manager
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. He carried out work in the club's offices until he was old enough to turn professional. He made his first team debut on 22 December 1934, in a 4–1 win over
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
in a First Division match at
Leeds Road Leeds Road was a football stadium in Huddersfield, England. It operated from its construction in 1908 until the Kirklees Stadium was opened nearby for the 1994–95 season. It was the home of Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from 1908 to 1994 and was ...
. He scored his first goal for the club four days later, in a 3–0 victory over
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
at the
Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. History ...
. He was nicknamed "Nobby" by the club's supporters. The departure of Tommy Sale meant Steele had to take up the mantle of top-scorer for Bob McGrory's side, and he did so with 33 goals in 35 league games in 1936–37, making him the First Division's top scorer – this tally also remains a club record to this date. His tally included five goals in a 10–3 victory over West Brom on 4 February, a club record victory. He continued to terrorise the "Baggies" in 1937–38, scoring a hat-trick in a 4–0 home win on 6 September, before getting five goals in an 8–1 trouncing of
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five days later. He finished the 1937–38 campaign with 15 goals in 23 games, having struggled to recover from a knee injury sustained in a game against
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
. Steele then returned to form in 1938–39, scoring 27 goals in 33 matches, including four against Birmingham and a hat-trick against
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. He then decided to retire due to depression in 1939, aged only 23. However, after receiving hypnosis treatment from psychiatrists he opted to return to the game. The outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
then halted his progress, as the
English 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 Engl ...
was suspended. He guested for
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
,
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,
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,
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,
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, Bradford Park Avenue,
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
,
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and Fulham. He returned to
the Potteries The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ...
in 1945–46, scoring 49 goals in 43 games during the course of the season. Competitive football resumed for the 1946–47 season, and Steele scored 31 goals in 43 games, bagging hat-tricks against Middlesbrough, Sheffield United,
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
, and
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
, as Stoke posted another fourth-place finish. He was Stoke's top-scorer for a sixth successive season in 1947–48, though he hit just 12 goals in 23 appearances; his contribution as the campaign was limited as he spent four months on the sidelines with a broken leg. He hit 19 goals in 42 games in 1948–49, though Frank Bowyer had by then taken up the mantle as Stoke's main goal getter. Steele left the club in 1949, due to persistent knee problems. Nicknamed "Nobby" by fans, Steele scored 220 goals in 384 games in all competitions during his tenure at the club. He remains the second highest scoring in the club's history, after John Ritchie.


Spell in Iceland

In April 1946 it was announced that Steele would travel to Iceland to become the manager of Úrvalsdeild club
KR Reykjavík KR is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and WMO country code for South Korea. KR or Kr may also refer to: Sports * KR (basketball club), associated with Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur * Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, an Icelandic football club * Kickoff ...
during the summer of that year. It his first coaching appointment with a senior side, although he had previously coached in the youth teams at Stoke City. Under his guidance, the team won three, drew one and lost one of their five matches to finish as runners-up behind Fram. Steele was subsequently selected to manage the Iceland national team in its first ever international match against
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
on 17 July 1946. Scottish coach Murdo McDougall, who had first moved to Iceland as Valur manager in 1937, was named as his assistant. Steele included several of his players from KR in the Iceland team, including Birgir Guðjónsson and Jón Örn Jónasson, but could not prevent the side losing 3–0 before a crowd of 8,000 spectators at the Melavöllur. Upon leaving Iceland on 17 August 1946, to return to England in time for the start of Stoke City's season, he spoke of how he had enjoyed his time in Iceland and stated his desire to return the following summer, although the move never materialised.


Mansfield Town

Steele assumed a
player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
role at
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
in 1949. He was prolific in front of goal, scoring 44 goals in 62 league and cup appearances – this scoring record made his job as manager much easier. The "Stags" finished eighth in the
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 from a higher division allocated to ...
in 1949–50. They then went on a 23-game unbeaten run, but could only end up finishing as the division's runners-up in 1950–51, seven points behind champions
Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
. Steele signed players such as defender Don Bradley, and wing-half's Oscar Fox and Sid Watson. Steele left
Field Mill Field Mill, currently known as One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football ground in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and the home of Mansfield Town Football Club. It is the oldest ground in the Football League, hosting footb ...
for Port Vale for a four-figure fee in December 1951, and Mansfield finished the 1951–52 season in sixth place under his successor George Jobey.


Port Vale

Replacing the unpopular
Ivor Powell Ivor Verdun Powell, MBE (5 July 1916 – 6 November 2012) was a Welsh football player and manager. He won eight caps for Wales. A wing half, he began his professional career with Queens Park Rangers in September 1937. His career was inte ...
in December 1951, Steele was a popular choice as new player-manager. His team were bottom of the
Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...
table, however he did not make any new signings, and in fact he sold striker Walter Aveyard to
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 his ...
for a four-figure fee. Steele turned around results using the players at his disposal, and Vale lost just four of their last twenty games of the season to finish a comfortable 13th. Vale were moved to the
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 from a higher division allocated to ...
in 1952–53, and Steele kept the playing squad as it was, deeming the players he inherited to have the potential to achieve promotion. Despite Ivor Powell coming back to haunt the club by leading
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...
to victory on the opening day of the season, Vale showed their class by losing just seven of their remaining 41 games. Steele dropped himself as a player in December 1952 to focus on management, building up a strong side based around a formidable defence, mainly using local players, also favouring more experienced players over more youthful hopefuls. However they finished in second-place, one point behind
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
, and so were not promoted. The 1953–54 season was the finest in the history of Port Vale, and Steele's team's achievements were built with almost exactly the same playing staff that were bottom of the league when Steele arrived at
Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...
. Vale's hard-working defensive five-some of Ray King (goalkeeper), Tommy Cheadle, Reg Potts, Stan Turner, and
Roy Sproson Roy Sproson (23 September 1930 – 24 January 1997) was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts (and 5 substitute appearances) for Vale ...
were hailed as 'the Iron Curtain' or 'the Steele Curtain' (in honour of their manager). They finished top of the table with 69 points, eleven clear of second-placed Barnsley. Their 26 league goals conceded in a 46-game season was a record. Just five of these were conceded at home, another Football League record. This was based upon 30 clean sheets, again a Football League record. They also recorded a club record low of three league defeats. They were undefeated at home all season, continuing a 42 match unbeaten run started on 8 November 1952, that would last until 18 September 1954. His team's achievements were built on a settled squad of nineteen players, twelve of which played regularly. However the greatest success came in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
, where they beat Darlington,
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,
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
, First Division teams Cardiff City and Blackpool, and finally
Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
to reach the
semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
. There Vale lost 2–1 to
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
at
Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...
in highly controversial fashion, as the "Baggies" were awarded a penalty despite the foul having occurred outside the box, and Vale also had a goal disallowed for offside. The 1954–55 campaign would prove to be a disappointment, as the "Valiants" finished 17th in the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
. The team lost their defensive edge as Steele opted for a more attacking 'semi-continental style'. He added to his fire-power by signing experienced forward Cyril Done and young striker Len Stephenson. He organised a more defensive line-up for the 1955–56 campaign, and spent a club-record £7,000 for
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
playmaker
Eddie Baily Edward Francis Baily (6 August 1925 – 13 October 2010) was an England international footballer. He was a member of the 1950 FIFA World Cup squad, and scored five goals in nine international games. He was described as one of the best inside fo ...
. He gave a young Harry Poole his debut as Vale fell out of the promotion race by the end of the season to post a respectable 12th-place finish. In preparation for the 1956–57 season, he signed Harry Anders, a winger from Manchester City, for 'a substantial fee'. However injuries piled up as the 'old guard' of 1953–54 'cracked', whilst clever midfielder Eddie Baily was offloaded to
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
for £7,000, a club that much more appreciated his considerable talents. With his team losing 13 of their last 17 games, Steele tendered his resignation on 15 January, saying "I am quite prepared to face the consequences". His successor
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 ...
was unable to rescue Vale's season, and they were relegated in 1957. Steele returned to Vale Park when he replaced Norman Low as manager in October 1962. He sold Bert Llewellyn to
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
for £7,000 and Arthur Longbottom to
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for £2,000; before boosting his strike-force with Tony Richards from
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...
for £9,000. They finished 1962–63 third in the Third Division, four points shy of promotion. He spent big for the 1963–64 campaign, bringing in Northern Ireland international
Billy Bingham William Laurence Bingham (5 August 1931 – 9 June 2022) was a Northern Ireland international footballer and football manager. As a player, his first professional club was Glentoran, whom he played for between 1948 and 1950. Making the move ...
from Everton for £15,000; Albert Cheesebrough from
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
for another £15,000; as well as Walsall's Tim Rawlings for £4,000 and winger Ron Smith from
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
for £6,500. In mid-season he further splashed out £12,000 for both ex-
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
striker Jackie Mudie and left-back Ron Wilson, both from Stoke City. His team finished a disappointing 13th, though in the FA Cup they beat top-flight
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
and held
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to a goalless draw. For the 1964–65 season, Steele tried and failed to sign legendary "Spurs" striker Bobby Smith, and instead had to make do with Ron Andrew (£3,000 from Stoke City), as well as goalkeeper Reg Davies from
Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
. The campaign started badly, and supporters were vocal in their criticism of the team's performances. Steele tried rotating the team and then keeping a settled side, but results continued to go against the Vale. With the club bottom of the league despite the money he had spent in the transfer market, Steele left 'by mutual consent' in February 1965. His replacement, Jackie Mudie, could not prevent the club sinking into the Fourth Division. Roy Sproson said that "he
teele Teele is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur Teele (1946–2005), American lawyer and politician * Jack Teele (1930–2017), American football executive and sportswriter * Stanley F. Teele (1906–1967), American academi ...
had not got the enthusiasm or drive as before".


International career

Steele was capped six times for
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and scored in wins over Sweden and
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. In the Sweden game, on 17 May 1937, Steele scored a first half
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
in a 4–0 win at the Råsunda Stadium. He scored eight goals for his country in total, however a knee injury sustained in 1937 meant that he did not play for his country again.


Skills


Style of play

Steele was noted for his brilliant heading ability. He had a strong physique, and was able to battle with defenders willing to get physical with him. He was able to play with both feet, and had a good turn of pace.


Management style

Roy Sproson Roy Sproson (23 September 1930 – 24 January 1997) was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts (and 5 substitute appearances) for Vale ...
later said that "he
teele Teele is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur Teele (1946–2005), American lawyer and politician * Jack Teele (1930–2017), American football executive and sportswriter * Stanley F. Teele (1906–1967), American academi ...
was a great psychologist. He was also a tremendous tactician and, looking back, was years ahead of his time." Graham Barnett told of how Steele would know every detail about all of his players, and how the first team would idolize him for his inspirational personality. Tactically, he brought his wingers back to play four across the midfield, and had one side of his team as quick powerful tacklers and the other side as neat and skilful. He emphasised teamwork and fitness.''What If There Had Been No Port in the Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories!'' (Witan Books, 2011, ) Sproson described Steele as a very tense individual who "would disappear for the last five minutes and was to be found hiding in the toilet." Ray Hancock also said that Steele watched the games from the treatment room to distance himself from the pressure on the pitch, and even once left the ground entirely as he could not handle the stress of the occasion. In appearance Steele "used to wear a
tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...
trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in Britain Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. Barnes & Noble. and ...
, a pair of black and white hooped football stockings with his suit and let his hair grow long!"


Personal life

He was an uncle to cricketer David Steele.


Career statistics


Club


International


Managerial


Honours

;Port Vale *
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 from a higher division allocated t ...
: 1953–54


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Freddie 1916 births 1976 deaths Sportspeople from Hanley, Staffordshire English footballers England international footballers Association football forwards Stoke City F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. wartime guest players Northampton Town F.C. wartime guest players Leicester City F.C. wartime guest players Doncaster Rovers F.C. wartime guest players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. wartime guest players Leeds United F.C. wartime guest players Nottingham Forest F.C. wartime guest players Notts County F.C. wartime guest players Arsenal F.C. wartime guest players Fulham F.C. wartime guest players Mansfield Town F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Association football coaches Stoke City F.C. non-playing staff Association football player-managers English football managers English expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Expatriate football managers in Iceland Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur managers Iceland national football team managers Mansfield Town F.C. managers Port Vale F.C. managers English Football League managers English expatriate football managers English Football League representative players