1892–93 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

Burslem Port Vale
1892–93 season
Stadium	Athletic Ground
Football League Second Division	11th (15 Points)
FA Cup	First Qualifying Round; (knocked out by Burton Swifts)
Birmingham Senior Cup	Second Round; (knocked out by Aston Villa)
Staffordshire Senior Cup	First Round; (knocked out by Burton Wanderers)
Top goalscorer	League: Meshach Dean (5); All: Meshach Dean (6)
Highest home attendance	2,000 vs Darwen, 1 October 1892
Lowest home attendance	500 vs Grimsby Town, 17 February 1893
Average home league attendance	1,344+
Biggest win	4–0 vs. Northwich Victoria, 4 March 1893
Biggest defeat	0–10 vs. Sheffield United, 10 December 1892
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1891–92 1893–94 →

The 1892–93 season was Burslem Port Vale's first season of football in the English Football League. The club were founding members of the Football League Second Division, the First Division having been in operation for four seasons before 1892–93. A learning curve for the club, it marked the first of four seasons of struggle in what was rapidly becoming the second tier of the strongest league in the world. This learning curve was punctuated by the biggest league defeat in the club's history, a 10–0 humiliation in a snowstorm at home to Sheffield United on 10 December 1892, still a Football League record for a home defeat.^[1]

Other than the record defeat (which saw right-half Billy Delves play in goal^[1]) and two away performances where five goals were conceded, the Vale were competitive in most matches, winning three of their games by at least a three-goal margin. If not for the capitulation against Sheffield United, then the club would have had one of the better defensive records in the league. However, a run of one goal scored in five consecutive games highlighted their lack of offensive firepower. This run saw them lose eight of ten games.

Winning Football League status

Having spent their early history playing only friendly matches, cup games, and in minor leagues such as the Midland Football League; 1892–93 marked the club's first season in the English Football League.^[1] The Football League's merger with the Football Alliance saw the club granted Second Division status, due to their third place standing in the Midland League in 1891–92, along with Northwich Victoria and Sheffield United.

Overview

Second Division

The pre-season started terribly, with star striker Frank McGinnes dying of kidney disease before a ball was kicked.^[1] His replacement was Wallace Bliss, and local headmaster Fred Farrington was appointed captain.^[1] The first match continued in desperately poor fashion; Billy Beats missed the train, and so Vale played with ten men against Small Heath, losing 5–1, with Bliss scoring the club's first Football League goal – his only goal in the league ever. Away matches were difficult for the "Valeites" as players had trouble gaining permission from their employers to miss work.^[1] Vale suffered a 10–0 defeat in a snowstorm at home to Sheffield United on 10 December, a Football League record for a home defeat.^[2]

Finishing in 11th place, they finished one place above the bottom club Walsall Town Swifts and level on points with Crewe Alexandra. Their fifteen points were less than half the tally of champions Small Heath (who were not promoted after losing their 'Test Match'). A time of expansion for the competition, they retained their league status despite their poor showing (disbanded Bootle were the only team to lose their status), and the next season, three more teams were added to the league. Vale's defence performed admirably (most of the time). However, Vale only scored 30 goals in their 22 league games. Their first-ever point came at Bootle, and their first-ever win was a 4–1 home victory over Crewe Alexandra.

Cup competitions

Despite reaching the Fifth Round of the FA Cup in 1885–86, they failed to make it through the qualifying stages this time round. In the Staffordshire Senior Cup they exited in the First Round to Burton Wanderers, and in the Birmingham Senior Cup they left in the Second Round after a 4–1 defeat by Aston Villa.

Billy Beats, one of the club's key players during the campaign.

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
8	Bootle^[a]	22	8	3	11	49	63	0.778	19	Resigned from league
9	Lincoln City	22	7	3	12	45	51	0.882	17	Re-elected
10	Crewe Alexandra	22	6	3	13	42	69	0.609	15
11	Burslem Port Vale	22	6	3	13	30	57	0.526	15
12	Walsall Town Swifts	22	5	3	14	37	75	0.493	13

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

^ Bootle was liquidated at the end of the season.

Results

Burslem Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Second Division

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
Ground	A	A	A	H	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	L	L	D	W	L	W	L	W	L	D	L	L	L	L	W	L	L	L	W	D	L	W
Position	10	12	9	7	8	7	7	6	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	9	11	12	12	11	11	11

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

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
3 September 1892	Small Heath	A	1–5	2,500	Bliss
10 September 1892	Ardwick	A	0–2	2,000
12 September 1892	Bootle	A	1–1	3,000	Dean
24 September 1892	Crewe Alexandra	H	4–1	1,500	Farrington (2), Walker, Dean
1 October 1892	Darwen	H	2–4	2,000	Walker, Bliss
8 October 1892	Burton Swifts	H	1–0		Farrington
10 October 1892	Ardwick	H	1–2	1,000	Walker
22 October 1892	Lincoln City	A	4–3	1,000	J.Mountford, Bliss, unknown, unknown
5 November 1892	Darwen	A	1–4	3,000	Farrington
12 November 1892	Bootle	H	0–0	1,300
26 November 1892	Crewe Alexandra	A	0–5
3 December 1892	Lincoln City	H	1–2		Beats
10 December 1892	Sheffield United	H	0–10	1,000
17 December 1892	Sheffield United	A	0–4	2,000
31 December 1892	Walsall Town Swifts	H	3–0	1,000	Lander (2), unknown
14 January 1893	Grimsby Town	A	0–2	500
11 February 1893	Grimsby Town	H	0–1	500
18 February 1893	Walsall Town Swifts	A	0–3	1,000
4 March 1893	Northwich Victoria	H	4–0	800	Wood (2), Beats, Dean
18 March 1893	Burton Swifts	A	3–3		Dean (2), Scarratt
25 March 1893	Small Heath	H	0–3	3,000
8 April 1893	Northwich Victoria	A	4–2	1,000	Beats (2), G.Mountford (2)

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Goalscorers
1Q	15 October 1892	Burton Swifts	H	0–2

Birmingham Senior Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
2	2 February 1893	Aston Villa	H	1–4	2,000	Elson

Staffordshire Senior Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1	7 January 1893	Burton Wanderers	H	2–4	100	Scarratt, Dean

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Joe Frail	19	0	1	0	2	0	22	0
GK	Levi Higginson	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
DF	James Clutton	21	0	1	0	2	0	24	0
DF	W. Downwood	3	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
DF	C. McAlpine	10	0	0	0	1	0	11	0
DF	W. E. Powell	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
DF	Albert Skinner	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
DF	George Youds	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Meshach Dean	16	5	1	0	2	1	19	6
MF	Billy Delves	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Billy Elson	16	0	1	0	2	1	19	1
MF	Fred Farrington (c)	18	4	1	0	1	0	20	4
MF	W. Jones	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Bob McCrindle	20	0	1	0	2	0	23	0
MF	Jos Randles	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Jimmy Scarratt	20	1	1	0	2	1	23	2
MF	James Smith	4	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
MF	Tommy Walker	15	3	1	0	2	0	18	3
MF	Alf Wood	7	2	0	0	2	0	9	2
FW	James Mountford	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1
FW	Billy Beats	21	4	1	0	1	0	23	4
FW	Wallace Bliss	13	3	1	0	0	0	14	3
FW	Jimmy Ditchfield	11	0	0	0	1	0	12	0
FW	Charles Garner	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Johnny Lander	3	2	0	0	0	0	3	2
FW	William McFarlane	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
FW	George Mountford	3	2	0	0	0	0	4	3
FW	John Nash	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Arthur Pimlott	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Midland League	Other	Total
1	MF	England	Meshach Dean	5	1	6
2	FW	England	Billy Beats	4	0	4
–	MF		Fred Farrington	4	0	4
4	MF		Tommy Walker	3	0	3
–	FW	England	Wallace Bliss	3	0	3
6	FW		George Mountford	2	0	2
–	MF	England	Alf Wood	2	0	2
–	FW		Johnny Lander	2	0	2
–	MF	England	Jimmy Scarratt	1	1	2
10	MF	England	Billy Elson	0	1	1
–	FW		James Mountford	1	0	1
–	–	–	Unknown	3	0	3
			TOTALS	30	6	36

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
October 1892	DF	C. McAlpine	Darlington	Free transfer	^[4]
November 1892	DF	George Youds	Kettering Town	Free transfer	^[4]
December 1892	MF	Alf Wood	Smallthorne Albion	Free transfer	^[4]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
February 1893	DF	C. McAlpine		Released	^[4]
March 1893	MF	Tommy Walker	Burton Swifts	Free transfer	^[4]
Summer 1893	FW	Wallace Bliss		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	MF	Billy Delves		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	DF	W. Downwood		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	FW	Charles Garner		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	MF	W. Jones)		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	MF	Johnny Lander		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	FW	William McFarlane		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	FW	George Mountford		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	MF	James Mountford		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	FW	John Nash		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	FW	Arthur Pimlott		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	DF	W. E. Powell		Released	^[4]
Summer 1893	DF	Albert Skinner		Released	^[4]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Kent, Jeff (1990). "Trying to make the Grade (1888-1898)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 26–50. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ Fielding, Rob (15 January 2018). "Clipping: A match report on Vale's record defeat..." onevalefan.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
^ Port Vale 1892–1893 : Results & Fixtures Archived 19 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.