1932–33 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1932–33 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Manager	Tom Holford
Stadium	The Old Recreation Ground
Football League Second Division	17th (38 Points)
FA Cup	Third Round
Top goalscorer	League: Wilf Kirkham (15) All: Wilf Kirkham (15)
Highest home attendance	19,625 vs. Stoke City (4 March 1933)
Lowest home attendance	3,364 vs. Plymouth Argyle (29 April 1933)
Average home league attendance	8,876
Home colours
← 1931–32 1933–34 →

The 1932–33 season was Port Vale's 27th season of football in the Football League, and their third successive season (26th overall) in the Second Division.^[1] The season is notable as the last season of football for legendary striker Wilf Kirkham – who finished as top scorer for the sixth time in his Vale career. It is also notable for a 9–1 thrashing of Chesterfield in which Stewart Littlewood scored six goals – both feats are still standing club records. Otherwise an unremarkable season, the club limped to 17th in the league and exited the FA Cup at the Third Round, whilst rivals Stoke City were promoted as champions.

Manager Tom Holford.

Chairman Frank Huntbach was pleased the club's finances.^[1]

Overview

Second Division

The pre-season worries over the Great Depression saw ticket prices reduced, as The Old Recreation Ground's capacity was increased, and a radio-gramophone broadcaster with four loudspeakers was installed.^[1] New signings included Bradford Park Avenue outside-left Bob Morton and Cardiff City left-half Jimmy McGrath.^[1]

The season began well, an opening day victory over Bury was followed by a useful sequence of results that saw the club climb the table.^[1] Their 9–1 win over Chesterfield on 24 September was the biggest victory of the season in the division, and a still standing club record victory in the Football League.^[1] Stewart Littlewood scored an incredible six goals that day – also a still standing club record, all within a 57 minute period.^[1] The Vale followed this record win with a 7–0 defeat at Bradford City's Valley Parade, in what had been dubbed a promotion clash.^[1] Shenton twisted his knee in the latter match, and the list of injuries began to mount, Littlewood also requiring an operation to repair cartilage damage.^[1] This prompted the signing of Manchester United's highly experienced ex-England international forward Louis Page, brother of ex-Vale player Tom Page.^[1]

From 15 October to 3 December Vale were on a run of eight games without a win, six of them defeats.^[1] One of these defeats was a 5–0 hammering at Notts County's Meadow Lane, and another was a 1–0 defeat at Stoke City's Victoria Ground in front of 29,296 spectators, yet another was a 4–0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane in front of a crowd of 33,071.^[1] In December a shake-up in the first eleven brought four successive home victories, though only one point was won from three away games.^[1] Stoke defender Len Armitage was brought in to help sure up the defence as the club hovered in mid-table.^[1]

In January, ten year veteran left-back Jimmy Oakes was sold to Charlton Athletic for £3,000.^[1] On 4 March, Stoke romped home to a 3–1 derby win, with a certain Stanley Matthews scoring his first goal for the "Potters".^[1] After this the "Valiants" went five games unbeaten, which started with them picking up a point at Old Trafford.^[1] They won three and lost four of their seven April games.^[1] The 26 April game against Charlton Athletic at The Valley was remarkable as Oakes became the first ever player to play for opposite teams in the same match – this happened as before his transfer he had played for Vale in a game with the "Addicks" that was called off before full-time due to fog.^[1] The final game of the season was a 6–1 beating at Blundell Park by Grimsby Town, though by this time their survival in the division was already ensured.^[1]

They finished in seventeenth position with 38 points, four points clear of relegated Chesterfield, and seventeen points short of promoted Spurs. Meanwhile the reserve side won the Cheshire League for the fifth successive season.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a profit of £481 was made due to strict economic management.^[1] Wages were reduced and the "A" team was scrapped.^[1] Gate receipts had again fallen, now standing at £11,447.^[1] Another clear-out of players took place: with Billy Easton, Louis Page, Stewart Littlewood, Tom Tippett, Wilf Kirkham, Jock Leckie, and Ben Davies all leaving on free transfers. Easton joined Aldershot, Page signed with Yeovil & Petters United, Littlewood went to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, Tippett joined West Ham United, Leckie went to Stockport County. Kirkham retired as a professional to concentrate on his duties as an educator, turning out as an amateur for Kidderminster Harriers in the Birmingham League.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale lost 2–1 at First Division relegation strugglers Blackpool's Bloomfield Road in the Third Round.^[1]

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GA	GD		Pts
1	Stoke City	42		13	3	5	40	15		12	3	6	38	24		78	39	2.000	+ 39		56
2	Tottenham Hotspur	42		14	7	0	58	19		6	8	7	38	32		96	51	1.882	+ 45		55
3	Fulham	42		12	5	4	46	31		8	5	8	32	34		78	65	1.200	+ 13		50
4	Bury	42		13	7	1	55	23		7	2	12	29	36		84	59	1.424	+ 25		49
5	Nottingham Forest	42		9	8	4	37	28		8	7	6	30	31		67	59	1.136	+ 8		49
6	Manchester United	42		11	5	5	40	24		4	8	9	31	44		71	68	1.044	+ 3		43
7	Millwall	42		11	7	3	40	20		5	4	12	19	37		59	57	1.035	+ 2		43
8	Bradford Park Avenue	42		13	4	4	51	27		4	4	13	26	44		77	71	1.085	+ 6		42
9	Preston North End	42		12	2	7	53	36		4	8	9	21	34		74	70	1.057	+ 4		42
10	Swansea Town	42		17	0	4	36	12		2	4	15	14	42		50	54	0.926	– 4		42
11	Bradford City	42		10	6	5	43	24		4	7	10	22	37		65	61	1.066	+ 4		41
12	Southampton	42		15	3	3	48	22		3	2	16	18	44		66	66	1.000	± 0		41
13	Grimsby Town	42		8	10	3	49	34		6	3	12	30	50		79	84	0.940	– 5		41
14	Plymouth Argyle	42		13	4	4	45	22		3	5	13	18	45		63	67	0.940	– 4		41
15	Notts County	42		10	4	7	41	31		5	6	10	26	47		67	78	0.859	– 11		40
16	Oldham Athletic	42		10	4	7	38	31		5	4	12	29	49		67	80	0.838	– 13		38
17	Port Vale	42		12	3	6	49	27		2	7	12	17	52		66	79	0.835	– 13		38
18	Lincoln City	42		11	6	4	46	28		1	7	13	26	59		72	87	0.828	– 15		37
19	Burnley	42		8	9	4	35	20		3	5	13	32	59		67	79	0.848	– 12		36
20	West Ham United	42		12	6	3	56	31		1	3	17	19	62		75	93	0.806	– 18		35
21	Chesterfield	42		10	5	6	36	25		2	5	14	25	59		61	84	0.726	– 23		34
22	Charlton Athletic	42		9	3	9	35	35		3	4	14	25	56		60	91	0.659	– 31		31

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

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	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	A
Result	W	D	W	L	W	D	W	L	W	L	L	D	L	L	D	L	L	W	L	W	W	D	W	L	L	D	W	L	L	D	D	W	D	D	L	W	L	W	L	L	W	L
Position	1	5	3	7	4	4	4	4	4	5	8	8	12		13	15	17	16	17	16	14	15	13	15	15	15	15	15	16	15	15	14	13	14	15	15	17	15	16	16	16	17

Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Second Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
27 August 1932	Bury	H	1–0	10,120	Kirkham
29 August 1932	Southampton	A	2–2	8,151	Littlewood (2)
3 September 1932	Lincoln City	A	1–0	11,276	Kirkham
5 September 1932	Southampton	H	0–2	8,843
10 September 1932	West Ham United	H	4–0	9,582	Morton, Kirkham, Littlewood, Sherlock (pen)
17 September 1932	Fulham	A	1–1	21,272	Morton
24 September 1932	Chesterfield	H	9–1	9,950	Littlewood (6), Kirkham (2), Morton
1 October 1932	Bradford City	A	0–7	12,648
8 October 1932	Swansea Town	H	2–1	7,310	Morton, Kirkham
15 October 1932	Notts County	A	0–5	9,217
22 October 1932	Stoke City	A	0–1	29,296
29 October 1932	Manchester United	H	3–3	7,138	Sherlock, Page, Morton
5 November 1932	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–4	33,071
12 November 1932	Nottingham Forest	H	0–1	8,088
19 November 1932	Burnley	A	1–1	7,940	Kirkham
26 November 1932	Preston North End	H	0–1	6,938
3 December 1932	Oldham Athletic	A	1–2	4,397	McGrath
10 December 1932	Bradford Park Avenue	H	3–1	6,114	McGrath, Kirkham, Mills
17 December 1932	Plymouth Argyle	A	1–3	15,567	Page
24 December 1932	Grimsby Town	H	4–2	8,342	Tippett (2), Sherlock (pen), Kirkham
27 December 1932	Charlton Athletic	H	2–1	12,622	McGrath, Mills
31 December 1932	Bury	A	0–0	7,906
7 January 1933	Lincoln City	H	3–2	7,263	Kirkham (2), Tippett
21 January 1933	West Ham United	A	0–5	13,908
28 January 1933	Fulham	H	1–2	5,383	Kirkham
4 February 1933	Chesterfield	A	2–2	11,748	Morton, McGrath
11 February 1933	Bradford City	H	2–0	9,873	Jones, Littlewood
18 February 1933	Swansea Town	A	0–2	8,049
4 March 1933	Stoke City	H	1–3	19,625	McGrath
11 March 1933	Manchester United	A	1–1	24,690	McGrath
18 March 1933	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1–1	14,588	Nolan
20 March 1933	Notts County	H	4–0	5,682	Nolan (2), Kirkham, Baker
25 March 1933	Nottingham Forest	A	1–1	10,618	Kirkham
1 April 1933	Burnley	H	1–1	7,221	o.g.
8 April 1933	Preston North End	A	1–3	9,490	Morton
14 April 1933	Millwall	H	2–0	11,032	Morton, Nolan
15 April 1933	Oldham Athletic	H	2–4	7,317	McGrath (2)
17 April 1933	Millwall	A	1–0	7,507	Armitage
22 April 1933	Bradford Park Avenue	A	2–4	5,757	Morton, Armitage
26 April 1933	Charlton Athletic	A	1–2	5,492	Morton
29 April 1933	Plymouth Argyle	H	4–1	3,364	Nolan (3), Kirkham
6 May 1933	Grimsby Town	A	1–6	6,349	Nolan

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	14 January 1933	Blackpool	A	1–2	15,800	Mills

Player statistics

Appearances Pos. Name Football League FA Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK Ben Davies 11 0 1 0 12 0 GK Jock Leckie 22 0 0 0 22 0 GK Allan Todd 9 0 0 0 9 0 DF Jimmy Oakes 12 0 0 0 12 0 DF George Shenton 28 0 1 0 29 0 DF William Cope 3 0 0 0 3 0 DF William Allsop 5 0 0 0 5 0 DF Arnold Bliss 21 0 1 0 22 0 DF George Poyser 28 0 0 0 28 0 DF Len Armitage 10 2 1 0 11 2 MF Roger Jones 40 1 1 0 41 1 MF Jack Round 31 0 0 0 31 0 MF James Henshall 5 0 0 0 5 0 MF Jimmy McGrath 28 8 1 0 29 8 MF Fred Mills 36 2 1 1 37 3 MF Bob Morton 33 10 0 0 33 10 MF Albert Harrison 3 0 0 0 3 0 MF Horace Baker 7 1 0 0 7 1 MF Cliff Birks 21 0 1 0 22 0 MF Jack Sherlock 24 3 0 0 24 3 FW Stewart Littlewood 13 10 0 0 13 10 FW Tom Tippett 8 3 1 0 9 3 FW Tom Nolan 17 8 0 0 17 8 FW Billy Easton 3 0 0 0 3 0 FW Wilf Kirkham 33 15 1 0 34 15 FW John Smith 6 0 0 0 6 0 FW Louis Page 18 2 1 0 19 2 FW Robert Davies 5 0 0 0 5 0

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Wilf Kirkham 15 Bob Morton 10 Stewart Littlewood Tom Nolan 8 Jimmy McGrath Fred Mills 3 Tom Tippett Jack Sherlock Len Armitage 2 Louis Page Roger Jones 1 Horace Baker League Scorer Goals Wilf Kirkham 15 Bob Morton 10 Stewart Littlewood Tom Nolan 8 Jimmy McGrath Tom Tippett 3 Jack Sherlock Len Armitage 2 Louis Page Fred Mills Roger Jones 1 Horace Baker

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Glory to Despair (1929–1939)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 124–150. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
2. Port Vale 1932–1933 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

• Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.