1963–64 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1963–64 season was Port Vale's 52nd season of football in the English Football League, and their fifth season in the Third Division.^[1] Freddie Steele spent big on transfers, bringing in players such as Billy Bingham, Albert Cheesebrough, and Jackie Mudie. However, it was a disappointing season in the league and a disaster financially. The highlights of the season came in the FA Cup, where Vale beat top-flight Birmingham City at St Andrew's, and drew 0–0 with Liverpool at Anfield.

Port Vale

1963–64 season
Chairman	Tom Talbot
Manager	Freddie Steele
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Third Division	13th (46 Points)
FA Cup	Fourth Round (knocked out by Liverpool)
League Cup	First Round (knocked out by Southend United)
Top goalscorer	League: Tony Richards (12) All: Tony Richards (13)
Highest home attendance	42,179 vs. Liverpool, 27 January 1964
Lowest home attendance	4,497 vs. Wrexham, 25 April 1964
Average home league attendance	10,056
Biggest win	5–0 vs. Wrexham, 25 April 1964
Biggest defeat	0–3 (twice) and 1–4
Home colours
← 1962–63 1964–65 →

Overview

Third Division

The pre-season saw manager Freddie Steele spend unprecedented sums of money – though Vale's spending was insignificant to the standard of many of their rivals.^[1] Steele brought in Northern Ireland international Billy Bingham from Everton for £15,000; Albert Cheesebrough from Leicester City for another £15,000; as well as Walsall's Tim Rawlings for £4,000.^[1] Chairman Tom Talbot approved these signings despite the club's financial problems.^[1] The club also took a tour of Northern Ireland, though a friendly with Benfica (arranged to match rivals Stoke City's match with Real Madrid) was cancelled due to fixture congestion.^[1]

The season opened with a 1–0 defeat to Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow.^[1] This was followed with two victories, including a 4–1 win over Bristol City in which Tony Richards bagged a hat-trick.^[1] After another three poor away games came, followed by a 3–0 win over Brentford in which Cheesebrough scored a hat-trick, and a 4–0 win over nearby Crewe Alexandra in front of 17,118 fans.^[1] Richards sustained a bad leg injury in this win over Crewe.^[1] In the beginning of October, Steele bought winger Ron Smith from Crewe for £6,500.^[1] Vale improved as a consequence, and three successive victories followed, leaving Vale in fifth spot.^[1] However, with Richards' return came a downturn in form, as Vale's impressive strikers failed to find the net in a run of one win in nine league games.^[1] This one win was a 1–0 victory over struggling Barnsley at Vale Park. However, a subsequent pitch invasion by youths emphasised a growing hooligan culture that would plague the club and the sport itself for decades.^[1]

In November, Vale paid Stoke City £12,000 for both ex-Scotland striker Jackie Mudie and left-back Ron Wilson.^[1] The defeats kept coming, and so Steele experimented with a 4–2–4 formation, dropping Richards from the first XI.^[1] Vale then went six league games unbeaten, including a 4–4 draw with Bristol Rovers at the Eastville Stadium.^[1] However, a 1–0 home loss inflicted by Notts County sent Vale on a run of seven defeats and two draws in nine league games.^[1] By March, the club was in a relegation battle, though results then began to go Vale's way.^[1] Only one defeat in their final eleven games ensured safety, as the season ended with a 5–0 drubbing of relegated Wrexham.^[1]

They finished in thirteenth place with 46 points, a poor finish for the money spent on transfers.^[1] Only 53 goals were scored, as Richards and Cheeseborough were affected with injuries, and Bingham struggled to find his footing in the third tier.^[1] Their 49 goals conceded was an excellent record though.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, good attendance figures failed to prevent a massive loss of £42,650, resulting from a £45,567 deficit in transfer fees.^[1] A donation of £19,867 from the Sportsmen's Association and the social club could not disguise the disaster of poor finances.^[1] The wage bill had also risen by 20% to over £40,000.^[1] Leaving the club were Colin Grainger to Doncaster Rovers and Terry Harkin to Crewe Alexandra for a £3,000 fee.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale conquered Fourth Division Bradford City with a 2–1 win at Valley Parade. They defeated Workington 2–1 in a 'slipshod affair'.^[1] The Third Round held First Division Birmingham City at St Andrew's. Three thousand of the 21,652 spectators were Vale fans, who 'sung and chanted their way through' a 2–1 victory.^[1] In the Fourth Round Vale were drawn against top-flight giants Liverpool at Anfield. The "Reds" had inflicted a 6–1 thrashing of Stoke on Boxing Day, in an ominous sign of the challenge the "Valiants" faced.^[1] Vale achieved a goalless draw in front of 52,327 fans – 8,000 of them Vale supporters – in a fantastic team performance.^[1] The replay at Vale Park ended in a 2–1 loss in front of 42,179 paying fans (as well as an additional 6,000 or so Liverpool supporters who 'mob stormed' the gates to enter the Railway Paddock).^[1] Crowd trouble ate into the £8,000 worth of gate receipts, and more significantly caused the death of a Leek man (Harold Birch), and saw serious injuries inflicted to Liverpool fans Harry Taylor and James McDonough, as well as Vale supporter Billy Poulson.^[1]

In the League Cup, a First Round exit came with a 2–1 defeat at Southend United's Roots Hall.

League table

Main article: 1963–64 Football League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
11	Shrewsbury Town	46	18	11	17	73	80	0.913	47
12	Bristol Rovers	46	19	8	19	91	79	1.152	46
13	Port Vale	46	16	14	16	53	49	1.082	46
14	Southend United	46	15	15	16	77	78	0.987	45
15	Queens Park Rangers	46	18	9	19	76	78	0.974	45

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Third 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	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	A	H
Result	L	W	W	L	D	L	W	W	L	W	D	L	W	W	W	L	D	D	L	W	L	D	D	D	W	D	W	L	L	L	L	D	L	L	L	D	W	D	D	W	W	D	W	L	D	W
Position	21	9	4	11	10	16	7	6	10	8	9	12	9	6	5	6	7	7	12	10	10	12	13	13	10	9	8	10	11	13	13	15	15	16	17	17	16	17	16	15	14	14	13	14	14	13

Source: Statto^[2]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
24 August 1963	Shrewsbury Town	A	0–1	9,710
26 August 1963	Mansfield Town	H	1–0	14,451	Richards
31 August 1963	Bristol City	H	4–1	10,363	Richards (3), Rowland
7 September 1963	Oldham Athletic	A	0–1	14,730
9 September 1963	Mansfield Town	A	1–1	12,064	B.Hancock
14 September 1963	Notts County	A	0–2	7,309
16 September 1963	Brentford	H	3–0	11,539	Cheesebrough (3)
21 September 1963	Crewe Alexandra	H	4–0	17,118	Cheesebrough, Bingham, Steele, Richards
28 September 1963	Crystal Palace	A	0–2	15,044
1 October 1963	Brentford	A	2–1	11,914	Poole, Cheesebrough
5 October 1963	Walsall	H	2–2	12,760	Bingham, o.g.
9 October 1963	Luton Town	A	0–1	5,914
12 October 1963	Southend United	H	4–1	10,306	Rowland, Smith, Harkin, Miles
14 October 1963	Luton Town	H	1–0	11,449	Rawlings
19 October 1963	Wrexham	A	2–1	6,781	Bingham (2)
23 October 1963	Reading	A	0–1	8,731
26 October 1963	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	0–0	12,402
28 October 1963	Reading	H	0–0	9,492
2 November 1963	Hull City	A	1–4	8,460	Richards
9 November 1963	Barnsley	H	1–0	9,083	Steele
23 November 1963	Colchester United	H	0–2	11,108
30 November 1963	Watford	A	1–1	9,890	Poole
14 December 1963	Shrewsbury Town	H	1–1	6,906	Mudie
21 December 1963	Bristol City	A	0–0	6,021
26 December 1963	Bristol Rovers	H	1–0	11,442	Mudie
28 December 1963	Bristol Rovers	A	4–4	12,954	Richards (2), Mudie (2)
11 January 1964	Oldham Athletic	H	1–0	12,322	Richards
18 January 1964	Notts County	H	0–1	7,337
31 January 1964	Crewe Alexandra	A	0–1	9,425
8 February 1964	Crystal Palace	H	1–2	8,204	Richards
15 February 1964	Walsall	A	1–2	7,056	Mudie
22 February 1964	Southend United	A	1–1	7,612	Smith
29 February 1964	Peterborough United	H	1–2	6,613	Poole
7 March 1964	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	A	0–3	7,584
16 March 1964	Millwall	A	1–3	8,312	Mudie
23 March 1964	Peterborough United	A	1–1	10,408	Steele
28 March 1964	Millwall	H	1–0	5,385	Bingham
30 March 1964	Coventry City	H	1–1	17,567	Steele
31 March 1964	Coventry City	A	1–1	29,641	Smith
4 April 1964	Colchester United	A	2–1	3,263	Miles, Rowland
6 April 1964	Queens Park Rangers	H	2–0	7,167	Steele, Smith
11 April 1964	Watford	H	0–0	7,698
13 April 1964	Hull City	H	1–0	6,090	Rowland
18 April 1964	Queens Park Rangers	A	0–3	4,955
20 April 1964	Barnsley	A	0–0	4,918
25 April 1964	Wrexham	H	5–0	4,497	Richards (2), Bingham (pen), Smith, Cheesebrough

FA Cup

Main article: 1963–64 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	16 November 1963	Bradford City	A	2–1	8,189	Whalley, Richards
R2	7 December 1963	Workington	H	2–1	10,286	Steele, Bingham
R3	4 January 1964	Birmingham City	A	2–1	21,652	Sproson, Mudie
R4	25 January 1964	Liverpool	A	0–0	52,327
R4 Replay	27 January 1964	Liverpool	H	1–2	42,179	Cheesebrough

League Cup

Main article: 1963–64 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2	25 September 1963	Southend United	A	1–2	6,126	Harkin

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Ken Hancock	44	0	5	0	1	0	50	0
GK	John Cooke	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
DF	Roy Sproson	46	0	5	1	1	0	52	1
DF	Selwyn Whalley	41	0	5	1	1	0	47	1
DF	Terry Lowe	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
DF	Terry Alcock	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
DF	Ron Wilson	24	0	4	0	0	0	28	0
DF	John Nicholson	46	0	5	0	1	0	52	0
MF	Terry Miles	24	2	2	0	1	0	27	2
MF	Colin Grainger	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
MF	Tim Rawlings	19	1	3	0	0	0	22	1
MF	Ron Smith	34	5	5	0	0	0	39	5
FW	Harry Poole	26	3	2	0	1	0	29	3
FW	Stan Steele	44	5	5	1	1	0	50	6
FW	Barry Hancock	5	1	0	0	0	0	5	1
FW	John Rowland	23	4	4	0	1	0	28	4
FW	Tony Richards	30	12	4	1	0	0	34	13
FW	Terry Harkin	10	1	0	0	1	1	11	2
FW	Jackie Mudie	18	6	3	1	0	0	21	7
FW	Mick Porter	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Billy Bingham	35	6	2	1	1	0	38	7
FW	Albert Cheesebrough	25	6	1	1	1	0	27	7

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Tony Richards	12	1	0	13
2	FW	Scotland	Jackie Mudie	6	1	0	7
–	FW	Northern Ireland	Billy Bingham	6	1	0	7
–	FW	England	Albert Cheesebrough	6	1	0	7
5	FW	England	Stan Steele	5	1	0	6
6	MF	England	Ron Smith	5	0	0	5
7	FW	England	John Rowland	4	0	0	4
8	FW	England	Harry Poole	3	0	0	3
9	MF	England	Terry Miles	2	0	0	2
–	FW	Northern Ireland	Terry Harkin	1	0	1	2
11	FW	England	Barry Hancock	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Tim Rawlings	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Roy Sproson	0	1	0	1
–	DF	England	Selwyn Whalley	0	1	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	53	7	1	61

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
June 1963	MF		Tim Rawlings	Walsall	£4,000	[3]
August 1963	FW		Albert Cheesebrough	Leicester City	£20,000	[3]
August 1963	FW		Billy Bingham	Everton	£15,000	[3]
October 1963	MF		Ron Smith	Crewe Alexandra	£6,500	[3]
November 1963	FW		Jackie Mudie	Stoke City	£12,000	[3]
November 1963	DF		Ron Wilson	Stoke City	£12,000	[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
May 1964	GK		John Cooke	Macclesfield Town	Free transfer	[3]
July 1964	MF		Terry Harkin	Crewe Alexandra	£3,000	[3]
July 1964	MF		Jim Watton	Doncaster Rovers	Free transfer	[3]
Summer 1964	FW		Barry Hancock	Crewe Alexandra	Released	[3]

References

Specific

1. Kent, Jeff (1990). "Flattering Only to Deceive (1960–1969)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 196–226. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
2. Port Vale 1963–1964 : Results & Fixtures Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
3. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

General

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