1893–94 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

Burslem Port Vale
1893–94 season
Stadium	Athletic Ground
Football League Second Division	7th (30 Points)
FA Cup	First Qualifying Round; (knocked out by Burton Swifts)
Birmingham Senior Cup	Second Round; (knocked out by West Bromwich Albion)
Staffordshire Senior Cup	Second Round; (knocked out by Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Top goalscorer	League: Billy Beats (16); All: Billy Beats (20)
Highest home attendance	5,000 vs Liverpool, 7 April 1894
Lowest home attendance	500 vs Grimsby Town, 4 December 1893
Average home league attendance	2,185+
Biggest win	5–0 (twice) and 6–1
Biggest defeat	1–8 vs. Manchester City, 7 October 1893
	Home colours
	Home colours

The 1893–94 season was Burslem Port Vale's second consecutive season of football in the English Football League. Winning their opening seven league games, Vale seemed destined for First Division football. However, they won just six of their final 22 games and ended up in mid-table.^[1] Their remarkable start to the season has not been equalled by any Vale team to date, and counting the previous season's final game, which was a victory, their streak of eight league wins is still a club record. Vale had remedied their scoring trouble, with five players besting the previous season's top scorer tally of five goals.

It was one of the club's most successful seasons; only in 1930–31 did Port Vale finish higher than seventh in the second tier of the Football League. With 16 teams in the First Division, Vale finished in 23rd place overall, their highest-ever ranking at the end of any season.

Overview

Second Division

Two signings were made to improve the team for the season – wingers Lewis Campbell from Aston Villa and Alex Sands. Supporters complained of high ticket prices and subsequently only 2,500 came to see the season-opening victory over Ardwick. Ardwick goalkeeper William Douglas was so disgusted with his side's performance in the 4–2 Vale win that he left the Athletic Ground before the match had finished so the visitors ended the game playing with ten men. September was a perfect month for the "Valeites", achieving as they did seven wins out of seven games, scoring 30 goals in the process.^[1] Although two of these came against whipping boys Northwich Victoria, they did take apart reigning league champions Small Heath 5–0. During this run, on 9 September, Lewis Campbell became the first Vale player to score a league hat-trick, and also four goals in one game, as his team brushed aside Walsall Town Swifts 5–0.^[1] Seven days later, Vale defeated Crewe Alexandra 4–2, with it reported that their opposition "half-backs were guilty of kicking too hard, while the forwards showed no combination".^[2]

The winning run came to an end with an 8–1 collapse at a highly physical Ardwick, which Vale had only been losing by one goal at half-time before goalkeeper Joe Frail gave up in the second half.^[1] Two further defeats followed, including a 6–1 thumping at Notts County on 26 October. The Vale rallied to a 1–0 win at Rotherham Town two days later despite club secretary Dick Danks having to play in goal as Frail had missed his train. Frail was suspended by the club for the rest of the campaign. The team were in third place by December, beating Grimsby Town 6–1 following a 4–0 loss on the road, whilst a 1–1 draw at Crewe Alexandra was hard fought as Crewe fans attempted to physically attack both Vale fans and half-back Billy Elson, before a scrimmage erupted in the dressing room.^[1]

A home win over Burton Swifts was followed by defeats on the road at Woolwich Arsenal, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough Ironopolis. On 6 January, new goalkeeper Hugh Mackay played at outside-right in a 2–1 home victory over Woolwich Arsenal in a game that raised just £15 in gate receipts. The promotion push slowly came to an end, ending completely with a 2–1 home defeat to bottom club Walsall Town Swifts. Two weeks later, Vale claimed a 2–2 draw at Lincoln City despite starting the game with ten men as both William Rhodes and stand-in Jos Randles missed their trains, leading to club official Sam Bennion to change from linesman to left-back 25 minutes into the game. Vale were beaten 6–0 away at champions Small Heath and ended the league season with a 2–2 home draw and 2–1 away defeat with Liverpool, with Liverpool scoring late goals in both encounters.^[1]

Vale racked up 30 points, 10 points away from both the chance of promotion and the risk of relegation. Meshach Dean, Bob McCrindle, Billy Beats, and Alf Wood were all ever-presents, with Jimmy Scarratt and Lewis Campbell missing just one game each. At the end of the season, McCrindle moved South, and Campbell also left the area due to his wife not liking Burslem, though star striker Beats remained.^[1] The club had taken £954 in gate receipts, spent £551 in wages, making a narrow loss as total expenditure of £1,265 over total income of £1,237.^[1]

Cup competitions

For the second successive season, they exited the FA Cup at the first qualifying stage thanks to a defeat at home to Burton Swifts. Full-back James Clutton broke his leg in the match and his football career was ended.^[1] In the Staffordshire Senior Cup, they exited in the Second Round to Wolverhampton Wanderers after a 6–4 loss – Billy Beats scored a hat-trick yet still found himself on the losing side as Vale conceded four goals after leading 4–2.^[1] In the Birmingham Senior Cup, they left in the Second Round after a 3–1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
5	Grimsby Town	28	15	2	11	71	58	1.224	32
6	Burton Swifts	28	14	3	11	79	61	1.295	31
7	Burslem Port Vale	28	13	4	11	66	64	1.031	30
8	Lincoln City	28	11	6	11	59	58	1.017	28
9	Woolwich Arsenal	28	12	4	12	52	55	0.945	28

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

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	23	24	25	26	27	28
Ground	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	L	L	L	W	W	L	W	D	W	L	L	L	W	L	D	L	D	W	L	D	L
Position	5	3	4	1	1	1	1	1	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	6	6	6	7

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

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
2 September 1893	Ardwick	H	4–2	2,500	Beats (2), Scarratt, Sands
9 September 1893	Walsall Town Swifts	A	5–0	2,000	Campbell (4), Beats
16 September 1893	Crewe Alexandra	H	4–2	2,000	Wood (2), Beats, Campbell
18 September 1893	Middlesbrough Ironopolis	H	4–0	3,000	Campbell, Beats, Dean, Wood
23 September 1893	Northwich Victoria	A	5–1		Campbell (2), Dean, Scarratt, unknown
25 September 1893	Small Heath	H	5–0	3,000	Beats (3), Wood, Scarratt
30 September 1893	Northwich Victoria	H	3–2	2,500	Wood (2), Beats
7 October 1893	Ardwick	A	1–8	6,000	Wood
21 October 1893	Rotherham Town	H	2–3	1,000	Dean, Scarratt
26 October 1893	Notts County	A	1–6	3,000	Dean
28 October 1893	Rotherham Town	A	1–0	2,000	Beats
25 November 1893	Notts County	H	1–0	1,000	Wood
2 December 1893	Grimsby Town	A	0–4	2,000
4 December 1893	Grimsby Town	H	6–1	500	Beats (2), Scarratt (2), Elson, Corfield
9 December 1893	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–1		og.
16 December 1893	Burton Swifts	H	3–1		Campbell (2), Dean
25 December 1893	Woolwich Arsenal	A	1–4	8,000	Wood
30 December 1893	Newcastle United	A	1–2	3,000	Beats
1 January 1894	Middlesbrough Ironopolis	A	1–3	4,000	unknown
6 January 1894	Woolwich Arsenal	H	2–1	900	Dean, Wood
13 January 1894	Burton Swifts	A	3–5	2,000	Elson, Dean, Campbell
3 February 1894	Newcastle United	H	1–1	2,000	Wood
10 February 1894	Walsall Town Swifts	H	1–2	3,000	Beats
24 February 1894	Lincoln City	A	2–2	2,000	Beats (2)
10 March 1894	Lincoln City	H	5–3	2,000	Campbell (2), Edwards (2), Scarratt
24 March 1894	Small Heath	A	0–6	4,000
7 April 1894	Liverpool	H	2–2	5,000	Dean, Wood
14 April 1894	Liverpool	A	1–2	5,000	Edwards

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Goalscorers
1Q	14 October 1893	Burton Swifts	H	3–4	Beats, Dean, Campbell

Birmingham Senior Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1	20 January 1894	Redditch Town	A	4–2	1,350	Scarratt (2), Campbell, Dean
2	12 February 1894	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–3	2,100	Wood

Staffordshire Senior Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
2	5 March 1894	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	4–6	2,000	Beats (3), Wood

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	10	0	1	0	0	0	11	0
GK	Tom Baddeley	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
GK	Hugh Mackay	16	0	0	0	2	0	18	0
DF	James Clutton	8	0	1	0	0	0	9	0
DF	George Youds	22	0	1	0	0	0	23	0
DF	William Corfield	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	1
DF	G.S. Eccles	6	0	0	0	3	0	9	0
DF	Sam Bennion	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
DF	John Edwards	6	3	0	0	2	0	8	3
DF	Bob Ramsay	16	0	0	0	1	0	17	0
DF	William Rhodes	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
MF	Meshach Dean	28	8	1	1	3	2	32	10
MF	Billy Elson	26	2	1	0	2	0	29	2
MF	Fred Farrington	4	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
MF	Bob McCrindle	28	0	1	0	3	0	32	0
MF	Jimmy Scarratt	27	7	1	0	3	2	31	9
MF	James Smith	14	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
MF	Alf Wood	28	12	1	0	3	2	32	14
MF	Joseph Boughey	5	0	0	0	3	0	8	0
MF	Lewis Campbell	27	13	1	1	3	1	31	15
MF	Alex Sands	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1
FW	Billy Beats	28	16	1	1	3	3	32	20
FW	Dick Danks	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	Other	Total
1	FW	England	Billy Beats	16	1	3	20
2	MF	Scotland	Lewis Campbell	13	1	1	15
3	MF	England	Alf Wood	12	0	2	14
4	MF	England	Meshach Dean	8	1	1	10
5	MF	England	Jimmy Scarratt	7	0	2	9
6	DF	England	John Edwards	3	0	0	3
7	MF	England	Billy Elson	2	0	0	2
8	DF		William Corfield	1	0	0	1
–	MF	Scotland	Alex Sands	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Unknown	2	0	0	2
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	66	3	9	78

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
June 1893	DF	George Samuel Eccles	Middleport	Free transfer	^[4]
October 1893	MF	Lewis Campbell	Aston Villa	Free transfer	^[4]
October 1893	GK	Hugh Mackay	Rotherham Town	Free transfer	^[4]
October 1893	DF	Bob Ramsay	Northwich Victoria	Free transfer	^[4]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
September 1893	MF	Alex Sands		Released	^[4]
October 1893	DF	James Clutton		Released	^[4]
May 1894	GK	Hugh Mackay	Wigan County	Released	^[4]
May 1894	DF	Bob Ramsay		Released	^[4]
Summer 1894	DF	Sam Bennion		Released	^[4]
Summer 1894	MF	Lewis Campbell	Walsall Town Swifts	Released	^[4]
Summer 1894	DF	William Corfield		Released	^[4]
Summer 1894	FW	Billy Elson	West Manchester	Free transfer	^[4]
Summer 1894	MF	Dick Danks		Released	^[4]
Summer 1894	MF	Fred Farrington	Retired		^[4]
Summer 1894	MF	Bob McCrindle	Luton Town	Free transfer	^[4]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j 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.
^ "Read an 1893 match report as Port Vale thrash rivals Crewe". onevalefan.co.uk. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
^ Port Vale 1893–1894 : Results & Fixtures Archived 29 May 2015 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 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.

[Kent-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j 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.

[2] "Read an 1893 match report as Port Vale thrash rivals Crewe". onevalefan.co.uk. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.

[3] Port Vale 1893–1894 : Results & Fixtures Archived 29 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[transfers-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Port Vale F.C. seasons
1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27 2027–28 2028–29 2029–30