1894–95 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

Burslem Port Vale
1894–95 season
Stadium	Athletic Ground
Football League Second Division	15th (18 Points)
FA Cup	First Qualifying Round; (knocked out by Stourbridge)
Birmingham Senior Cup	Second Round; (knocked out by Loughborough)
Staffordshire Senior Cup	Second Round; (knocked out by Burton Wanderers)
Top goalscorer	League: Meshach Dean (7); All: Meshach Dean (8)
Highest home attendance	2,500 vs Leicester Fosse, 23 March 1895
Lowest home attendance	300 vs Woolwich Arsenal, 19 January 1895; Rotherham Town, 16 February 1895
Average home league attendance	1,367+
Biggest win	7–1 vs. Leicester Fosse, 23 March 1895
Biggest defeat	0–10 vs. Notts County, 26 February 1895
	Home colours
	Home colours

The 1894–95 season was Burslem Port Vale's third consecutive season of football in the English Football League.^[1] The progress of the previous season was lost, as 19 of the 30 league games ended in defeat. Only nearby Crewe Alexandra finished below the Vale; however, only Walsall Town Swifts failed to gain re-election – despite finishing two points ahead of Vale. As in 1892–93, the Vale found great difficulty in scoring goals, with only Crewe scoring fewer.

A season to forget, the club fared no better the following season and lost their Football League status between 1896 and 1898. Their 2–2 draw at Crewe on 5 January 1895 was their final away draw until 3 December 1898, as the team fared extremely poorly on the road, losing almost all their away games.

Overview

Second Division

With financial losses reported, Port Vale restricted themselves to promoting reserve team players alongside new defenders Dick Ray (Macclesfield), Walter Wilson (Mansfield Town) and Frank Haslam (Mansfield Town). Top scorer Billy Beats was retained, though. A 1–0 opening day victory over Walsall Town Swifts betrayed what would be a difficult season for the "Valeites". A Scotsman named Mr Wilson was signed after this game, but he decided to instead meet two friends in Stockport and went on holiday to the Isle of Man. Wilson never made it to Staffordshire. Five defeats followed the opening day victory as the forward line rarely troubled the opposition goalkeepers. Scottish forward James Smith was signed from Kilmarnock and he made a scoring debut in a 4–4 home draw with Newcastle United on 6 October. Beats scored the only goal against Burton Wanderers two weeks later, only for seven consecutive losses to follow. In the 4–0 defeat at eventual champions Bury on 10 November, Jimmy Scarratt exited on a stretcher and spent the next four months hospitalised with a knee injury. Walter Wilson and John Edwards were offloaded to Nelson and Stockport County respectively. By December, the club were bottom of the league with dwindling attendances, rising player wages, and a £60 deficit to overcome. Only 1,000 spectators turned up to the Athletic Ground to witness a 5–2 defeat to Newton Heath on Christmas Eve, whilst Vale fell to a 7–0 defeat at Woolwich Arsenal on Christmas Day.^[1]

After a 3–0 defeat at Newton Heath on New Year's Day, The Staffordshire Sentinel reported that "five worse shooters could not be found in any team in England". The losing run ended four days later with a 2–2 draw at Crewe Alexandra, the only team in the division with a worse record. Only 300 fans turned out to see Woolwich Arsenal win 1–0 in Cobridge on 19 January. The club continued to try desperately to sign new forwards, to no avail. They lost 10–0 at Notts County on 26 February, after three players (Dick Ray, George Eccles and Meshach Dean) failed to turn up, leaving reserve players to make up the numbers.^[1] This defeat was followed by a reorganisation effort, after which results improved. On 4 March, the first league win in five months was attained with a 2–0 home victory over Burton Swifts. A 4–0 defeat at Burton Wanderers followed. On 16 March, though, came a 7–1 demolition of Lincoln City. The team were then beaten 2–1 at high-flying Leicester Fosse. Vale recorded a 5–0 victory over Grimsby Town, the division's highest scorers, which ended Grimsby's promotion chances. They travelled to St James' Park and won their first away match of the season, with the Newcastle United home fans reportedly cheering the visitors "for their plucky display". The season ended with a 4–0 home win over Crewe Alexandra. Vale had amassed 18 points from 30 games, conceding 77 goals, including 54 in their 15 away fixtures, but were re-elected to the league with the joint-highest amount of votes.^[1]

Goalkeeper Tom Baddeley was the only ever-present throughout the season, with left-back Dick Ray missing just one game due to missing the train. Billy Beats, George Samuel Eccles, Meshach Dean, and Alf Wood, favourites of previous campaigns, rarely missed a match. At the end of the season, Wood left for Southampton, and Ray for Manchester City. Billy Beats was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers for an £80 fee and a £50 benefit match. With their places filled with reserves, the next season looked bleak.^[1]

Finances

Financially, the club struggled, with attendance down due to continuing defeats, and the pay raises the players had for the good work the previous season damaged the budget.^[1] An end-of-season meeting saw the club's directors considering disbanding the club or floating the club as a Limited liability company.

Cup competitions

For the fourth consecutive season, they exited the FA Cup in the first round of qualification, for the second consecutive season, they scored three goals in their defeat; this time Stourbridge scored five. Vale had appeared overconfident and began the match at a walking pace.^[1] They exited the Staffordshire Senior Cup and the second round and the Birmingham Senior Cup at the first round, losing 1–0 to eventual Midland League champions Loughborough in the latter competition amid another poor display from the forward line.^[1]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
12	Rotherham Town	30	11	2	17	55	62	0.887	24
13	Lincoln City	30	10	0	20	52	92	0.565	20	Re-elected
14	Walsall Town Swifts	30	10	0	20	47	92	0.511	20	Resigned from league
15	Burslem Port Vale	30	7	4	19	39	77	0.506	18	Re-elected
16	Crewe Alexandra	30	3	4	23	26	103	0.252	10	Re-elected

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

Results

Football League Second Division

Burslem Port Vale's score comes first

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
Ground	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A
Result	W	L	L	L	L	L	D	W	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	D	L	L	L	D	D	L	L	W	L	W	L	W	W	W
Position	1	11	14	14	15	16	14	13	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	15

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

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
1 September 1894	Walsall Town Swifts	H	1–0	2,000	Beats
8 September 1894	Manchester City	A	1–4	2,000	Wood
15 September 1894	Bury	H	1–2	1,500	Marple
17 September 1894	Notts County	H	0–3	1,000
22 September 1894	Walsall Town Swifts	A	0–2	3,000
29 September 1894	Burton Swifts	A	0–1	1,000
6 October 1894	Newcastle United	H	4–4	2,000	Scarratt, Wood, James Smith, Eccles
20 October 1894	Burton Wanderers	H	1–0	1,500	Beats
27 October 1894	Darwen	A	0–2	3,000
10 November 1894	Bury	A	0–4	3,000
17 November 1894	Darwen	H	0–3	2,000
8 December 1894	Lincoln City	A	1–6	1,000	Dean
24 December 1894	Newton Heath	H	2–5	1,000	Beats, McDonald
25 December 1894	Woolwich Arsenal	A	0–7	8,000
1 January 1895	Newton Heath	A	0–3	4,000
5 January 1895	Crewe Alexandra	A	2–2		James Smith, Evans
19 January 1895	Woolwich Arsenal	H	0–1	300
26 January 1895	Grimsby Town	A	1–4		James Smith
2 February 1895	Manchester City	H	1–2	1,500	Ray
16 February 1895	Rotherham Town	H	1–1	300	James Smith
23 February 1895	Leicester Fosse	H	1–1		Evans
26 February 1895	Notts County	A	0–10	1,500
2 March 1895	Rotherham Town	A	1–2	1,000	James Smith
4 March 1895	Burton Swifts	H	2–0		Evans, Dean
9 March 1895	Burton Wanderers	A	0–4	4,100
16 March 1895	Lincoln City	H	7–1	2,500	Beats (2), unknown, Evans, Dean, J. Mason, Wood
26 March 1895	Leicester Fosse	A	1–2	3,000	Evans
6 April 1895	Grimsby Town	H	5–0	800	Dean (2), Beats, Evans, J. Mason
12 April 1895	Newcastle United	A	2–1	3,000	Eardley (2)
20 April 1895	Crewe Alexandra	H	4–0		Dean (2), Wood, Eardley

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Goalscorers
1Q	13 October 1894	Stourbridge	A	3–5	Beats, Dean, unknown

Birmingham Senior Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
2	9 February 1895	Loughborough	H	0–1	1,000

Staffordshire Senior Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1	31 January 1895	Leek	A	5–1		unknown
2	25 February 1895	Burton Wanderers	A	3–5	600+	Wood (2), James Smith

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Tom Baddeley	30	0	1	0	3	0	34	0
GK	Albert Boardman	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF	G.S. Eccles	27	1	1	0	3	0	31	1
DF	John Edwards	6	0	1	0	0	0	7	0
DF	Frank Haslam	8	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
DF	Teddy Morse	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
DF	Dick Ray	29	1	1	0	2	0	32	1
DF	Jim Beech	14	0	1	0	1	0	16	0
MF	Meshach Dean	28	7	1	1	1	0	30	8
MF	Jimmy Scarratt	12	1	1	0	0	0	13	1
MF	Jack Smith	8	0	0	0	1	0	9	0
MF	Alf Wood	28	4	1	0	2	2	31	6
MF	Joseph Boughey	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
MF	James Holdcroft	12	0	0	0	2	0	14	0
MF	Frederick Marple	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1
MF	Ted McDonald	19	1	0	0	2	0	21	1
MF	Jos Randles	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Eric Regan	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
MF	James Smith	20	5	1	0	2	1	23	6
MF	Fred Belfield	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Walter Wilson	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
FW	Billy Beats	28	6	1	1	1	0	31	7
FW	Charlie Mason	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Jim Mason	10	2	0	0	1	0	11	2
MF	Billy Eardley	8	3	0	0	1	0	9	3
FW	Dick Evans	16	6	0	0	3	0	19	6

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	Other	Total
1	MF	England	Meshach Dean	7	1	0	8
2	FW	England	Billy Beats	6	1	0	7
3	FW	England	Dick Evans	6	0	0	6
–	MF	Scotland	James Smith	5	0	1	6
–	MF	England	Alf Wood	4	0	2	6
6	FW	England	Billy Eardley	3	0	0	3
7	FW		Jim Mason	2	0	0	2
8	DF	England	George Eccles	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Frederick Marple	1	0	0	1
–	MF		Ted McDonald	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Dick Ray	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Jimmy Scarratt	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Unknown	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	39	2	3	44

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
Summer 1894	DF	Dick Ray	Macclesfield	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1894	DF	Jim Beech	Smallthorne Albion	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1894	DF	Frank Haslam	Mansfield Town	Free transfer	^[3]
July 1894	MF	Ted McDonald	Stoke	Free transfer	^[3]
July 1894	MF	Walter Wilson	Mansfield Town	Free transfer	^[3]
August 1894	MF	Eric Regan	Ardwick	Free transfer	^[3]
September 1894	MF	James Smith	Kilmarnock	Free transfer	^[3]
November 1894	FW	Dick Evans	Newcastle White Star	Free transfer	^[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
October 1894	GK	Joe Frail	Gorton Villa	Free transfer	^[3]
November 1894	MF	John Edwards	Stockport County	Free transfer	^[3]
December 1894	MF	Walter Wilson	Nelson	Free transfer	^[3]
March 1895	DF	Frank Haslam	Notts County	Free transfer	^[3]
March 1895	MF	James Smith	Preston North End	Released	^[3]
June 1895	FW	Billy Beats	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£80	^[3]
Summer 1895	FW	Billy Eardley	Newcastle Swifts	Free transfer	^[3]
Summer 1895	MF	Frederick Marple		Released	^[3]
Summer 1895	DF	Dick Ray	Crewe Alexandra	Free transfer	^[3]
Summer 1895	MF	Jimmy Scarratt		Released	^[3]
Summer 1895	MF	Jack Smith		Released	^[3]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Kent, Jeff (1990). "Trying to make the Grade (1888-1898)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 26–50. ISBN 978-0-9508981-4-8.
^ Port Vale 1894–1895 : Results & Fixtures Archived 7 September 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 ^p ^q ^r ^s 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 978-0-9508981-9-3.

[Kent-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Kent, Jeff (1990). "Trying to make the Grade (1888-1898)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 26–50. ISBN 978-0-9508981-4-8.

[2] Port Vale 1894–1895 : Results & Fixtures Archived 7 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[transfers-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

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 1893–94 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