1888–89 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

Burslem Port Vale
1888–89 season
Stadium	Athletic Ground
The Combination	Abandoned
FA Cup	Second Qualifying Round; (knocked out by Small Heath Alliance)
Staffordshire Senior Cup	Fourth Round; (knocked out by Burton Wanderers)
North Staffordshire Challenge Cup	Semi-finalists; (knocked out by Leek)
Top goalscorer	League: Jimmy Ditchfield (8); All: Jimmy Ditchfield (12)
Highest home attendance	5,000 vs. Stoke, 16 February 1889
Average home league attendance	2,200
Biggest win	6–1 vs. Gainsborough Trinity, 8 September 1888
Biggest defeat	1–5 and 2–6

The 1888–89 season was Burslem Port Vale's first season and only season of football in The Combination.^[1] The league was abandoned before the fixture list was completed, though Vale were in poor form regardless. They exited the FA Cup, Staffordshire Senior Cup and North Staffordshire Challenge Cup in their opening rounds and also struggled in friendlies, the low point being a 3–1 defeat to village team Oswaldtwistle Rovers at the Athletic Ground.

Overview

The Combination

Burslem Port Vale prepared for their first-ever league campaign by signings Lewis Ballham from Stoke and Dick Danks from Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, they lost Harry Cookson to South Shore and Bob Ramsay to Stoke.^[1] Despite being overweight, forward Billy Reynolds scored the winning goal in the season-opening victory over Birmingham St George's at the Athletic Ground.^[1] Though they lost 2–1 at home to Halliwell, they recorded 6–1 and 3–0 home victories over Gainsborough Trinity and South Shore.^[1] However, a sequence of away fixtures followed, in which they picked two points on the road all season.^[1] Their home form remained steady, though, picking up 16 of a possible 26 points at home.^[1]

Cup competitions and friendlies

Vale's interest in the FA Cup ended early as they were beaten 3–2 at Small Heath Alliance.^[1] Their friendlies in the first part of the season were also largely disappointing, losing 4–0 to Preston North End and 8–1 to Blackburn Rovers – both strong sides – but more worryingly they were humbled 4–0 at the little-known side Witton.^[1] A 3–1 home defeat to Lancashire village team Oswaldtwistle Rovers on 12 January was embarrassing, one of the worst results in the club's short history as they proved themselves "not worthy of a club their standing" on the day.^[1] On 16 February, they fell to a 5–1 defeat at home to Potteries derby rivals Stoke in front of a season-high crowd of 5,000.^[1] They managed to beat Burton Wanderers 4–2 in the fourth round of the Staffordshire Senior Cup on 9 March, but were forced to replay the game after the visitors complained about the state of the Athletic Ground pitch; the replay was lost 3–1 as the team reverted to "the old game of a long kick and a sharp rush".^[1]

Desperate to turn around their poor form, the club signed "the best centre-forward that ever left Scotland" in 19-year-old Frank McGinnes, who had built up a formidable reputation at Halliwell.^[1] They travelled to Anfield on 20 April and recorded a 1–0 victory over Everton, but the season petered out with defeat to Leek in the semi-finals of the North Staffordshire Challenge Cup and a 7–1 thumping after fielding a weakened side at Bootle.^[1] The Combination league collapsed, but the team's poor form meant they were not invited to compete in either the new Football Alliance.^[1] The club management resolved to strengthen the team and had to be content with friendlies for the following campaign.^[1]

Results

Burslem Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

The Combination

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
1 September 1888	Birmingham St George's	H	2–1	3,500	Ditchfield, Reynolds
3 September 1888	Halliwell	H	1–2	3,000	Ditchfield
8 September 1888	Gainsborough Trinity	H	6–1	2,500	Sproston (2), Ditchfield, Reynolds, Randles, Danks
17 September 1888	South Shore	H	3–0	2,000	rush, Ditchfield, Sproston
29 September 1888	Walsall Town Swifts	A	0–1	2,000
13 October 1888	Notts Rangers	H	1–2		rush
20 October 1888	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–4	3,000	Reynolds
22 October 1888	Leek	A	3–5	3,000
3 November 1888	Birmingham St George's	A	3–3	200	Danks, Ballham, Poulson
10 November 1888	Newton Heath	H	1–1	1,500	scrimmage
12 November 1888	Leek	H	4–1	2,000	Ditchfield (3), Poulson
17 November 1888	Long Eaton Rangers	A	1–3		Ditchfield
24 November 1888	Walsall Town Swifts	H	1–2	2,000	Poulson
1 December 1888	Lincoln City	H	2–1	1,500	Ballham (2)
15 December 1888	Halliwell	A	1–5	small	scrimmage
22 December 1888	Lincoln City	A	0–1	1,500
24 December 1888	Gainsborough Trinity	A	1–1	fair	Ballham
25 December 1888	Grimsby Town	A	2–6	1,500
29 December 1888	Crewe Alexandra	H	1–3	2,500	Randles
5 January 1889	Notts Rangers	A	1–4		Reynolds
19 January 1889	Newton Heath	A	0–3	2,500
26 January 1889	Long Eaton Rangers	H	1–1	moderate	McHarg
2 February 1889	Northwich Victoria	A	1–2
11 March 1889	Northwich Victoria	H	1–0	several hundred
16 March 1889	South Shore	A	0–3	not very big
6 April 1889	Grimsby Town	H	2–1	1,500	Ballham (2)

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
2Q	27 October 1888	Small Heath Alliance	A	2–3		scrimmage, o.g.

Staffordshire Senior Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
4	9 March 1889	Burton Wanderers	H	4–2	1,500	Sproston (2), Ballham (2)
Replay	23 March 1889	Burton Wanderers	H	1–3	2,000	Elson

North Staffordshire Challenge Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
SF	4 May 1889	Leek	N	2–3		Danks, Stokes

Friendlies


Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
15 September 1888	Derby St Luke's	H	1–1	2,000	rush
22 September 1888	Blackburn Park Road	H	3–4	1,500	Randles (2), Sproston
24 September 1888	Preston North End	H	0–4	3,000
1 October 1888	Burnley	H	2–0	1,400	Reynolds, Randles
6 October 1888	Witton	A	0–4
15 October 1888	Bolton Wanderers	H	3–1	2,000	o.g., Stokes, Ditchfield
29 October 1888	Blackburn Rovers	H	1–8	3,000	Ballham
8 December 1888	Rotherham Town	A	2–3	3,000	Reynolds, other
10 December 1888	Everton	H	2–2	2,000	Ballham, o.g.
12 January 1889	Oswaldtwistle Rovers	H	1–3	small	Ditchfield
16 February 1889	Stoke	H	1–5	5,000	Vessey
2 March 1889	Stoke	A	2–4
30 March 1889	Leek	A	1–1		Ditchfield
15 April 1889	Halliwell	H	1–2		Ballham
20 April 1889	Everton	A	1–0	8,000	Reynolds
22 April 1889	Witton	H	1–2	2,500	o.g.
29 April 1889	Crewe Alexandra	H	0–0
14 May 1889	Bootle	A	1–7	1,500	Ditchfield

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	League		Staffordshire Cup		Challenge Cup		Friendlies		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Arthur Broomhall	5	0	2	0	1	0	9	0	16	0
GK	Joseph Mawdesley	9	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	12	0
GK	Meakin	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
GK	Millward	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
GK	W Morgan	6	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	10	0
DF	George Bateman	18	0	2	0	0	0	14	0	34	0
DF	E Chadwick	11	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	14	0
DF	T Marriott	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
DF	G Martin	4	0	2	0	1	0	3	0	10	0
DF	Matthews	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
DF	W. E. Powell	6	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	11	0
DF	Albert Skinner	12	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	16	0
DF	Udall	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
DF	Underwood	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
DF	G Wardle	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
MF	Billy Elson	19	0	2	1	1	0	17	0	39	1
MF	Fred Farrington	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Kirkham	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
MF	Locker	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
MF	G McHarg	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
MF	Billy Poulson	19	3	2	0	1	0	17	0	39	3
MF	Jos Randles	18	2	0	0	0	0	9	3	27	5
MF	Robinson	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
MF	Jack Shields	20	0	2	0	1	0	17	0	40	0
MF	Charlie Simpson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	J.H. Sproston	9	3	2	2	1	0	4	1	16	6
MF	John Surtees	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
MF	H Wardle	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	Lewis Ballham	16	6	2	2	1	0	12	3	31	11
FW	Dick Danks	15	2	0	0	1	z	9	0	25	3
FW	Jimmy Ditchfield	18	8	2	0	1	0	17	4	38	12
FW	Frank McGinnes	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	4	0
FW	Oxley	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	Ernie Payne	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	0
FW	Billy Reynolds	14	4	0	0	0	0	14	3	28	7
FW	Fred Stokes	4	0	2	0	1	1	7	1	14	2
FW	Vessey	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1
FW	F Wood	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	The Combination	FA Cup	Other	Total
1	FW	England	Jimmy Ditchfield	8	0	4	12
2	FW	England	Lewis Ballham	6	0	5	11
3	FW	England	Billy Reynolds	4	0	3	7
4	MF		J.H. Sproston	3	0	3	6
5	MF	England	Jos Randles	2	0	3	5
6	MF	England	Billy Poulson	3	0	0	3
–	FW	England	Dick Danks	2	0	0	3
8	FW		Fred Stokes	0	0	2	2
9	MF		G McHarg	1	0	0	1
–	FW		Vessey	0	0	1	1
–	MF	England	Billy Elson	0	0	1	1
–	–	–	Own goals	0	1	3	4
–	–	–	Scrimmage	2	1	0	3
			TOTALS	31	2	25	58

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
Summer 1888	GK	Arthur Broomhall	Stoke	Free transfer	^[2]
Summer 1888	DF	Udall		Free transfer	^[2]
Summer 1888	FW	F Wood		Free transfer	^[2]
Autumn 1888	FW	Lewis Ballham	Stoke	Free transfer	^[2]
Autumn 1888	MF	Fred Farrington		Free transfer	^[2]
Autumn 1888	DF	E Chadwick		Free transfer	^[2]
September 1888	GK	Joseph Mawdesley		Free transfer	^[2]
December 1888	MF	G McHarg		Free transfer	^[2]
1889	DF	Matthews		Free transfer	^[2]
January 1889	GK	Meakin		Free transfer	^[2]
April 1889	MF	Fred Farrington	Halliwell	Free transfer	^[2]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
December 1888	DF	Jack Shields		Quit	^[2]
Summer 1889	DF	E Chadwick		Released	^[2]
Summer 1889	GK	Joseph Mawdesley		Released	^[2]
Summer 1889	GK	Meakin		Released	^[2]
Summer 1889	MF	G McHarg	Burslem Port Vale	Released	^[2]
Summer 1889	GK	W Morgan		Released	^[2]
Summer 1889	MF	Robinson		Released	^[2]
Summer 1889	MF	J.H. Sproston		Released	^[2]
Summer 1889	MF	John Surtees		Released	^[2]
Summer 1889	DF	Udall		Released	^[2]
Summer 1889	FW	F Wood		Free transfer	^[2]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v 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 ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o 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.

[transfers-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

v t e 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 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