1895–96 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

Burslem Port Vale
1895–96 season
Chairman	Edward Oliver
Manager	Enoch Hood
Stadium	Athletic Ground
Football League Second Division	14th (18 Points)
FA Cup	Second Qualifying Round
Birmingham Senior Cup	First Round
Staffordshire Senior Cup	First Round
Top goalscorer	League: Ernest Beckett (8); All: Ernest Beckett (8)
Highest home attendance	5,000 vs Burton Wanderers (18 January 1896)
Lowest home attendance	500 vs Rotherham Town (25 January 1896)
Average home league attendance	1,771
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1894–95

The 1895–96 season was Burslem Port Vale's fourth consecutive season of football in the Football League.^[1] Another poor season struggling at the wrong end of the table, this time they failed to gain re-election; two seasons in the Midlands League followed, and despite a finish of 7th and then 5th they were re-elected back into the Football League for the expanded 1898–99 season.^[1]

A season to forget, a 5–4 victory over eventual champions Liverpool was one of the few memorable days. This came during a run of games which saw 65 goals in 11 games. Overall a leaky defence kept just 5 clean sheets in 30 league and 4 cup games. On their travels the team lost all their games save for a 2–0 win over Rotherham Town on the opening day.^[1] From 21 September 1895 to 18 April 1896 they recorded 14 straight losses away from home, and went 27 games without a draw away from home between 26 January 1895 and 3 December 1898 – both club records.

Danny Simpson made his debut in 1896, and would become top scorer for 1896–97 and 1897–98.

Overview

Second Division

Vale finished in 14th place, with 18 points, 28 points short of champions Liverpool. They finished four points behind Lincoln City, who were safe from re-election. Having twice successfully applied for re-election in the past three seasons, this time round they lost their league status. Nearby Crewe Alexandra fared even worse than Vale, and didn't return to the Football League until 1921, whilst Rotherham Town were never to return. However Vale spent just two seasons in the Midland League before winning back their league status.^[1]

The club suffered heavy defeats at Anfield, at Darwen, at Leicester Fosse, and in both clashes with Notts County and Grimsby Town. However they did manage victories over future giants of the game Liverpool, Newton Heath (later Manchester United), and Newcastle United.

Top scorers of previous years were lost, Billy Beats sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers in pre-season, whilst Meshach Dean lost his touch. Goals at a premium, Ernest Beckett (8), and Jim Mason (6) were the only players to score with anything approaching regularity. Highly impressive goalkeeper Tom Baddeley was an ever-present for the second successive season, with left-back George Youds and centre-half Ralph Barlow missing just one match each. At the end of the season Baddeley and Eccles left for Wolves, Eardley and McDonald left for Stoke; all wishing to remain Football League players.^[1]

Cup competitions

Again Vale failed poorly in the FA Cup, easing past Scottish club Hereford Thistle in the first round of qualification with a walkover. The Second Round held league rivals Burton Swifts, who managed to draw at Vale's home and then win the replay with the odd goal. Facing rivals Stoke in the Staffordshire Senior Cup, they lost 4–0 at home.^[1]

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GA	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	30	14	1	0	65	11	8	1	6	41	21	106	32	3.313	+ 74	46
2	Manchester City	30	12	3	0	37	9	9	1	5	26	29	63	38	1.658	+ 25	46
3	Grimsby Town	30	14	1	0	51	9	6	1	8	31	29	82	38	2.158	+ 44	42
4	Burton Wanderers	30	12	1	2	43	15	7	3	5	26	25	69	40	1.725	+ 29	42
5	Newcastle United	30	14	0	1	57	14	2	2	11	16	36	73	50	1.460	+ 23	34
6	Newton Heath	30	12	2	1	48	15	3	1	11	18	42	66	57	1.158	+ 9	33
7	Woolwich Arsenal	30	11	1	3	43	11	3	3	9	16	31	59	42	1.405	+ 17	32
8	Leicester Fosse	30	10	0	5	40	16	4	4	7	17	28	57	44	1.295	+ 13	32
9	Darwen	30	9	4	2	55	22	3	2	10	17	45	72	67	1.075	+ 5	30
10	Notts County	30	8	1	6	41	22	4	1	10	16	32	57	54	1.056	+ 3	26
11	Burton Swifts	30	7	2	6	24	26	3	2	10	15	43	39	69	0.565	– 30	24
12	Loughborough	30	7	3	5	32	25	2	2	11	8	42	40	67	0.597	– 27	23
13	Lincoln City	30	7	1	7	36	24	2	3	10	17	51	53	75	0.707	– 22	22
14	Burslem Port Vale	30	6	4	5	25	24	1	0	14	18	54	43	78	0.551	– 35	18
15	Rotherham Town	30	7	2	6	27	26	0	1	14	7	71	34	97	0.351	– 63	17
16	Crewe Alexandra	30	5	2	8	22	28	0	1	14	8	67	30	95	0.316	– 65	13

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

Burslem Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Template:Fb rbr header Template:Fb rbr ground Template:Fb rbr result Template:Fb rbr position |} Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Second Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
7 September 1895	Rotherham Town	A	2–0	2,000	Beckett, Handley
14 September 1895	Notts County	H	0–4	2,000
21 September 1895	Burton Wanderers	A	1–2	2,500	Dean
28 September 1895	Liverpool	A	1–5	5,000	J. Mason
5 October 1895	Darwen	H	3–3	1,000	Eardley (2), Evans
19 October 1895	Darwen	A	2–8	4,000	Eardley (2)
21 October 1895	Liverpool	H	5–4	1,000	Evans, J. Mason, Beckett, Downie, Black
26 October 1895	Crewe Alexandra	H	2–1	1,500	J. Mason, Barlow
16 November 1895	Grimsby Town	H	1–4	800	Beckett
7 December 1895	Notts County	A	2–7	500	Evans, Beckett
25 December 1895	Woolwich Arsenal	A	1–2	8,000	Fallows
4 January 1896	Grimsby Town	A	1–6	2,000	Downie
11 January 1896	Burton Swifts	H	1–0	1,500	Beckett
18 January 1896	Burton Wanderers	H	2–2	5,000	Edwards, Sandham
25 January 1896	Rotherham Town	H	4–0	500	Beckett, Sandham, McDonald, J. Mason
10 February 1896	Manchester City	H	0–1	3,000
15 February 1896	Woolwich Arsenal	H	0–2	1,000
17 February 1896	Manchester City	A	0–1	3,000
22 February 1896	Lincoln City	H	0–1	1,000
7 March 1896	Leicester Fosse	H	1–1	1,500	Beckett
14 March 1896	Burton Swifts	A	1–2	2,000	Beckett
21 March 1896	Leicester Fosse	A	0–5	5,000
23 March 1896	Newton Heath	H	3–0	3,000	Randles (2), J. Mason
25 March 1896	Crewe Alexandra	A	2–3		C. Mason, Evans
3 April 1896	Newcastle United	A	2–4	8,500	Simpson, Randles
6 April 1896	Newton Heath	A	1–2	5,000	McDonald
7 April 1896	Loughborough	H	1–1		Simpson
11 April 1896	Loughborough	A	0–3	1,500
18 April 1896	Lincoln City	A	2–4		Belfield (2)
20 April 1896	Newcastle United	H	2–0	2,000	J. Mason, Randles

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1Q	12 October 1895	Hereford Thistle	H	walkover
2Q	2 November 1895	Burton Swifts	H	1–1	1,500	unknown
2Q Replay	6 November 1895	Burton Swifts	A	0–1	1,000

Birmingham Senior Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1	20 January 1896	Stourbridge	A	2–3	2,000	Downie, own goal

Staffordshire Senior Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1	8 February 1896	Stoke	A	0–4	4,000

Player statistics

Appearances

Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Tom Baddeley	30	0	2	0	2	0	34	0
DF	G.S. Eccles	17	0	2	0	1	0	20	0
DF	John Edwards	3	1	0	0	1	0	4	1
DF	Teddy Morse	12	0	0	0	1	0	13	0
DF	Jim Beech	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
DF	George Youds	29	0	2	0	2	0	33	0
MF	Meshach Dean	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	1
MF	Joseph Boughey	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	James Holdcroft	24	0	2	0	0	0	26	0
MF	Ted McDonald	27	2	1	0	2	0	30	2
MF	Jos Randles	7	4	1	0	0	0	8	4
MF	Fred Belfield	5	2	0	0	0	0	5	2
MF	Ralph Barlow	29	1	2	0	2	0	33	1
MF	James Downie	12	2	2	0	2	1	16	3
MF	John Fallows	8	1	0	0	1	0	9	1
MF	Hamlet Handley	5	1	0	0	0	0	5	1
MF	James Kirkham	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Charlie Mason	8	1	1	0	0	0	9	1
FW	Jim Mason	26	6	2	0	2	0	30	6
FW	Billy Eardley	9	4	1	0	0	0	10	4
FW	Dick Evans	20	4	0	0	2	0	22	4
FW	Ernest Beckett	23	8	2	0	2	0	27	8
FW	David Black	7	1	2	0	0	0	9	1
FW	Jimmy Ditchfield	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	George Price	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
FW	Joseph Sandham	4	2	0	0	2	0	6	2
FW	Danny Simpson	12	2	0	0	0	0	12	2

Scorers

All competitions

Scorer	Goals
Ernest Beckett	8
Jim Mason	6
Jos Randles	4
Billy Eardley
Dick Evans
James Downie	3
Fred Belfield	2
Ted McDonald
Danny Simpson
Joseph Sandham
Ralph Barlow	1
David Black
Meshach Dean
John Edwards
John Fallows
Hamlet Handley
Charlie Mason

League

Scorer	Goals
Ernest Beckett	8
Jim Mason	6
Jos Randles	4
Billy Eardley
Dick Evans
Fred Belfield	2
James Downie
Ted McDonald
Danny Simpson
Joseph Sandham
Ralph Barlow	1
David Black
Meshach Dean
John Edwards
John Fallows
Hamlet Handley
Charlie Mason

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
July 1895	FW	Ernest Beckett	Newcastle Swifts	Free transfer	^[3]
August 1895	MF	Hamlet Handley		Free transfer	^[3]
August 1895	MF	James Kirkham		Free transfer	^[3]
September 1895	FW	Billy Eardley	Newcastle Swifts	Free transfer	^[3]
September 1895	MF	James Downie	Blackburn Rovers	Free transfer	^[3]
September 1895	FW	David Black	Blackburn Rovers	Free transfer	^[3]
January 1896	MF	John Edwards	Stockport County	Free transfer	^[3]
January 1896	MF	John Fallows		Free transfer	^[3]
January 1896	FW	George Price		Free transfer	^[3]
January 1896	FW	Joseph Sandham	Crewe Alexandra	Free transfer	^[3]
February 1896	FW	Danny Simpson	Tunstall Town	Free transfer	^[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
October 1895	MF	Alf Wood	Stoke	Free transfer	^[3]
January 1896	FW	David Black		Released	^[3]
February 1896	FW	Joseph Sandham	Dresden United	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1896	DF	George Samuel Eccles	Wolverhampton Wanderers	'considerable'	^[3]
Summer 1896	MF	Joseph Boughey	Audley	Released	^[3]
Summer 1896	MF	Meshach Dean		Released	^[3]
Summer 1896	FW	Jimmy Ditchfield		Released	^[3]
Summer 1896	MF	James Downie		Released	^[3]
Summer 1896	MF	John Edwards	Grays United	Free transfer	^[3]
Summer 1896	MF	Hamlet Handley		Released	^[3]
Summer 1896	MF	James Kirkham		Released	^[3]
Summer 1896	FW	Charlie Mason		Released	^[3]
Summer 1896	DF	William Rhodes		Released	^[3]
August 1896	FW	Billy Eardley	Stoke	Free transfer	^[3]
August 1896	MF	Ted McDonald	Stoke	Free transfer	^[3]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 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.
^ Port Vale 1895–1896 : Results & Fixtures. 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 ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z 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 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] Port Vale 1895–1896 : Results & Fixtures. 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 ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

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

v t e Port Vale Football Club
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