# 1962–63 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1962–63 season was Port Vale's 51st season of football in the English Football League, and their fourth season in the Third Division. An impressive season saw them finish in third position, one away from promotion. However, promotions for both their rivals Stoke City (second to first tier) and Crewe Alexandra (fourth to third tier) meant that Vale had a poor season in comparison. The major talking point of the season was Norman Low's departure and Freddie Steele's return, which came as a shock to the fans.

## Overview
### Third Division

The pre-season saw the arrival of John Rowland, a 'tall and skilful' outside-right from Nottingham Forest for £6,000.
The season opened with six points from four games, with three clean sheets. Rowland was dropped from the first XI following a 2–0 defeat at Ashton Gate on 1 September. Vale then became inconsistent, and so Low added young forward Terry Harkin to the squad from Coleraine, and transfer-listed Stan Steele after he began to be targeted by hecklers at Vale Park. Despite beating Southend United 5–1, the club continued to fall down the table. They then began a nine-game unbeaten streak on 20 October with a 1–1 draw with Carlisle United at Brunton Park. However, ten days later manager Norman Low tendered his resignation, to the shock of fans and pundits. Low cited disagreements with the board as the reason for his departure. The club felt they needed a marquee signing and so approached first Tom Finney and then European cup winning coach Béla Guttmann, who had just departed Benfica, both declined the role. Low's successor instead proved to be his predecessor, Freddie Steele, in another development that took many by surprise. Roy Sproson later noted "He [Steele] had changed. He had not got the enthusiasm or drive as before, but the lads still responded to him".
It took until the sixth game of Steele's reign for a goal to be conceded (525 minutes) as 'the Steele Curtain' again descended upon Vale Park. The goal was scored by former Valiant turned bogey player Ronnie Allen for Crystal Palace in a 4–1 home win for Vale. They finished the year chasing promotion, despite losing 4–3 to Reading at Elm Park. No league games were played in January or February due to the Big Freeze. To help with finances during this spell of two months without competitive action, Bert Llewellyn was sold to Northampton Town for £7,000 and Arthur Longbottom was sold to Millwall for £2,000. Back in action in March, Steele found his offence wanting, and so purchased Tony Richards from Walsall for £9,000. Richards immediately impacted himself on the club's scoring charts, eventually finishing as top-scorer for his two months of work. For the four weeks following 20 April, Vale recorded eight wins from their final ten matches, though this would prove to be too little too late regarding promotion.
They finished in third spot with 54 points, four short of promotion, though enough to earn them £500 in talent money. Their 58 goals conceded total was fewer only than Swindon Town.

### Finances

On the financial side, a profit of £2,275 was made despite an operating loss of £20,557. A donation from the Sportsmen's Association and social club stood at a highly impressive £22,832. Whilst wages remained fairly constant at £33,120, gate receipts had fallen by £8,000. The club's overdraft stood at £41,000, leading to a discussion over whether or not to take out a mortgage on Vale Park. The club management decided to replace the black and amber kit with the traditional white shirts, black shorts and black and white socks – the kit Steele's men triumphed in almost ten years previously. On the playing front, Peter Ford's departure to Macclesfield Town was the only transfer of note.

### Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale took their revenge upon Bristol Rovers, dumping them out of the competition at the first stage with a 2–0 win at Burslem on 21 November. Three weeks later, Aldershot suffered the same fate in Sproson's 500th appearance for the club. In the Third Round they beat Fourth Division Gillingham 4–2 at Priestfield. They then lost 2–1 to First Division Sheffield United in front of 22,207 rain-soaked supporters.
In the League Cup, Bristol Rovers won the First Round clash at the Memorial Stadium 2–0.

## League table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Northampton Town | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 109 | 60 | 1.817 | 62 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Swindon Town | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 87 | 56 | 1.554 | 58 | Promoted |
| 3 | Port Vale | 46 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 72 | 58 | 1.241 | 54 | |
| 4 | Coventry City | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 83 | 69 | 1.203 | 53 | |
| 5 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 63 | 46 | 1.370 | 52 | |

## 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 | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H |
| Result | W | D | W | D | L | W | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | D | D | L | L | D | W | W | D | W | W | D | L | L | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | D | L | L | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | W | W |
| Position | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 18 August 1962 | Wrexham | A | 1–0 | 14,042 | Llewellyn |
| 20 August 1962 | Millwall | H | 1–1 | 12,469 | Longbottom |
| 25 August 1962 | Reading | H | 2–0 | 9,506 | Llewellyn, Grainger |
| 27 August 1962 | Millwall | A | 0–0 | 20,553 | |
| 1 September 1962 | Bristol City | A | 0–2 | 9,626 | |
| 3 September 1962 | Colchester United | H | 4–2 | 11,719 | Longbottom, Grainger, Ford, Poole |
| 8 September 1962 | Watford | H | 1–3 | 11,108 | Grainger (pen) |
| 10 September 1962 | Colchester United | A | 1–0 | 5,919 | Wright |
| 15 September 1962 | Bradford Park Avenue | A | 1–2 | 8,935 | Llewellyn |
| 17 September 1962 | Southend United | A | 0–2 | 10,963 | |
| 22 September 1962 | Coventry City | H | 2–1 | 9,816 | o.g., Grainger |
| 24 September 1962 | Southend United | H | 5–1 | 9,618 | Edwards (2), Harkin (2), Ford |
| 29 September 1962 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | A | 0–2 | 9,715 | |
| 1 October 1962 | Notts County | H | 1–1 | 9,245 | Edwards |
| 6 October 1962 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–1 | 12,374 | Poole |
| 11 October 1962 | Notts County | A | 0–1 | 14,320 | |
| 13 October 1962 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–2 | 7,503 | Poole |
| 20 October 1962 | Carlisle United | A | 1–1 | 5,627 | Steele |
| 27 October 1962 | Swindon Town | H | 2–1 | 5,825 | Harkin (2) |
| 9 November 1962 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | 8,798 | Steele |
| 17 November 1962 | Northampton Town | A | 0–0 | 8,718 | |
| 1 December 1962 | Hull City | A | 1–0 | 7,259 | Rowland |
| 8 December 1962 | Crystal Palace | H | 4–1 | 6,537 | Llewellyn (3), Rowland |
| 15 December 1962 | Wrexham | H | 2–2 | 7,172 | Grainger, Llewellyn |
| 22 December 1962 | Reading | A | 3–4 | 5,578 | Ford (2), Miles |
| 2 March 1962 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–3 | 10,050 | Edwards |
| 9 March 1962 | Carlisle United | H | 2–0 | 6,308 | Rowland, Harkin |
| 16 March 1962 | Swindon Town | A | 3–2 | 12,090 | o.g., Steele, Rowland |
| 18 March 1962 | Peterborough United | A | 1–3 | 10,162 | Harkin |
| 23 March 1962 | Peterborough United | H | 3–2 | 10,260 | Steele, Harkin, Edwards |
| 29 March 1962 | Barnsley | A | 1–2 | 4,368 | Edwards |
| 3 April 1962 | Halifax Town | A | 4–0 | 2,808 | Harkin (2), Richards (2) |
| 6 April 1962 | Northampton Town | H | 3–1 | 8,781 | Richards (2), Harkin |
| 12 April 1962 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 0–0 | 11,315 | |
| 13 April 1962 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–3 | 5,690 | Steele |
| 15 April 1962 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 1–2 | 6,819 | Ford |
| 20 April 1962 | Hull City | H | 1–0 | 4,673 | Rowland |
| 22 April 1962 | Halifax Town | H | 2–0 | 5,968 | Richards (2) |
| 27 April 1962 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–2 | 13,183 | Richards |
| 29 April 1962 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 3–2 | 5,974 | Richards, Rowland, Sproson |
| 4 May 1962 | Coventry City | A | 1–0 | 18,307 | Richards |
| 6 May 1962 | Bradford Park Avenue | H | 2–1 | 6,680 | Miles, Steele |
| 11 May 1962 | Bristol City | H | 3–1 | 5,337 | Richards (2), Rowland |
| 13 May 1962 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | H | 0–3 | 7,362 | |
| 18 May 1962 | Watford | A | 2–1 | 5,955 | Richards, Wright |
| 20 May 1962 | Bristol Rovers | H | 2–0 | 5,015 | Richards (pen), Miles |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 3 November 1962 | Bristol Rovers | A | 2–0 | 8,180 | Llewellyn (2) |
| R2 | 24 November 1962 | Aldershot | H | 2–0 | 12,638 | Llewellyn, Edwards (pen) |
| R3 | 27 February 1963 | Gillingham | A | 4–2 | 6,713 | Steele, Edwards, Ford, Grainger (pen) |
| R4 | 13 March 1963 | Sheffield United | H | 1–2 | 22,207 | Grainger |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 27 September 1962 | Bristol Rovers | A | 0–2 | 6,126 | |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | Football League | Football League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Ken Hancock | 46 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 0 |
| DF | Roy Sproson | 42 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 1 |
| DF | Selwyn Whalley | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| DF | Terry Lowe | 35 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| DF | John Nicholson | 46 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 0 |
| MF | Terry Miles | 37 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 3 |
| MF | Peter Ford | 25 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 6 |
| MF | Colin Grainger | 25 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 7 |
| MF | Stan Edwards | 27 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 8 |
| MF | Bernard Wright | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
| MF | Jim Watton | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| MF | Mel Machin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Harry Poole | 43 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 3 |
| FW | Stan Steele | 35 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 7 |
| FW | Bert Llewellyn | 18 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 10 |
| FW | Barry Hancock | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| FW | Arthur Longbottom | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| FW | John Rowland | 37 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 7 |
| FW | Tony Richards | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 13 |
| FW | Terry Harkin | 17 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 10 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | England | Tony Richards | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 2 | FW | Northern Ireland | Terry Harkin | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| – | FW | England | Bert Llewellyn | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 4 | MF | England | Stan Edwards | 6 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | FW | England | John Rowland | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| – | FW | England | Stan Steele | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| – | MF | England | Colin Grainger | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 8 | FW | England | Peter Ford | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 | MF | England | Terry Miles | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| – | FW | England | Harry Poole | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | MF | Northern Ireland | Bernard Wright | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | FW | England | Arthur Longbottom | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | DF | England | Roy Sproson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | TOTALS | 72 | 9 | 0 | 81 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| August 1962 | FW | John Rowland | Nottingham Forest | £6,000 |
| August 1962 | MF | Bernard Wright | Sligo Rovers | Free transfer |
| September 1962 | MF | Terry Harkin | Coleraine | £2,000 |
| September 1962 | MF | Jim Watton | De Graafschap | Free transfer |
| March 1963 | FW | Tony Richards | Walsall | £9,000 |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| January 1963 | FW | Arthur Longbottom | Millwall | £2,000 |
| February 1963 | FW | Bert Llewellyn | Northampton Town | £7,000 |
| May 1963 | MF | Bernard Wright | | Released |
| July 1963 | MF | Stan Edwards | Bangor City | Free transfer |
| Summer 1963 | MF | Peter Ford | Macclesfield Town | Released |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Date until | Ref. |
| April 1963 | MF | | Bernard Wright | Stafford Rangers | May 1963 | |