# 1945–46 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1945–46 season was Port Vale's third and final season of football in the wartime league system of World War II. Despite low expectations the club turned a profit in the Third Division (South) North, finishing third in the initial table. They reached the third round of the FA Cup, though they ended the season with a disappointing finish in the Third Division (South) North Cup. Overall, though, the club was in a healthy position to resume playing in the Football League the following season.

## Overview

The Port Vale management was concerned to learn that they were to compete in the Third Division (South) region for the 1945–46 season, which they felt would result in less revenue and greater expenditure than being in the North division, even though they were still somewhat confusingly placed in the North region of the South Division. They appointed 33-year-old former Coventry City half-back Billy Frith as the club's new manager, as predecessor David Pratt was unable to gain release from the Royal Air Force. Again, the playing squad was made up mainly of young players and guests, with Scottish inside-right Isaac McDowell being a regular guest. They opened the campaign with three victories from three games, Ralph Gregory proving a revelation on leave from the Royal Marines, scoring a hat-trick in a 4–3 win at Norwich City. However, seven games without a victory began with the return fixture with Norwich, before they were boosted by the return of the now demobilised goalkeeper Arthur Jepson. They picked up six of a possible eight points in October. They continued their good form until the end of the New Year's Day league programme. They finished in third place with 24 points in 20 games, eight points behind champions Queens Park Rangers.
They progressed past Wellington Town and Liverpool County Combination amateurs Marine to reach the third round of the FA Cup, which was now being played over two legs. They "put up a grand show" against Bradford (Park Avenue) at Park Avenue, losing 2–1. They then had to settle for a 1–1 draw at home, being denied a penalty and then having a goal ruled out for offside late in the game. A 16-game Third Division (South) North Cup series then began, with the top two teams entering the division's semi-finals. Though they fared poorly, they were fortunate enough to have goalkeeper George Heppell demobilised in time to take the place of an injured Arthur Jepson. Tommy Cheadle made his club debut in a 4–1 home victory over Ipswich Town on 2 March. However, this was only one of two victories in the final ten games as Frith experimented with different line-ups to find a winning combination. They ended the season in eighth place, picking up 14 points from 16 games. Bill Pointon was a consistent goalscorer, hitting 19 goals. The club made a profit of £1,265 on the season, having made a healthy £13,475 in gate receipt money. The City Council agreed to extend the lease on the Old Recreation Ground until June 1950, leaving ample time for Vale Park to be constructed.

## Results

Port Vale's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Third Division (South) North
#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
| 2 | Norwich City | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 54 | 31 | 1.742 | 26 |
| 3 | Port Vale | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 34 | 25 | 1.360 | 24 |
| 4 | Watford | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 42 | 47 | 0.894 | 22 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 25 August 1945 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–2 | 6,080 | Pointon, Bellis, Jones |
| 30 August 1945 | Norwich City | A | 4–3 | 7,507 | Gregory (3), Allen |
| 1 September 1945 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | 11,512 | Gregory |
| 3 September 1945 | Norwich City | H | 2–2 | 7,426 | Gregory, McDowell |
| 8 September 1945 | Northampton | A | 0–1 | 5,815 | |
| 15 September 1945 | Northampton | H | 0–0 | 6,534 | |
| 19 September 1945 | Notts County | A | 1–3 | 5,857 | McDowell |
| 22 September 1945 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–0 | 8,382 | |
| 29 September 1945 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–4 | 13,797 | Pointon |
| 6 October 1945 | Clapton Orient | A | 1–1 | 4,817 | Cumner |
| 13 October 1945 | Clapton Orient | H | 4–0 | 7,791 | Pointon (2), Bellis, Jones |
| 20 October 1945 | Watford | H | 2–1 | 7,607 | Bellis, Pointon |
| 27 October 1945 | Watford | A | 2–2 | 5,528 | Allen, Bellis |
| 1 December 1945 | Mansfield Town | A | 2–1 | 3,761 | McDowell, o.g. |
| 22 December 1945 | Southend United | A | 0–2 | 2,544 | |
| 24 December 1945 | Mansfield Town | H | 2–0 | 6,000 | Davies (2) |
| 25 December 1945 | Walsall | A | 5–1 | 5,804 | Pointon (2), Shore, Davies, Bellis |
| 26 December 1945 | Walsall | H | 0–1 | 11,200 | |
| 29 December 1945 | Notts County | H | 3–0 | 8,200 | Pointon (2), Bellis |
| 1 January 1946 | Southend United | H | 1–1 | 2,900 | Shore |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R1 Leg 1 | 17 November 1944 | Wellington Town | H | 4–0 | 8,700 | McDowell (2), Pointon, o.g. |
| R1 Leg 2 | 24 November 1944 | Wellington Town | A | 2–0 | 5,056 | Bellis, McDowell |
| R2 Leg 1 | 8 December 1944 | Marine | H | 3–1 | 5,800 | Allen (2), Gregory |
| R2 Leg 2 | 15 December 1944 | Marine | A | 1–1 | 5,000 | Gregory |
| R3 Leg 1 | 5 January 1945 | Bradford (Park Avenue) | A | 1–2 | 13,000 | Bellis |
| R3 Leg 2 | 7 January 1945 | Bradford (Park Avenue) | H | 1–1 | 11,086 | Bellis |

### Third Division (South) North Cup
#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
| 7 | Clapton Orient | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 31 | 0.710 | 15 |
| 8 | Port Vale | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 25 | 0.840 | 14 |
| 9 | Northampton Town | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 27 | 29 | 0.931 | 12 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 12 January 1946 | Walsall | A | 1–3 | 5,523 | Bellis |
| 19 January 1946 | Walsall | H | 1–0 | 3,229 | Cooper |
| 26 January 1946 | Notts County | H | 2–1 | 2,632 | Wootton, Pointon |
| 2 February 1946 | Notts County | A | 2–3 | 5,000 | Pointon, Gardner |
| 9 February 1946 | Bristol Rovers | A | 2–4 | 9,500 | Pointon (2) |
| 16 February 1946 | Bristol Rovers | H | 1–0 | 4,554 | Pointon |
| 23 February 1946 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–1 | 7,500 | |
| 2 March 1946 | Ipswich Town | H | 4–1 | 3,200 | Bellis (2), Pointon (2) |
| 9 March 1946 | Clapton Orient | A | 0–0 | 6,197 | |
| 16 March 1946 | Clapton Orient | H | 2–2 | 8,283 | Pointon, Bellis |
| 23 March 1946 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–4 | 13,274 | Shore, Pointon |
| 30 March 1946 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–2 | 11,388 | |
| 6 April 1946 | Mansfield Town | A | 1–2 | 5,777 | Bellis |
| 13 April 1946 | Mansfield Town | H | 0–0 | 6,768 | |
| 20 April 1946 | Southend United | H | 2–1 | 7,016 | Cheadle, Bellis |
| 22 April 1946 | Southend United | A | 1–1 | 8,500 | Bellis |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Region Cup | Region Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Arthur Jepson | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| GK | Harry Prince | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| GK | George Heppell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| DF | Harry Griffiths | 18 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| DF | Bob Pursell | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| DF | Jess Sproson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Cyril Johnson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Tommy Cheadle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| DF | Roy Felton | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| DF | Stan Kelley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Reg Potts | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | Roger Whittle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Wilf Smith | 13 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| MF | Alf Bellis | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 33 | 16 |
| MF | Murdoch Dickie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Bob Allen | 9 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 4 |
| MF | Billy Buckley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Jack Clunn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Arthur Cooper | 19 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 41 | 1 |
| MF | Harold Jervis | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | Frank Pointon | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| MF | Arthur Cumberlidge | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | George Gould | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Francis Jones | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| MF | Bill McGarry | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Ted Oldfield | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| MF | Ted Shore | 10 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 24 | 3 |
| MF | Dennis Simpson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Frank Soo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Don Triner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Ken Watkin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Ernie Willett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Ralph Gregory | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 7 |
| FW | Isaac McDowell | 12 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 6 |
| FW | Edward Nutting | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Bill Pointon | 13 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 31 | 19 |
| FW | Eric Prince | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Bert Wright | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Ellis Birchall | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | Billy Byrne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Horace Cumner | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| FW | Eddie Davies | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| FW | Ken Faulkner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Fred Gardner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| FW | Jimmy Hutchinson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | George James | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | John Lowndes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Colin Lyman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | George Willis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Len Wootton | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 25 | 1 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Third Division North | FA Cup | North Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | England | Bill Pointon | 9 | 1 | 9 | 19 |
| 2 | MF | England | Alf Bellis | 6 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| 3 | FW | England | Ralph Gregory | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | FW | Scotland | Isaac McDowell | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | MF | England | Bob Allen | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | MF | England | Ted Shore | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| – | FW | England | Eddie Davies | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | MF | England | Francis Jones | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | Wales | Horace Cumner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Tommy Cheadle | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Arthur Cooper | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| – | FW | England | Fred Gardner | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| – | FW | England | Len Wootton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Own goals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | TOTALS | 34 | 12 | 21 | 67 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| August 1945 | DF | Francis Jones | | Free transfer |
| August 1945 | DF | Reg Potts | Stoke City | Free transfer |
| August 1945 | FW | Len Wootton | | Free transfer |
| September 1945 | MF | Ted Shore | | Free transfer |
| December 1945 | MF | Ted Oldfield | Helsby | Free transfer |
| January 1946 | FW | George James | | Free transfer |
| March 1946 | FW | Billy Byrne | | Free transfer |
| March 1946 | DF | Tommy Cheadle | | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| Autumn 1945 | MF | Murdoch Dickie | Guildford City | Released |
| 1946 | MF | Harold Jervis | Royal Air Force | Released |
| 1946 | DF | Francis Jones | | Released |
| January 1946 | MF | Isaac McDowell | Cowdenbeath | Released |
| May 1946 | FW | Edward Nutting | | Released |
| Summer 1946 | MF | Billy Buckley | | Released |
| Summer 1946 | MF | Jack Clunn | | Released |
| Summer 1946 | MF | Arthur Cumberlidge | Northwich Victoria | Released |
| Summer 1946 | DF | Roy Felton | Crystal Palace | Refused terms |
| Summer 1946 | FW | George James | | Released |
| Summer 1946 | FW | Cyril Johnson | | Released |
| Summer 1946 | DF | Roger Whittle | | Released |