# 1898–99 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

The 1898–99 season was Burslem Port Vale's fifth season of football in the English Football League; it followed a two-season absence, which the club spent in the Midland Football League. A solid return to the Football League, they finished in mid-table. They had the strongest defence in the division as they conceded fewer goals than any other team. Instead, a lack of firepower in front of the goal prevented a push for promotion.
Winning their opening six league games, just two points gained from their final five games ensured a top-two position was out of their reach. Safety from the re-election lottery was never in doubt, though, as they finished nineteen points above the re-election places. Over the next eight seasons, they never bettered their league finish of 1898–99, though they twice equalled it.

## Overview
### Second Division

Their FA Cup win over First Division champions Sheffield United in 1897–98 won Vale the respect (and votes) they needed to win re-election to the Football League for 1898–99. To ensure a competitive campaign they signed striker Howard Harvey from Aston Villa for £50. Winning their opening six league games, the semi-professional side conceded just one goal in this run. However, Tommy Clare broke a leg at their final win of the streak of six, and their run ended at Newton Heath the following week – the team badly missed Clare. Their fading hopes of promotion were bolstered by four wins in January, including a 6–1 win over Blackpool aided by a four-goal haul from James Peake. Yet they finished the season with two points from five games, dropping into ninth place – their lowest position all season.
Of the two clubs that failed to gain re-election, Darwen, who picked up a League record eighteen consecutive defeats, played regional football for the rest of their existence; whereas Blackpool gained re-election at the end of the following season, and never lost their League status again.
Right-half Lucien Boullemier was an ever-present throughout the campaign, with goalkeeper Herbert Birchenough missing just one game. Winger Billy Heames and forward Howard Harvey rarely missed a game between them.

### Finances

Financially, the club lost £300 over the season.

### Cup competitions

Defending champions of the Staffordshire Senior Cup, Vale reached the semi-final, where they lost 4–0 to Walsall in a replay. In the Birmingham Senior Cup, they defeated Walsall in the semi-final, in a replay, going on to lose 4–0 to Aston Villa in the final. In the FA Cup they were turned over 7–0 at Small Heath in the qualification rounds.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 7 | Woolwich Arsenal | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 72 | 41 | 1.756 | 41 |
| 8 | Small Heath | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 85 | 50 | 1.700 | 41 |
| 9 | Burslem Port Vale | 34 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 56 | 34 | 1.647 | 39 |
| 10 | Grimsby Town | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 71 | 60 | 1.183 | 35 |
| 11 | Barnsley | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 52 | 56 | 0.929 | 31 |

## Results

Burslem Port Vale's score comes first

### Football League Second 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 |
| Ground | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | D | L | W | L | W | L | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | L | L | W | D | W | L | D | L | D | L |
| Position | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 3 September 1898 | Barnsley | H | 2–0 | 4,000 | Peake, Evans |
| 5 September 1898 | Woolwich Arsenal | H | 3–0 | 5,000 | Evans (2), unknown |
| 10 September 1898 | Small Heath | A | 2–1 | 5,500 | Evans, Peake |
| 17 September 1898 | Loughborough | H | 3–0 | 5,000 | Peake (2), Simpson |
| 24 September 1898 | Blackpool | A | 4–0 | 1,000 | Peake (2), Harvey, Beech |
| 1 October 1898 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–0 | 6,000 | Simpson, Evans |
| 8 October 1898 | Newton Heath | A | 1–2 | 10,000 | Simpson |
| 15 October 1898 | New Brighton Tower | H | 0–0 | 5,000 | |
| 22 October 1898 | Lincoln City | A | 0–1 | 4,000 | |
| 5 November 1898 | Luton Town | A | 1–0 | 2,000 | Evans |
| 12 November 1898 | Leicester Fosse | H | 0–2 | 4,000 | |
| 26 November 1898 | Gainsborough Trinity | H | 2–1 | 1,000 | Evans, Harvey |
| 3 December 1898 | Manchester City | A | 1–3 | 6,000 | Peake |
| 17 December 1898 | Walsall | A | 1–1 | 3,000 | Evans |
| 24 December 1898 | Burton Swifts | H | 4–1 | 2,000 | Beckett (2), Harvey, Beech |
| 31 December 1898 | Barnsley | A | 1–2 | 1,000 | Evans |
| 2 January 1899 | Darwen | A | 3–1 | 400 | Harvey (2), Mitchell |
| 7 January 1899 | Small Heath | H | 1–0 | 5,000 | Beckett |
| 14 January 1899 | Loughborough | A | 3–0 | 2,000 | Evans, Harvey, Beckett |
| 21 January 1899 | Blackpool | H | 6–1 | | Peake (4), Beech, Beckett |
| 28 January 1899 | Burton Swifts | A | 0–2 | 500 | |
| 4 February 1899 | Newton Heath | H | 1–0 | 6,000 | Belfield |
| 11 February 1899 | New Brighton Tower | A | 0–1 | 2,000 | |
| 18 February 1899 | Lincoln City | H | 2–1 | 3,000 | Harvey, Beech |
| 21 February 1899 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–3 | 2,500 | Beckett |
| 25 February 1899 | Woolwich Arsenal | A | 0–1 | 6,000 | |
| 4 March 1899 | Luton Town | H | 4–1 | 4,000 | McDonald (3), Simpson |
| 11 March 1899 | Leicester Fosse | A | 1–1 | 9,000 | Harvey |
| 18 March 1899 | Darwen | H | 3–1 | | Harvey, Beckett, McDonald |
| 25 March 1899 | Gainsborough Trinity | A | 2–3 | | Simpson, Beckett |
| 1 April 1899 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | 12,000 | Heames |
| 3 April 1899 | Glossop North End | H | 1–2 | 4,000 | Beckett |
| 8 April 1899 | Glossop North End | A | 0–0 | 3,500 | |
| 15 April 1899 | Walsall | H | 0–1 | 1,500 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 3Q | 29 October 1898 | Wellington Town | H | 5–0 | 1,000 | Peake (2), Evans (2), Price |
| 4Q | 19 November 1898 | Burton Wanderers | H | 3–0 | 1,500 | Peake, Simpson, Harvey |
| 5Q | 10 December 1898 | Small Heath | A | 0–7 | 7,000 | |

### Birmingham Senior Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 1 | 19 December 1898 | Leicester Fosse | H | 5–0 | 800 | Harvey (2), McDonald (2), rush |
| BYE |
| BYE |
| SF | 13 March 1899 | Walsall | N | 1–1 | 4,000 | McDonald |
| Replay | 20 March 1899 | Walsall | N | 2–0 | 1,000 | Harvey, Mitchell |
| Final | 27 March 1899 | Aston Villa | A | 0–4 | 3,634 | |

### Staffordshire Senior Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 1 | 19 September 1898 | Burton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 3,000+ | Peake |
| Replay | 26 September 1898 | Burton Wanderers | A | 4–0 | 4,000 | Peake, Evans, Spilsbury, Simpson |
| SF | 21 November 1898 | Walsall | H | 1–1 | 2,000 | Peake |
| Replay | 26 December 1898 | Walsall | A | 0–4 | 7,000 | |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Herbert Birchenough | 33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| DF | S. E. Bayley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | Jim Beech | 31 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 4 |
| DF | Lucien Boullemier | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
| DF | John Bowman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Tommy Clare | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| DF | George Hulme | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| DF | Tom McFarlane | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| DF | Henry Platt | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | Thomas Spilsbury | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 1 |
| DF | Frank Stokes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| MF | Billy Heames | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 43 | 1 |
| MF | Charles Hodgkinson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| MF | Ted McDonald | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 39 | 7 |
| FW | Danny Simpson | 17 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 7 |
| FW | George Price | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| FW | James Peake | 22 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 17 |
| FW | Frank Mitchell | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| FW | Tommy Lander | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| FW | Howard Harvey | 32 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 41 | 13 |
| FW | Dick Evans | 23 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 30 | 13 |
| FW | R. H. Capener | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Fred Belfield | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| FW | Ernest Beckett | 21 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 9 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Second Division | FA Cup | Other | Total |
| 1 | FW | | James Peake | 11 | 3 | 3 | 17 |
| 2 | FW | England | Howard Harvey | 9 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| – | FW | England | Dick Evans | 10 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | FW | | Ernest Beckett | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | MF | England | Ted McDonald | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| – | FW | England | Danny Simpson | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | DF | | Jim Beech | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | FW | | Frank Mitchell | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | MF | England | Billy Heames | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | FW | England | Fred Belfield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | FW | England | George Price | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Thomas Spilsbury | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Rush | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Unknown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 56 | 8 | 14 | 78 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| June 1898 | FW | Howard Harvey | Aston Villa | £50 |
| Summer 1898 | DF | Tommy Clare | Manchester City | Free transfer |
| August 1898 | FW | Ernest Beckett | Newcastle Swifts | Free transfer |
| August 1898 | DF | Tom McFarlane | Hibernian | Free transfer |
| October 1898 | DF | Frank Stokes) | Burslem Park | Free transfer |
| February 1899 | DF | John Bowman | Burslem Park | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| Summer 1899 | FW | James Peake | Millwall Athletic | Free transfer |
| Summer 1899 | FW | Ernest Beckett | | Released |
| Summer 1899 | MF | Fred Belfield | | Released |
| Summer 1899 | DF | John Bowman | Stoke | Free transfer |
| Summer 1899 | FW | R. H. Capener | | Released |
| Summer 1899 | FW | Dick Evans | Reading | Free transfer |
| Summer 1899 | MF | Charles Hodgkinson | | Released |
| Summer 1899 | DF | George Hulme | | Released |
| Summer 1899 | FW | Frank Mitchell | | Released |
| Summer 1899 | DF | Henry Platt | | Released |
| Summer 1899 | MF | Jos Randles | Retired | Retired |