# 1917–18 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1917–18 season was Port Vale's second season of football after going into abeyance during World War I. Improving on the previous season, they managed to finish in 11th-place. The team managed a run of just one defeat in 11 games, though ended the league campaign with six defeats in eight games.

## Overview

Port Vale had a difficult start to the season, losing key players to conscription and facing champions Liverpool home and away. They led 2–0 at half-time in the season opener, though they ended the match with a 3–2 defeat and then were beaten 4–0 at Anfield. They picked up a draw and win over Southport Central, but were beaten home and away by Potteries derby rivals Stoke; the home tie with Stoke saw a season-high crowd of 10,000. A 5–2 win over Burnley, in which David Bowcock scored a hat-trick, was the first of a five-match unbeaten run, though they did draw the other four matches. A 4–0 home defeat in which they were "outclassed" by Stockport County ruined this run before they put together another five-match unbeaten run.
A 4–0 win over Blackpool on 26 January took Vale to seventh place. However, they then suffered poor form until the end of the campaign, picking up just three points from their remaining eight matches. This poor run of defeats included a heavy 7–0 loss at Everton, though they were comforted by their £60 share of the 15,000 crowd. They picked up an expected two points away with a 5–1 win at rock-bottom Blackburn Rovers but lost the final game of the season 2–0 at home to Rovers, which was only the away side's second victory of the season. Around this time, club nicknames were becoming popular, and The Staffordshire Sentinel reporter "The Wanderer" suggested "the Colliers" in reference to local coal mines. However, the nickname failed to catch on. They ended the season in a respectable 11th place; David Bowcock's seven goals made him top-scorer, as few attackers could play in half the club's matches. The six-game Subsidiary Tournament was used as an exercise to blood young players. They lost five of their games in a difficult group of Manchester City, Manchester United and Stoke. Despite low costs, the club announced a loss of £33 and the total debt reached £4,000, leaving directors grumbling about their financial responsibilities.

## Results

Port Vale's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Lancashire Section
#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 10 | Preston North End | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 38 | 53 | 0.717 | 27 |
| 11 | Port Vale | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 47 | 58 | 0.810 | 26 |
| 12 | Blackpool | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 46 | 70 | 0.657 | 25 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 September 1917 | Liverpool | H | 2–3 | 4,000 | Worthy (2) |
| 8 September 1917 | Liverpool | A | 0–4 | 12,000 | |
| 15 September 1917 | Southport Central | H | 1–1 | | Worthy |
| 22 September 1917 | Southport Central | A | 4–2 | 1,000 | Lyons, Bowcock, A.Pearson, Edgeley |
| 29 September 1917 | Stoke | H | 0–2 | 10,000 | |
| 6 October 1917 | Stoke | A | 1–4 | | Hill |
| 13 October 1917 | Burnley | H | 5–2 | poor | Bowcock (3), Spooner, A.Pearson |
| 20 October 1917 | Burnley | A | 2–2 | | A.Pearson, Bowcock |
| 27 October 1917 | Manchester United | A | 3–3 | 7,000 | Whittaker (2), A.Pearson |
| 3 November 1917 | Manchester United | H | 2–2 | 4,000 | Edgeley, A.Pearson |
| 10 November 1917 | Stockport County | A | 2–2 | 2,000 | Whittaker, Edgeley |
| 17 November 1917 | Stockport County | H | 0–4 | 3,000 | |
| 24 November 1917 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–1 | 1,203 | Hill |
| 1 December 1917 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–0 | 562 | Spooner, Malkin |
| 8 December 1917 | Bury | A | 2–0 | 2,000 | Spooner, Whittaker |
| 15 December 1917 | Bury | H | 2–2 | 1,000 | o.g., Whittaker |
| 22 December 1917 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 2–0 | 1,000 | Bowcock (2) |
| 29 December 1917 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–2 | few hundred | Daley |
| 5 January 1918 | Preston North End | A | 0–1 | | |
| 12 January 1918 | Preston North End | H | 3–0 | | Brennan (2), H.Pearson |
| 19 January 1918 | Blackpool | A | 1–0 | 7000 | Rogers |
| 26 January 1918 | Blackpool | H | 4–0 | | Brennan (2), Rogers (2) |
| 2 February 1918 | Manchester City | A | 1–5 | 11,000 | Hill |
| 9 February 1918 | Manchester City | H | 0–2 | 1,000 | |
| 16 February 1918 | Rochdale | H | 1–1 | | Brennan |
| 23 February 1918 | Rochdale | A | 0–2 | 2,000 | |
| 2 March 1918 | Everton | H | 0–1 | | |
| 9 March 1918 | Everton | A | 0–7 | 15,000 | |
| 16 March 1918 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 5–1 | 100 | Jolly (2), A.Pearson, Foster, J.Bennett |
| 23 March 1918 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0–2 | | |

### Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament
#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 2 | Manchester United | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 0.857 | 7 |
| 3 | Stoke | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 2.000 | 6 |
| 4 | Port Vale | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 0.267 | 2 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 29 March 1918 | Stoke | H | 0–2 | | |
| 30 March 1918 | Manchester City | H | 1–4 | 8,000 | Brennan |
| 1 April 1918 | Stoke | A | 0–6 | | |
| 6 April 1918 | Manchester City | A | 0–1 | 1,000 | |
| 13 April 1918 | Manchester United | A | 0–2 | 3,000 | |
| 20 April 1918 | Manchester United | H | 3–0 | 4,000 | Foster (2), Daley |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | League | League | Subsidiary | Subsidiary | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Teddy Bateup | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| GK | John Powell | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| GK | Jonathan Hammond | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| DF | Jim Bennett | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| DF | Jock Cameron | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| DF | Ted Collins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | John Griffiths | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | George Holmes | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| DF | Willie Hawley | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Tom Lyons | 30 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| DF | Harry Pearson | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| DF | B Phillips | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| DF | Bill Taylor | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | G Arrowsmith | 23 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| MF | Tom Holford | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | George Shelton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Billy Spooner | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 3 |
| MF | Joe Daley | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| MF | Harold Edgeley | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| MF | James Hill | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
| MF | J Lawton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | W Malkin | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| MF | W Pepper | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Herbert Bennett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Joe Brough | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Jack Shelton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | David Bowcock | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 |
| FW | Tom Brennan | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 6 |
| FW | Billy Briscoe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Jack Foster | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| FW | Jack Jolly | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| FW | A MacKenzie | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | G Maddock | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Albert Pearson | 28 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 33 | 6 |
| FW | Arthur Rogers | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| FW | J Wellings | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Sam Whittaker | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| FW | S Worthy | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | League | Subsidiary | Total |
| 1 | FW | England | David Bowcock | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | FW | England | Albert Pearson | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| – | FW | England | Tom Brennan | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | FW | England | Sam Whittaker | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | FW | England | S Worthy | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| – | MF | England | Billy Spooner | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| – | MF | England | Harold Edgeley | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| – | MF | England | James Hill | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| – | FW | England | Arthur Rogers | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| – | FW | England | Jack Foster | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | FW | England | Jack Jolly | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| – | MF | England | Joe Daley | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 | DF | England | Jim Bennett | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Tom Lyons | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Harry Pearson | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | W Malkin | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 47 | 4 | 51 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1917 | MF | Joe Daley | | Free transfer |
| 1917 | MF | W Pepper | | Free transfer |
| 1917 | FW | Arthur Rogers | | Free transfer |
| Summer 1917 | FW | David Bowcock | | Free transfer |
| Summer 1917 | MF | James Hill | | Free transfer |
| Autumn 1917 | MF | W Malkin | | Free transfer |
| September 1917 | DF | Harry Pearson | Bury | Free transfer |
| November 1917 | FW | Jack Foster | | Free transfer |
| November 1917 | MF | J Lawton | | Free transfer |
| January 1918 | FW | Billy Briscoe | Leek United | Free transfer |
| February 1918 | FW | Jack Jolly | | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1918 | GK | Teddy Bateup | Retired | Retired |
| 1918 | MF | J Lawton | | Released |
| 1918 | MF | W Pepper | | Released |
| 1918 | FW | S Worthy | | Released |
| April 1918 | MF | W Malkin | | Released |
| Summer 1918 | DF | Jim Bennett | | Released |
| Summer 1918 | FW | Jack Jolly | | Released |