# 1891–92 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

The 1891–92 season was Burslem Port Vale's second-successive season in the Midland League. They managed to finish third in the table and were rewarded with a place in the Football League for the following season, justifying the club's decision to refuse to listen to offers for star forward Frank McGinnes. They also reached the semi-finals of the Staffordshire Senior Cup and won the North Staffordshire Challenge Cup, though they exited the FA Cup and Birmingham Senior Cup in the first round.

## Overview
### Midland League

In preparation for the new Midland League campaign, Burslem Port Vale signed winger Jimmy Scarratt from Wellington St. George's and prepared a new kit of red jerseys with grey kickers – the uniforms were made by Mrs Danks, the secretary's wife. They failed to bring good fortune in the opening league game, however, a 3–2 defeat at home to Burton Wanderers. After the game the club also signed a new outside-right, G McHarg. Though he had little impact on the first-team, they managed to record a 7–1 victory over Loughborough Town, with Frank McGinnes claiming a hat-trick. They followed this with a 4–0 win over Doncaster Rovers, despite McGinnis missing the first ever penalty shot awarded at the Athletic Ground and McHarg being criticised for over-dribbling. The team settled into their usual pattern of winning at home but losing away, losing on the road five times whilst winning all but one of their remaining home fixtures. The first run to end was their away form, as they won 2–1 at Loughborough Town and their final two away matches. The turnaround in away form, coupled with continuing home victories, took the club from ninth (of eleven teams) in January to third by the end of the season. Alarmingly though, only 150 spectators turned out to witness the final day victory over Leicester Fosse on 28 April, causing the club to make a loss on the game after marketing costs were deducted. Potteries derby rivals Stoke meanwhile were keen to take McGinnis to the Football League First Division, but Vale resisted all attempts to sign him, rejecting a bid of £30.

### Cup competitions

Vale failed to transfer their league form to the FA Cup, bowing out at the first qualification round after losing 4–2 to Burton Wanderers. They entered the Birmingham Senior Cup, but faced tough opposition in Aston Villa in the first round and were beaten 5–2. They fared better in the Staffordshire Senior Cup, avenging Burton Wanderers with a 4–0 victory despite a slow start to the game. In the next round, they overcame Walsall Town Swifts after a replay, but fell to a 4–1 defeat to Burton Swifts in the semi-finals. They managed to end the season by taking home the North Staffordshire Challenge Cup outright, beating Stoke 2–0 despite McGinnis being sent off for "foul charging".

## Results

Burslem Port Vale's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Midland League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 5 September 1891 | Burton Wanderers | H | 2–3 | 3,000 | McGinnes, Dean |
| 12 September 1891 | Wednesbury Old Athletic | A | 1–1 | 1,500 | McGinnes |
| 19 September 1891 | Loughborough Town | H | 7–1 | 1,500 | McGinnes (3), Scarratt (2), Dean, other |
| 26 September 1891 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 4–0 | 1,500 | McGinnes, Ditchfield, o.g., Scarratt |
| 1 October 1891 | Grantham | A | 0–2 | small | |
| 10 October 1891 | Burton Wanderers | A | 1–4 | splendid | Nash |
| 31 October 1891 | Long Eaton Rangers | H | 5–1 | | Dean(2), McGinnes, Booth, other |
| 7 November 1891 | Wednesbury Old Athletic | H | 1–2 | 1,500 | McGinnes |
| 9 November 1891 | Gainsborough Trinity | H | 1–0 | | Scarratt |
| 28 November 1891 | Long Eaton Rangers | A | 1–2 | | scrimmage |
| 12 December 1891 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 1–3 | 800 | Walker |
| 30 January 1892 | Rotherham Town | H | 6–3 | 1,500 | Walker (2), McGinnes (2), rushes, scrimmage |
| 13 February 1892 | Grantham | H | 3–1 | 500 | Pimlott, scrimmage, Walker |
| 27 February 1892 | Rotherham Town | A | 2–4 | 1,750 | W. Jones, McGinnes |
| 12 March 1892 | Loughborough Town | A | 2–1 | very large | McGinnes, Beats |
| 19 March 1892 | Derby Junction | H | 5–1 | 1,500 | McGinnes (3), Scarratt (2) |
| 26 March 1892 | Gainsborough Trinity | A | 0–3 | 1,200 | |
| 2 April 1892 | Leicester Fosse | H | 2–0 | | Elson (2) |
| 9 April 1892 | Derby Junction | A | 1–0 | 600 | Dean |
| 19 April 1892 | Leicester Fosse | A | 3–1 | 4,000 | McGinnes (2), Dean |
| 28 April 1892 | Leicester Fosse | H | 4–0 | 150 | McGinnes (2), others |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 1Q | 3 October 1891 | Burton Wanderers | H | 2–4 | | Scarratt, Ditchfield |

### Birmingham Senior Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 1R | 6 February 1892 | Aston Villa | H | 2–5 | 2,000 | McGinnes, Walker |

### Staffordshire Senior Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 4R | 25 January 1892 | Burton Wanderers | H | 4–0 | 1,500 | Walker (2), Pimlott, Dean |
| 5R | 8 February 1892 | Walsall Town Swifts | H | 2–2 | 1,000 | Walker, Dean |
| Replay | 25 February 1892 | Walsall Town Swifts | A | 2–1 | 1,500 | Ditchfield, o.g. |
| SF | 4 April 1892 | Burton Swifts | H | 1–4 | fair | o.g. |

### North Staffordshire Challenge Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| F | 7 May 1892 | Stoke | A | 2–0 | 1,000 | Walker, other |

### Friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 1 September 1891 | Newton Heath | A | 1–2 | 1,750 | McGinnes |
| 7 September 1891 | Chirk | H | 2–1 | | McGinnes (2) |
| 14 September 1891 | Derby County | H | 3–3 | | Dean, Scarratt, W. Jones |
| 21 September 1891 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 4–3 | | McGinnes (4) |
| 28 September 1891 | Stoke | H | 2–3 | | |
| 12 October 1891 | Newton Heath | H | 1–3 | 1,000 | |
| 17 October 1891 | Northwich Victoria | H | 4–0 | | McGinnes (2), o.g., Dean |
| 19 October 1891 | Birmingham St George's | H | 4–2 | 1,000 | W. Jones, scrimmage, others |
| 24 October 1891 | Leek | A | 1–0 | | Ditchfield |
| 14 November 1891 | Lincoln City | A | 0–2 | 1,000 | |
| 5 December 1891 | Macclesfield | A | 3–6 | 2,500 | Scarratt (2), scrimmage |
| 14 December 1891 | Canadians | H | 2–0 | | Scarratt, Pimlott |
| 19 December 1891 | Burton Swifts | A | 3–1 | | scrimmage, McGinnes, other |
| 26 December 1891 | Stoke | A | 2–2 | 2,000 | McGinnes, Walker |
| 2 January 1892 | Derby Junction | H | 4–1 | 1,000 | McGinnes (2), Scarratt, Walker |
| 23 January 1892 | Walsall Town Swifts | A | 2–5 | 1,000 | McGinnes, Walker |
| 5 March 1892 | Burton Swifts | H | 0–0 | 1,500 | |
| 15 April 1892 | Leek | H | 4–1 | poor | McGinnes, Walker, others |
| 16 April 1892 | Bootle | H | | | |
| 18 April 1892 | Stoke | H | 1–0 | 2,000 | Dean |
| 23 April 1892 | Bootle | A | 2–3 | | Dean, Farrington |
| 30 April 1892 | Northwich Victoria | A | 1–6 | 2,000 | McGinnes |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Birmingham Cup | Birmingham Cup | Staffordshire Cup | Staffordshire Cup | Challenge Cup | Challenge Cup | Friendlies | Friendlies | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Levi Higginson | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| GK | Nixon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| GK | John Davies | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| GK | Joe Frail | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| GK | Keeley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | Albert Skinner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | James Clutton | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
| DF | C McAlpine | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| DF | Bob McCrindle | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| MF | Billy Elson | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 36 | 2 |
| MF | W. Jones | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 17 | 3 |
| MF | Meshach Dean | 19 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 42 | 13 |
| MF | S Bullock | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Billy Delves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Fred Farrington | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| MF | Fredericks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Hatton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Hodgkinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | G McHarg | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| MF | M Regan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Jos Randles | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| MF | Jimmy Scarratt | 12 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 31 | 12 |
| MF | George Shutt | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Tommy Walker | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 21 | 13 |
| MF | Warburton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| FW | Dick Danks | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| FW | Jimmy Ditchfield | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 25 | 4 |
| FW | Frank McGinnes | 20 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 16 | 46 | 35 |
| FW | John Nash | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| FW | Billy Reynolds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | John Nash | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | J Keeling | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Billy Beats | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| FW | George Booth | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| FW | Arthur Pimlott | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Midland League | FA Cup | Other | Total |
| 1 | FW | Scotland | Frank McGinnes | 18 | 0 | 17 | 35 |
| 2 | MF | England | Meshach Dean | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| – | MF | | Tommy Walker | 4 | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| 4 | MF | England | Jimmy Scarratt | 6 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | FW | England | Jimmy Ditchfield | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | FW | England | Arthur Pimlott | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| – | MF | | W. Jones | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 | MF | England | Billy Elson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | England | Billy Beats | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | FW | | George Booth | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Fred Farrington | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| – | FW | England | John Nash | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Scrimmage | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| – | – | – | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| | | | TOTALS | 46 | 2 | 51 | 99 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1891 | MF | Fredericks | | Free transfer |
| 1891 | MF | Hodgkinson | | Free transfer |
| 1891 | FW | Arthur Pimlott | | Free transfer |
| Summer 1891 | DF | Billy Delves | | Free transfer |
| Summer 1891 | DF | Jimmy Scarratt | Wellington St. George's | Free transfer |
| Summer 1891 | DF | George Shutt | Hanley Town | Free transfer |
| Summer 1891 | MF | Warburton | | Free transfer |
| Autumn 1891 | FW | Billy Beats | Port Hill Victoria | Free transfer |
| Autumn 1891 | GK | Joe Frail | | Free transfer |
| September 1891 | MF | G McHarg | Burslem Port Vale | Free transfer |
| December 1891 | MF | Tommy Walker | | Free transfer |
| 1892 | MF | S Bullock | | Free transfer |
| 1892 | MF | M Regan | | Free transfer |
| March 1892 | MF | Hatton | Wellington Town | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| Spring 1892 | MF | Fredericks | | Released |
| Spring 1892 | MF | Hatton | | Released |
| Spring 1892 | MF | Warburton | | Released |
| 1892 | FW | George Booth | | Released |
| 1892 | GK | John Davies | Newton Heath | Released |
| 1892 | MF | Hodgkinson | | Released |
| 1892 | GK | Keeley | | Released |
| 1892 | FW | Keeling | | Released |
| 1892 | DF | C McAlpine | Darlington | Free transfer |
| 1892 | MF | G McHarg | | Released |
| 1892 | GK | Nixon | | Released |
| 1892 | FW | Billy Reynolds | | Released |