# 1936–37 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1936–37 season was Port Vale's 31st season of football in the English Football League and their first season (second overall) back in the Third Division North following their relegation from the Second Division. For the first time in the club's history, rivals Stoke City were playing two leagues above them. The "Valiants" played in white shirts and black socks – a look they kept for the rest of the century and beyond. Manager Warney Cresswell would be the first of Vale's managers to be recognizable as a manager to modern observers, training the players to ensure fitness, allowing them to relax together as a group, and searching the country for fresh talent. His modern techniques did not ensure promotion, despite a mid-season unbeaten run of thirteen games in an otherwise unremarkable season.

## Overview
### Third Division North

During the pre-season build-up, former England international full-back Warney Cresswell was appointed as manager-coach, filling a position which had remained vacant since September 1936. Described as 'a very knowledgeable man about football', he increased the playing staff to twenty, signing winger Gerry Kelly (Chester); right-half Tommy Ward (Grimsby Town); and left-half Spencer Evans (Altrincham). Cresswell also began running the players and pushing them in the gym, to get them fit for the season. In between heavy training sessions, he encouraged the players to relax with snooker and billiards competitions. The club also decided to introduce a new strip of white shirts and black shorts, a look they retain to this day.
The season opened with two defeats, as Vale found it tough to acclimatize to third-tier football, their 3–1 home defeat to Hull City came despite them doing the double over the "Tigers" the previous season. Following this, George Stabb transferred to Bradford Park Avenue, in a deal which saw Tom Nolan return to The Old Recreation Ground. Continuing their poor form, by the end of September they were seventh from bottom. This prompted Cresswell to sign inside-forward Alfred Dickinson from Everton. On 26 September, Nolan scored a hat-trick past Stockport County, but the Vale would have to wait a little longer before getting into their stride. Seven changes were made for the 24 October win over Hartlepools United, and the wait would be worth it, as Vale then went on a thirteen-game unbeaten run. Nevertheless, Cresswell continued to travel the country in the hunt for talented young amateurs. By the end of October the 40,000 Shilling Fund completed its mission. With Ward scoring two hat-tricks during the spell, Michael Curley and George Heywood were judged as surplus to requirements, and moved on to Colwyn Bay and Southport respectively. Fred Obrey also proved to be a revelation in the centre of the pitch.
By the time Vale lost their unbeaten run – 1–0 at struggling Darlington's Feethams – they were up to fourth in the table. Vale were then in indifferent form for the remainder of the season, as their promotion hopes petered away. On 27 March a heavy 7–1 defeat was recorded to Mansfield Town at Field Mill. Cresswell's contract was cancelled by mutual consent, and he quickly took up the management reins at Third Division South side Northampton Town.
They finished in eleventh position with 44 points. They were sixteen points short of promotion and twelve points clear of the re-election zones. With 58 goals scored, they had the third weakest attack in the division and had almost half the tally of runners-up Lincoln City.

### Finances

On the financial side, a profit of £401 was made, though £1,923 of income came through the Shilling Fund. Gate receipts had tailed off by another £1,065, whilst the wage bill was trimmed to £5,656 and a transfer credit of £465 was made. Fourteen players departed at the season's end, including: Ken Gunn (sold to Creswell's Northampton Town); Eric Hayward (sold to Blackpool); goalkeeper Allan Todd (refused terms and was transferred to Nottingham Forest); fourteen-year club veteran Roger Jones (retirement); and Gerry Kelly (signed with Southampton). The club also petitioned the Football League for a switch to the Third Division South, where gates were believed to be higher, however, the League replied that circumstance and not applications determined where clubs were placed – despite this Mansfield Town were the ones transferred, Mansfield being a town some 40 miles (64 km) north of Stoke-on-Trent.

### Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, they fell in the Third Round to First Division Sheffield Wednesday with a 2–0 defeat at Hillsborough, having been forced to play six reserves due to injury. In the short-lived Football League Third Division North Cup, the club progressed to the semi-finals with victories over Mansfield Town (2–0), Stockport County (4–0), and Rotherham United (1–0); where they lost 3–0 to Chester. Attendances of around 100 exemplified the lack of interest in the competition.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Stockport County (C, P) | 42 | 23 | 14 | 5 | 84 | 39 | 2.154 | 60 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 2 | Lincoln City | 42 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 103 | 57 | 1.807 | 57 | |
| 3 | Chester | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 87 | 57 | 1.526 | 53 | |
| 4 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 77 | 59 | 1.305 | 51 | |
| 5 | Hull City | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 68 | 69 | 0.986 | 46 | |
| 6 | Hartlepools United | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 75 | 69 | 1.087 | 45 | |
| 7 | Halifax Town | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 68 | 63 | 1.079 | 45 | |
| 8 | Wrexham | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 71 | 57 | 1.246 | 44 | |
| 9 | Mansfield Town | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 91 | 76 | 1.197 | 44 | Transferred to the Third Division South |
| 10 | Carlisle United | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 65 | 68 | 0.956 | 44 | |
| 11 | Port Vale | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 58 | 64 | 0.906 | 44 | |
| 12 | York City | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 79 | 70 | 1.129 | 43 | |
| 13 | Accrington Stanley | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 76 | 69 | 1.101 | 41 | |
| 14 | Southport | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 73 | 87 | 0.839 | 37 | |
| 15 | New Brighton | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 55 | 70 | 0.786 | 37 | |
| 16 | Barrow | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 70 | 86 | 0.814 | 36 | |
| 17 | Rotherham United | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 78 | 91 | 0.857 | 35 | |
| 18 | Rochdale | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 69 | 86 | 0.802 | 35 | |
| 19 | Tranmere Rovers | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 71 | 88 | 0.807 | 33 | |
| 20 | Crewe Alexandra | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 55 | 83 | 0.663 | 32 | |
| 21 | Gateshead | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 63 | 98 | 0.643 | 32 | Re-elected |
| 22 | Darlington | 42 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 66 | 96 | 0.688 | 30 | Re-elected |

## Results

Port Vale's score comes first

### Football League Third Division North
#### 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 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | W | W | D | L | L | W | L | D | L | W | D | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | D | D | W | L | W | L | L | W | W | W | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | D | D | L | W |
| Position | 18 | 21 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 11 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 29 August 1936 | Hull City | H | 1–3 | 9,207 | Miller |
| 2 September 1936 | New Brighton | A | 0–2 | 4,522 | |
| 5 September 1936 | Gateshead | A | 1–0 | 4,538 | Rhodes |
| 7 September 1936 | New Brighton | H | 3–1 | 6,096 | Roberts (2), Rhodes |
| 12 September 1936 | Darlington | H | 2–2 | 7,628 | Caldwell, Nolan |
| 14 September 1936 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–5 | 3,622 | Roberts |
| 19 September 1936 | Wrexham | A | 0–1 | 7,746 | |
| 26 September 1936 | Stockport County | H | 3–0 | 9,407 | Nolan (3) |
| 3 October 1936 | Rotherham United | A | 0–2 | 7,032 | |
| 10 October 1936 | York City | H | 1–1 | 7,627 | Caldwell |
| 17 October 1936 | Carlisle United | A | 2–5 | 4,691 | Nolan, Rhodes |
| 24 October 1936 | Hartlepools United | H | 1–0 | 6,659 | Roberts |
| 31 October 1936 | Southport | A | 3–3 | 7,483 | Roberts (2), Nolan |
| 7 November 1936 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–1 | 6,551 | Roberts, Nolan |
| 14 November 1936 | Halifax Town | A | 1–0 | 7,443 | Goodfellow |
| 21 November 1936 | Mansfield Town | H | 5–1 | 8,983 | Jones (3), Ward, Dean |
| 28 November 1936 | Chester | A | 0–0 | 7,616 | |
| 5 December 1936 | Chester | H | 4–0 | 12,950 | Ward (3), Rhodes (pen) |
| 12 December 1936 | Rochdale | A | 0–0 | 2,218 | |
| 19 December 1936 | Barrow | H | 3–2 | 8,431 | Nolan (2), Kelly |
| 25 December 1936 | Accrington Stanley | A | 3–2 | 5,997 | Ward (2), Jones |
| 26 December 1936 | Hull City | A | 1–1 | 14,928 | Ward |
| 28 December 1936 | Accrington Stanley | H | 1–1 | 8,030 | Ward |
| 2 January 1937 | Gateshead | H | 4–2 | 8,472 | Ward (3), Dean |
| 9 January 1937 | Darlington | A | 0–1 | 5,177 | |
| 20 January 1937 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1–0 | 2,059 | Kelly |
| 23 January 1937 | Wrexham | H | 0–3 | 7,432 | |
| 30 January 1937 | Stockport County | A | 0–1 | 10,690 | |
| 6 February 1937 | Rotherham United | H | 2–1 | 7,440 | Dean, Rhodes |
| 13 February 1937 | York City | A | 2–1 | 4,241 | Obrey, Jones |
| 20 February 1937 | Carlisle United | H | 1–0 | 6,585 | Ward |
| 27 February 1937 | Hartlepools United | A | 0–2 | 2,645 | |
| 6 March 1937 | Southport | H | 0–2 | 6,986 | |
| 13 March 1937 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 2–4 | 5,732 | Ward (2) |
| 20 March 1937 | Halifax Town | H | 3–1 | 8,815 | Jones (3) |
| 26 March 1937 | Lincoln City | H | 1–1 | 6,243 | Dean |
| 27 March 1937 | Mansfield Town | A | 1–7 | 6,348 | Jones |
| 29 March 1937 | Lincoln City | A | 0–1 | 13,715 | |
| 3 April 1937 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 0–0 | 6,365 | |
| 17 April 1937 | Rochdale | H | 1–1 | 2,148 | Nolan |
| 24 April 1937 | Barrow | A | 1–3 | 4,298 | Nolan |
| 1 May 1937 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–0 | 2,353 | Roberts |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 16 January 1937 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–2 | 27,450 | |

### Third Division North Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 1 | 11 November 1936 | Mansfield Town | A | 2–0 | 1,000 | Ward (2) |
| 2 | 8 February 1937 | Stockport County | H | 4–0 | 100+ | Ward (2), Evans, Tunnicliffe |
| 3 | 8 March 1937 | Rotherham United | H | 1–0 | 1,000 | Nolan |
| SF | 10 April 1937 | Chester | A | 0–3 | | |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | Football League | Football League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Allan Todd | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
| GK | John Jones | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | Trevor Rhodes | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 5 |
| DF | Eric Hayward | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| DF | Roderick Welsh | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| DF | George Heywood | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Harry Griffiths | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | Claude Barrett | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| DF | Bill Wright | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Roger Jones | 36 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 9 |
| MF | Ken Gunn | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| MF | Arthur Caldwell | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| MF | Frank Ryder | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| MF | Michael Curley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Tommy Ward | 27 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 18 |
| MF | Billy Tunnicliffe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| MF | Wilf Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Fred Obrey | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| MF | Gerry Kelly | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| MF | Jack Harrison | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | Spencer Evans | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| MF | Arthur Cumberlidge | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| MF | Percy Adams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Edwin Blunt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Luke Dean | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 |
| FW | Jack Roberts | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 |
| FW | George Stabb | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Tom Nolan | 37 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 12 |
| FW | Peter Miller | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| FW | Arthur Ford | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | Syd Goodfellow | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| FW | Alfred Dickinson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Third Division North | FA Cup | Northern Cup | Total |
| 1 | MF | England | Tommy Ward | 14 | 0 | 4 | 18 |
| 2 | FW | England | Tom Nolan | 11 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 3 | MF | England | Roger Jones | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | FW | England | Jack Roberts | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | DF | England | Trevor Rhodes | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | FW | England | Luke Dean | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | MF | England | Arthur Caldwell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | MF | England | Gerry Kelly | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | FW | Scotland | Peter Miller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | FW | England | Syd Goodfellow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Billy Tunnicliffe | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Fred Obrey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | Wales | Spencer Evans | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 58 | 0 | 7 | 65 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| May 1936 | MF | Jack Harrison | Sneyd Colliery | Free transfer |
| June 1936 | DF | Claude Barrett | Bradford Park Avenue | Free transfer |
| June 1936 | MF | Gerry Kelly | Chester | 'Substantial' |
| June 1936 | FW | Peter Miller | Rotherham United | Free transfer |
| June 1936 | MF | Tommy Ward | Grimsby Town | Free transfer |
| July 1936 | DF | Spencer Evans | Altrincham | Free transfer |
| August 1936 | FW | Arthur Ford | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Free transfer |
| September 1936 | FW | Alfred Dickinson | Everton | Free transfer |
| September 1936 | FW | Tom Nolan | Bradford Park Avenue | Exchange |
| October 1936 | FW | Syd Goodfellow | Silverdale | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| May 1936 | MF | Fred Obrey | Longton | Free transfer |
| September 1936 | MF | George Stabb | Bradford Park Avenue | Free transfer |
| October 1936 | FW | Alfred Dickinson | Everton | Free transfer |
| October 1936 | MF | Wilf Smith | Sneyd Colliery | Free transfer |
| November 1936 | MF | Michael Curley | Colwyn Bay | Free transfer |
| November 1936 | DF | Roderick Welsh | Southport | Free transfer |
| April 1937 | DF | Claude Barrett | York City | Free transfer |
| April 1937 | FW | Syd Goodfellow | Glentoran | Free transfer |
| April 1937 | MF | Jack Harrison | | Released |
| April 1937 | GK | John Jones | Northampton Town | Free transfer |
| April 1937 | FW | Peter Miller | | Released |
| April 1937 | MF | Frank Ryder | | Released |
| May 1937 | MF | Ken Gunn | Northampton Town | Free transfer |
| May 1937 | DF | Eric Hayward | Blackpool | Free transfer |
| Summer 1937 | MF | Roger Jones | | Released |
| Summer 1937 | GK | Allan Todd | Nottingham Forest | Exchange |
| August 1937 | FW | Luke Dean | Northwich Victoria | Free transfer |
| August 1937 | MF | Gerry Kelly | Southampton | Free transfer |