1903–04 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

Burslem Port Vale

1903–04 season
Chairman	Robert Audley
Secretary	Sam Gleaves
Stadium	Athletic Ground
Football League Second Division	13th (29 Points)
FA Cup	First Round (knocked out by Southampton)
Birmingham Senior Cup	First Round (knocked out by Stoke)
Staffordshire Senior Cup	First Round (knocked out by Stoke)
Top goalscorer	League: Adrian Capes (14) All: Adrian Capes (17)
Highest home attendance	5,000 vs Bristol City, 26 December 1903
Lowest home attendance	500 vs Grimsby Town, 13 February 1904
Average home league attendance	2,250+
Biggest win	6–0 vs. Stockport County, 19 November 1903
Biggest defeat	0–5 vs. Bolton Wanderers, 2 January 1904
Home colours

The 1903–04 season was Burslem Port Vale's sixth consecutive season (tenth overall) of football in the English Football League.^[1] The club played home fixtures at the Athletic Ground under the direction of manager‑secretary Sam Gleaves and chairman Robert Audley. Vale finished 13th in the Second Division with 29 points (10 wins, 9 draws, 15 losses), scoring 54 goals and conceding 52. Remarkably, they went the entire season without registering a single away win, part of a club record of 29 successive away matches without victory.

In cup competition, Vale were eliminated in the First Round of the FA Cup by Southampton, and suffered first‑round exits in both the Staffordshire Senior Cup and Birmingham Senior Cup, losing to Stoke in each case. The club's leading scorer was Adrian Capes, with 14 league goals and 17 across all competitions. Attendances peaked at approximately 5,000 spectators for the festive fixture against Bristol City on 26 December 1903, while the lowest recorded crowd was just 500 for the match against Grimsby Town on 13 February 1904, giving an average attendance of around 2,250. The season also witnessed Arthur Rowley become the first player to score from a direct free‑kick, following the introduction of the new free kick rule that season.

A rather quiet pre-season saw no major signings or departures, and hopes were built of an improvement on last season's ninth-place finish.^[1] The first game of the season was on 7 September 1903 against Bolton Wanderers, where Arthur Rowley wrote himself into the history books by becoming the first player to score from a direct free kick.^[1] Five days later, the Vale beat Manchester United 1–0, and their season got going – albeit very slowly.^[1] Four games later, they found their second victory, beating newly-elected Bradford City 5–2 after a poor performance from the Bradford goalkeeper. On 24 October, Vale fell to a 3–2 defeat at home to second-placed Woolwich Arsenal, which was described as a classic game as Billy Heames scored only the second goal of the season past Arsenal in the third minute and the Vale bombarded the opposition goal all game but to no ultimate avail.^[1]

A seven-game unbeaten run saw them surge up the table towards the end of the calendar year. This included a 2–0 win over Stockport County at the Athletic Ground that was played in a dense fog. Boxing Day saw 5,000 bear witness to a 3–1 victory over a strong Bristol City team. Three days later, they gained a point away at Bradford, with the hosts missing a number of first-team players due to them eating tinned salmon. This run ended at Gainsborough Trinity but could be justified because they had played three games in four days.^[1] They went on to muster just one point from seven games to find themselves in the danger zone as players looked towards their promising cup run rather than the league itself.^[1] On 2 January, Vale were "outclassed" in a 5–0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers in which William Loverseed badly injured himself in a fall after stepping on the ball. On 16 January, Vale went into a two-goal lead within four minutes at home to Burnley, but went on to draw the match. Confidence had escaped the players as they then fell to a 4–1 defeat at bottom club Glossop.^[1]

Three consecutive defeats concluded with a 2–1 loss at home to Grimsby Town on 13 February, which left Vale level on points with second-bottom. Two weeks' rest revived the players, though, and Leicester Fosse were beaten 6–2 over two inches of snow. The next home game saw another big win as Blackpool were dispatched 5–0 despite a good performance from opposition goalkeeper Arthur Hull. A win on the road proved impossible to come by, however, and Vale remained third-from-bottom with four games to play. Two home wins, over Burton United and Chesterfield, eased re-election concerns, and a point was also earned at Arsenal's Manor Ground on the final day.^[1] A crowd of 20,000 had turned up to see Arsenal attempt to secure the league title, but Harry Cotton "pulled off at least a dozen remarkable saves" to keep a clean sheet and hand Preston North End the championship.^[1]

Port Vale finished two points ahead of the re-election zone, failing to win an away match all season. Adrian Capes was the top scorer for the fourth consecutive season, scoring 17 goals, 14 of which came in the league.^[1] Tom Simpson contributed 15 goals and would score only 13 more Football League goals in his entire career. Important players Arthur Rowley, W. Perkins and Billy Heames were no re-signed at the end of the campaign.^[1]

Again, attendances were disappointing, and to improve the financial outlook, players were sold as early as October, when a highly promising Tom Coxon signed to nearby Stoke for £200.^[1] Their FA Cup clash at Southampton saw them rake in a £491 share of gate receipts.^[1] A loss of £39 was recorded on the season, and rising wages and falling gate receipts were offset only by the income from transfers and cup runs.^[1] Recognising this, the directors insisted that a controversial policy of selling on players had to be adopted.^[1]

In September, three-goal margins eliminated the club in both county cup competitions by Stoke.^[1] The "Valeites" found rather more success in the FA Cup, overcoming both Crewe Alexandra, Stockport County, Nantwich and Burton United in qualification. Stockport accused the substitute referee, from Burslem, of bias, and over a thousand of them waited for him to leave the dressing room before he was escorted to the railway station by police, enduring a punch on the way even though the match had ended goalless. Vale won the replay by a clear six goals. They were eliminated in the first round proper by Southampton of the Southern League, losing 3–0 in front of a crowd of 8,000 at The Dell after Cotton was injured and lying prone for the host's opening goal.^[1]

Port Vale v Bolton Wanderers

7 September 1903 1	Port Vale	2–3	Bolton Wanderers	Cobridge
	Rowley Price			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 3,000

Port Vale v Manchester United

12 September 1903 2	Port Vale	1–0	Manchester United	Cobridge
	Simpson			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 3,000

Port Vale v Glossop

26 September 1903 4	Port Vale	1–1	Glossop	Cobridge
	Rowley			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 3,000

Preston North End v Port Vale

3 October 1903 5	Preston North End	3–1	Port Vale	Preston, Lancashire
			Coxon	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 9,000

Port Vale v Bradford City

10 October 1903 6	Port Vale	5–2	Bradford City	Cobridge
	Coxon Simpson Capes o.g.			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 3,000

Grimsby Town v Port Vale

17 October 1903 7	Grimsby Town	3–1	Port Vale	Cleethorpes
			Coxon	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 3,000

Port Vale v Woolwich Arsenal

24 October 1903 8	Port Vale	2–3	Woolwich Arsenal	Cobridge
	Heames Simpson			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 3,000

Port Vale v Barnsley

7 November 1903 9	Port Vale	3–0	Barnsley	Cobridge
	Simpson Capes			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 1,000

Port Vale v Lincoln City

21 November 1903 10	Port Vale	2–2	Lincoln City	Cobridge
	Perkins Simpson			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 1,500

Port Vale v Stockport County

5 December 1903 11	Port Vale	2–0	Stockport County	Cobridge
	Perkins Capes			Stadium: Athletic Ground

Chesterfield v Port Vale

19 December 1903 12	Chesterfield	1–1	Port Vale	Chesterfield, Derbyshire
			Capes	Stadium: Saltergate Attendance: 2,000

Leicester Fosse v Port Vale

25 December 1903 13	Leicester Fosse	1–1	Port Vale	Leicester
			Capes	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 8,000

Port Vale v Bristol City

26 December 1903 14	Port Vale	3–1	Bristol City	Cobridge
	Capes Simpson			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 5,000

Bradford City v Port Vale

28 December 1903 15	Bradford City	1–1	Port Vale	Bradford
			Simpson	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 13,000

Port Vale v Burnley

16 January 1904 19	Port Vale	2–2	Burnley	Cobridge
	Allman Capes			Stadium: Athletic Ground

Glossop v Port Vale

23 January 1904 20	Glossop	4–1	Port Vale	Glossop
			Mountford	Stadium: North Road Attendance: 5,000

Port Vale v Grimsby Town

13 February 1904 22	Port Vale	1–2	Grimsby Town	Cobridge
	Price			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 500

Port Vale v Leicester Fosse

27 February 1904 23	Port Vale	6–2	Leicester Fosse	Cobridge
	Capes Croxton Simpson Price Eardley			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 1,000

Port Vale v Blackpool

12 March 1904 25	Port Vale	5–0	Blackpool	Cobridge
	Price Capes Mullineux o.g.			Stadium: Athletic Ground

Lincoln City v Port Vale

19 March 1904 26	Lincoln City	3–2	Port Vale	Lincoln
			Capes Simpson	Stadium: Sincil Bank

Port Vale v Gainsborough Trinity

26 March 1904 27	Port Vale	3–0	Gainsborough Trinity	Cobridge
	Allman Capes Simpson			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 1,000

Stockport County v Port Vale

2 April 1904 29	Stockport County	1–1	Port Vale	Stockport
			Allman	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 2,000

Port Vale v Burton United

9 April 1904 31	Port Vale	3–1	Burton United	Cobridge
	Mountford Holyhead Eardley			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 2,000

Port Vale v Chesterfield

16 April 1904 32	Port Vale	3–0	Chesterfield	Cobridge
	Heames Price Capes			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 1,500

Bristol City v Port Vale

23 April 1904 33	Bristol City	2–1	Port Vale	Bristol
			Loverseed	Stadium: St John's Lane Attendance: 4,000

Port Vale v Crewe Alexandra

5 November 1903 Replay	Port Vale	2–1	Crewe Alexandra	Cobridge
	Simpson Heames			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 2,000

Port Vale v Stockport County

19 November 1903 Replay	Port Vale	6–0	Stockport County	Cobridge
	Simpson Capes Eardley Holyhead Price			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 2,000

Nantwich v Port Vale

28 November 1903 5Q	Nantwich	0–1	Port Vale	Nantwich
			Capes	Stadium: Jackson Avenue Attendance: 3,000

Port Vale v Burton United

12 December 1903 IR	Port Vale	3–0	Burton United	Cobridge
	Capes Heames Simpson			Stadium: Athletic Ground

Port Vale v Stoke

28 September 1903 1R	Port Vale	2–5	Stoke	Cobridge
	unknown			Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 2,000

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	William Chadwick	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
GK	Harry Cotton	32	0	7	0	1	0	40	0
FB	Ernest Mullineux	33	1	7	0	0	0	40	1
FB	James Hamilton	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
HB	W. H. Machin	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
HB	Harry Croxton	32	1	7	0	0	0	39	1
HB	Arthur Rowley	30	2	7	0	1	0	38	2
HB	W. Perkins	27	2	7	0	1	0	35	2
HB	Tom Coxon	3	4	0	0	0	0	3	4
HB	Sam Whittingham	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
HB	William Bradbury	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
HB	Albert Cook	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HB	Joseph Holyhead	27	1	7	1	1	0	35	2
FW	Billy Heames	30	2	7	2	1	0	38	4
FW	Bert Eardley	29	2	7	1	1	0	37	3
FW	Sam Howshall	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FW	George Price	32	6	4	1	1	0	37	7
FW	Adrian Capes	31	14	7	3	1	0	39	17
FW	Tom Simpson	24	11	6	4	1	0	31	15
FW	William Tunstall	1	0	3	0	0	0	4	0
FW	William Loverseed	6	1	0	0	1	0	7	1
FW	Dick Allman	8	3	1	0	0	0	9	3
FW	Harry Mountford	7	2	0	0	0	0	7	2

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	Senior Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Adrian Capes	14	3	0	17
2	FW		Tom Simpson	11	4	0	15
3	FW	England	George Price	6	1	0	7
4	FW	England	Tom Coxon	4	0	0	4
–	FW	England	Billy Heames	2	2	0	4
6	FW	England	Dick Allman	3	0	0	3
–	FW	England	Bert Eardley	2	1	0	3
8	HB	England	Arthur Rowley	2	0	0	2
–	HB		W. Perkins	2	0	0	2
–	FW	England	Harry Mountford	2	0	0	2
–	HB	England	Joseph Holyhead	1	1	0	2
12	HB	England	Harry Croxton	1	0	0	1
–	FB	England	Ernest Mullineux	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	William Loverseed	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	52	12	0	64

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1903	HB		William Bradbury	Newcastle Swifts	Free transfer	[4]
May 1903	FW		Sam Howshall	Newcastle Swifts	Free transfer	[4]
June 1903	FW		Harry Mountford	Hanley Swifts	Free transfer	[4]
June 1903	FW		William Thomas	Newcastle Swifts	Free transfer	[4]
August 1903	HB		Sam Whittingham	Stoke	Free transfer	[4]
September 1903	HB		Joseph Holyhead	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	[4]

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
Summer 1904	GK		William Chadwick		Released	[4]
Summer 1904	FW		Billy Heames		Left contract	[4]
Summer 1904	HB		W. Perkins	Newark	Free transfer	[4]
Summer 1904	HB		Arthur Rowley		Released	[4]
Summer 1904	FW		William Tunstall		Released	[4]

Specific

General

• Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.