 Briscoe whilst in his first spell atPort Vale | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Briscoe | ||
| Date of birth | (1896-11-06)6 November 1896 | ||
| Place of birth | Fenton, England | ||
| Date of death | 7 February 1994(1994-02-07) (aged 97) | ||
| Place of death | Broadstairs, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Watford | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Stoke | |||
| Milton Brotherhood | |||
| Leek United | |||
| 1918–1923 | Port Vale | 125 | (17) |
| 1923–1924 | Congleton Town | ||
| 1924–1931 | Port Vale | 179 | (34) |
| 1931–1936 | Congleton Town | 169 | (8) |
| Total | 473+ | (59+) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Briscoe (6 November 1896 – 7 February 1994) was an Englishfootballer who played as aforward.
A formerWatford,Stoke, Milton Brotherhood, and Leek United player, he first turned professional withPort Vale in 1918. After five years, he moved on toCongleton Town for a season, only to return to Vale in 1924. He then spent the next seven years with the club, racking up 307 league appearances over his two spells, scoring 51 goals. He returned to Congleton in 1931 before later retiring from the game.
He also playedcricket forStaffordshire in theMinor Counties Championship from 1921 to 1925.[2]
Briscoe appeared forWatford,Stoke (three appearances), Milton Brotherhood and Leek United before signing professional forms withPort Vale in January 1918.[3] The club were re-elected into theFootball League in October 1919, and Briscoe scored his firstSecond Division goal on 15 November, in a 2–1 defeat atClapton Orient.[3] In total he scored 10 goals in 25 appearances in1919–20.[3] He scored pastrivals Stoke on 25 September 1920, in a 2–1 win at theOld Recreation Ground.[3] He also got on the scoresheet atMolineux and theCity Ground to take his league tally to three goals in 35 games in1920–21.[3] He featured 34 times in1921–22, scoring just the one goal.[3] He was a member of the sides that shared the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup in 1920 and 1922.[3] He hit three goals in 40 appearances in1922–23.[3]
Briscoe failed to agree terms with the Port Vale board in the summer of 1923 and switched to nearbynon-League sideCongleton Town.[3] In January 1924, Vale offered better terms. He re-signed.[3] Despite only playing 21 games, he finished the1923–24 season as joint-top scorer, tied withTom Page on 10 goals.[3] He scored 12 goals in 44 games in1924–25, missing just one match all season, though the prolificWilf Kirkham now took on the mantel as the club's main source of goals.[3] He hit four of his 12 goals in an 8–2 mauling of non-League Alfreton in anFA Cup qualifier on 13 December.[3] Briscoe scored four goals in 26 games in1925–26, and even played a match whilst suffering fromappendicitis.[3]
Briscoe hit seven goals in 32 appearances in1926–27 and helped the club to finish above Stoke City in the league for the first time.[3] He hit five goals in 22 games in1927–28, missing much of the season with abroken cheekbone.[3] He scored twice in 25 games in1928–29, but could not help the club to avoidrelegation.[3] He played eight league games in1929–30, as Vale stormed to theThird Division North title.[3] However, he did not feature in the1930–31 season and was given afree transfer back to Congleton Town in May 1931, who he also coached.[3] In 13 years at the club, he had played 331 games (193 in the Football League) and scored 60 goals (43 in the Football League).[3]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Port Vale | 1919–20 | Central League | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| 1919–20 | Second Division | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | |
| 1920–21 | Second Division | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 | |
| 1921–22 | Second Division | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| 1922–23 | Second Division | 38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 3 | |
| 1923–24 | Second Division | 20 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 10 | |
| 1924–25 | Second Division | 41 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 12 | |
| 1925–26 | Second Division | 26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 | |
| 1926–27 | Second Division | 30 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 7 | |
| 1927–28 | Second Division | 20 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 5 | |
| 1928–29 | Third Division North | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 304 | 51 | 10 | 6 | 314 | 57 | ||
Port Vale