Port Vale

1939–40 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Stadium	Old Recreation Ground
Football LeagueThird Division South	22nd (1 Point) – season abandoned
Football League West League	8th (22 Points)
Football League War Cup	Preliminary Round (knocked out byWalsall)
Staffordshire Senior Cup	First Round (knocked out byWest Bromwich Albion)
Top goalscorer	League:Jack Roberts (13) All: Jack Roberts (14)
Highest home attendance	6,000 vs.Everton, 6 April 1940
Lowest home attendance	1,000 vs.New Brighton, 13 May 1940
Average home league attendance	2,568
Biggest win	6–1 vs.Crewe Alexandra, 21 October 1939
Biggest defeat	0–7 and 1–8
Home colours
← 1938–39

The1939–40 season wasPort Vale's 34th season of football in theFootball League, and second-successive season in theThird Division South.^[1] After just two league matches — both victories — the outbreak ofWorld War II on 1 September 1939 led to the immediate suspension and eventual cancellation of all competitive league football. These opening fixtures were expunged from the official records, ending any formal pursuit of promotion or league progression that year.

With the abandonment of the official competition, Vale turned to regional wartime football, competing in the Football League West Regional League, where they finished 8th with 22 points. A 0–7 defeat and a 1–8 loss formed the season's heaviest reversals, while more encouraging results — such as competitive home performances—offered sporadic morale boosts in a difficult season context. Vale were also knocked out early in the Football League War Cup, exiting in the preliminary round following a defeat to Walsall. Though informal, the season served as a makeshift continuation for fans amid global upheaval.

Jack Roberts emerged as the club's leading scorer, netting 13 league goals and 14 in all competitions across the wartime programme. He remained a key focal point in Vale’s working side, displaying consistent goal-scoring form despite the unsettled nature of the competition structure. Attendances were much reduced due to wartime restrictions: the highest gate of approximately 6,000 came againstEverton on 6 April 1940, while the lowest dipped to around 1,000 for a visit byNew Brighton on 13 May. The average attendance settled at just 2,568, reflecting the broader limitations of the period.

Off the pitch, Port Vale faced severe financial and personnel strain. Most first-team players were unavailable, having joined the war effort, and the club struggled to field a competitive professional side. As a result, Vale often relied on youth and reserve players while managing across multiple local competitions. By the summer of 1940, financial pressures had escalated, with the club selling its Old Recreation Ground to the city council and operating in a precarious position for the duration of the war.

Having rebuilt the playing squad the previous season, the Port Vale management opted to supplement the relatively team with young signings; notable teenage arrivals were Scottish wingerMurdoch Dickie fromCrewe Alexandra and inside-forwardBert Flatley fromYork City.Ken Fish returned as an assistant trainer as well as a player, with the club deciding to do without amanager in favour of a selection committee. The squad consisted of 22 professionals, though bothRoy Felton andRoger Whittle were absent on military training, as the club decided to save money by asking squad players to be versatile in their playing positions.^[2] A goalless draw on the opening day down atBrighton & Hove Albion was followed by a 1–0 home defeat toExeter City. Still, match number three againstNorthampton Town was cancelled after war was declared and the government prohibited all sports gatherings.^[1] TheFootball League was formally cancelled, and the footballing authorities looked at alternative arrangements.^[1] Permission was granted for football to take place inStoke-on-Trent andfriendlies took place as during this time.^[1]

The Football League eventually decided upon regional leagues and placed Vale in the West Region, alongside the big clubs fromLiverpool andManchester. Attendances were low, with only the fixtures withManchester United andEverton breaking the 4,000 mark at theOld Recreation Ground. They managed to beat Everton 2–1 in front on a season-high crowd of around 6,000, and also managed to pick up a 1–1 draw withLiverpool in front of just 4,000 spectators atAnfield. Vale suffered heavy defeats atOld Trafford, theVictoria Ground andMaine Road, as well as at home to Liverpool, but managed to record doubles against bothCrewe Alexandra andTranmere Rovers.^[1] Despite fielding strong sides in the War Cup andStaffordshire Senior Cup they were eliminated in the opening rounds byWalsall andWest Bromwich Albion respectively.^[1]Jack Roberts finished as top-scorer with 14 goals in all competitions. The club could not afford to continue fielding a professional team and so fielded just a junior side until the1944–45 season despite still losing vast sums of money maintaining the Old Recreation Ground.^[1]

• Note: TheFootball League was cancelled after three matches.

Port Vale vExeter City

2 September 19392	Port Vale	0–1	Exeter City	Hanley
		Report	Riley 40'	Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 5,102 Referee: E.L. Davies

Port Vale vCrewe Alexandra

21 October 19391	Port Vale	6–1	Crewe Alexandra	Hanley
	P.Griffiths Tunnicliffe Nolan Roberts			Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 2,100

Liverpool v Port Vale

28 October 19392	Liverpool	1–1	Port Vale	Anfield
	Balmer 15'	Report	Nolan	Stadium:Anfield Attendance: 4,000

Stockport County v Port Vale

11 November 19393	Stockport County	2–1	Port Vale	Stockport
			P.Griffiths	Stadium:Edgeley Park Attendance: 3,452

Port Vale vTranmere Rovers

18 November 19394	Port Vale	6–2	Tranmere Rovers	Hanley
	H.Griffiths (pen.) (pen.) P.Griffiths Tunnicliffe Nolan			Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,745

Manchester United v Port Vale

25 November 19395	Manchester United	8–1	Port Vale	Old Trafford
	Wrigglesworth Asquith Pearson Smith		Tunnicliffe	Stadium:Old Trafford Attendance: 1,500

Port Vale vWrexham

2 December 19396	Port Vale	1–0	Wrexham	Hanley
14:30GMT	Higgins 81'	Report		Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,456 Referee: F. Lee

Everton v Port Vale

9 December 19397	Everton	3–1	Port Vale	Walton, Liverpool
			P.Griffiths	Stadium:Goodison Park Attendance: 1,000

New Brighton v Port Vale

6 January 19408	New Brighton	2–2	Port Vale	New Brighton, Merseyside
			Tunnicliffe P.Griffiths	Stadium:Sandheys Park Attendance: 1,500

Crewe Alexandra v Port Vale

10 February 19409	Crewe Alexandra	1–3	Port Vale	Crewe
			Roberts Cumberlidge	Stadium:Gresty Road Attendance: 800

Port Vale vLiverpool

24 February 194010	Port Vale	3–8	Liverpool	Hanley
	Sproson Roberts P.Griffiths	Report	Fagan (pen.) Liddell Tennant Van Den Berg	Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 2,039

Chester v Port Vale

2 March 194011	Chester	0–3	Port Vale	Chester
			Higgins Roberts Tunnicliffe	Stadium:Sealand Road Attendance: 1,000

Port Vale vStockport County

9 March 194012	Port Vale	6–2	Stockport County	Hanley
	Higgins Tunnicliffe P.Griffiths Roberts			Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,787

Tranmere Rovers v Port Vale

16 March 194013	Tranmere Rovers	1–5	Port Vale	Prenton
			Tunnicliffe Roberts Higgins	Stadium:Prenton Park Attendance: 2,000

Port Vale vManchester United

23 March 194014	Port Vale	1–3	Manchester United	Hanley
	Higgins		McKay Pearson	Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 4,127

Stoke City v Port Vale

25 March 194015	Stoke City	5–1	Port Vale	Stoke-upon-Trent
	Ormston Sale (og.)		Roberts	Stadium:Victoria Ground Attendance: 9,450

Wrexham v Port Vale

30 March 194016	Wrexham	1–0	Port Vale	Wrexham
15:30BST	Martin 60'	Report		Stadium:Racecourse Ground Attendance: 2,000 Referee: C. Fletcher

Port Vale vEverton

6 April 194017	Port Vale	2–1	Everton	Hanley
	Griffiths Higgins			Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 6,000

Port Vale vChester

4 May 194018	Port Vale	3–1	Chester	Hanley
	Roberts Blunt			Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,170

Port Vale vStoke City

6 May 194019	Port Vale	1–2	Stoke City	Hanley
	Roberts		Steele Sale	Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 3,053

Port Vale vManchester City

11 May 194020	Port Vale	2–5	Manchester City	Hanley
	Roberts Bellis			Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,242

Port Vale vNew Brighton

13 May 194021	Port Vale	3–0	New Brighton	Hanley
	Triner Bellis			Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,000

Port Vale vWalsall

13 April 1940Preliminary	Port Vale	2–2	Walsall	Hanley
	H.Griffiths Roberts			Stadium:Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 4,403

West Bromwich Albion v Port Vale

4 November 19391R	West Bromwich Albion	2–1	Port Vale	West Bromwich
			P.Griffiths	Stadium:The Hawthorns Attendance: 2,000

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

Pos.	Name	Football League		War League		Cups		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Arthur Jepson	2	0	21	0	3	0	26	0
GK	Jack Moore	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
FB	Johnny Rowe	2	0	15	0	3	0	20	0
FB	Jack Griffiths	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
FB	Jimmy Oakes	0	0	7	0	0	0	7	0
FB	Bob Pursell	0	0	13	0	2	0	15	0
FB	Charlie Scrimshaw	0	0	7	0	1	0	8	0
HB	Harry Griffiths	2	0	16	3	2	0	20	3
HB	Edwin Blunt	0	0	9	1	1	0	10	1
HB	Fred Obrey	0	0	10	0	0	0	10	0
HB	Wilf Smith	2	0	22	0	3	0	27	0
HB	George Hannah	2	0	3	0	0	0	5	0
FW	Jess Sproson	0	0	4	1	0	0	4	1
FW	Arthur Cumberlidge	2	0	15	1	2	0	19	1
FW	Alf Bellis	2	0	5	2	0	0	7	2
FW	Don Triner	0	0	5	2	0	0	5	2
FW	Ronald Beresford	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	Murdoch Dickie	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Phil Griffiths	0	0	22	9	3	1	25	10
FW	Billy Tunnicliffe	0	0	17	10	3	0	20	10
FW	Jack Roberts	2	0	16	13	2	1	20	14
FW	Tom Nolan	0	0	8	3	1	0	9	3
FW	John Sanderson	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Bert Flatley	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Dennis Higgins	0	0	18	7	3	0	21	7
FW	George Morrey	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Harry Ware	0	0	6	0	2	0	8	0
FW	Ken Fish	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Place	Position	Nation	Name	West (War) League	War Cup	Staffs Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Jack Roberts	13	1	0	14
2	FW	England	Billy Tunnicliffe	10	0	0	10
–	FW	Wales	Phil Griffiths	9	0	1	10
4	FW	England	Dennis Higgins	7	0	0	7
5	FW	England	Harry Griffiths	3	1	0	4
6	FW	England	Tom Nolan	3	0	0	3
7	FW	England	Alf Bellis	2	0	0	2
–	FW	England	Don Triner	2	0	0	2
9	HB	England	Edwin Blunt	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Arthur Cumberlidge	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Jess Sproson	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	0	0	0	0
			TOTALS	52	2	1	55

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1939	FW		Murdoch Dickie	Crewe Alexandra	Free transfer	[4]
June 1939	FW		Bert Flatley	York City	Free transfer	[4]
July 1939	FW		Ken Fish	Young Boys	Free transfer	[4]
October 1939	FW		Phil Griffiths	Folkestone	Free transfer	[4]

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
December 1939	FW		Murdoch Dickie		Contract cancelled	[4]
February 1940	FW		Tom Nolan	Retired		[4]

Specific

General

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

• Port Vale F.C. seasons
• English football clubs 1939–40 season

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• Use British English from March 2015
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