| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Albert George Leake[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1930-04-17)17 April 1930[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Smallthorne, Staffordshire, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 24 July 1999(1999-07-24) (aged 69) | ||
| Place of death | Norton le Moors, Staffordshire, England | ||
| Position(s) | Half-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Moorland Road Youth Club | |||
| RAF | |||
| Stoke City | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1950–1961 | Port Vale | 269 | (34) |
| 1961–1967 | Macclesfield Town | 208 | (9) |
| Total | 477 | (43) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1963–1967 | Macclesfield Town | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Albert George Leake (17 April 1930 – 24 July 1999) was an Englishfootballer who played as ahalf-back.
He spent the entire 1950s withPort Vale, as the club enjoyed an exciting period oftheir history. He helped the "Valiants" to theThird Division North title in 1953–54 andFourth Division title in 1958–59. After a total of 43 goals in 293 league and cup games, he left the club in 1961 fornon-LeagueMacclesfield Town, a club he served asmanager from 1963 to 1967. He guided the club to aCheshire County League andCheshire Senior Cup double in 1963–64.
He also playedcricket forStaffordshire in theMinor Counties Cricket Championship between 1955 and 1960. He was a right-handedbatsman who fielded as awicket-keeper.[2]
Leake played forStoke City and theRAF before joiningPort Vale from Stoke in February 1950.[1] He made his debut on 24 March 1951, in a 3–1 win overBristol City atAshton Gate.[1] Signed and given his debut byGordon Hodgson, themanager's early death meant that Leake had to win a regular first-team place under new bossFreddie Steele.[1] He played eightThird Division South games in1951–52, scoring his first senior goal on 1 September, in a 1–1 draw withWatford atVale Park.[1]
He became a first-team regular from December 1952, and scored four goals in 26 games in1952–53, as the "Valiants" finished as runners-up of theThird Division North.[1] He hit 20 goals in 48 appearances in1953–54, as Vale won the Third Division North title and reached the semi-finals of theFA Cup.[1] He was the scorer of the FA Cup semi-final goal againstWest Bromwich Albion in Vale's 2–1 defeat and also had anequaliser disallowed foroffside.[1] He had previously scored five of Vale's six goals from the Third Round onwards that were enough to defeatQueens Park Rangers,Cardiff City,Blackpool, andLeyton Orient.[1]
Leake scored six goals in 30 games in1954–55, as Vale retained theirSecond Division status.[1] He hit four goals in 38 games in1955–56, before losing his first-team place toHarry Poole.[1] He hit four goals in 22 appearances in1956–57, as Vale sufferedrelegation despite the best efforts of new bossNorman Low.[1] He featured 34 times in1957–58, and was an ever-present in the1958–59 season as the club won theFourth Division title.[1] He scored three goals in 39 games in1959–60; however, he lost his first-team place in April 1960.[1] He did not play aThird Division game in1960–61, and was insteadtransferred toMacclesfield Town in January 1961.[1] Two years later, he was appointed as Macclesfield's new manager, and using firm discipline, he led the club to theCheshire County League andCheshire Senior Cup double in 1963–64. They went on to finish second in 1964–65, third in 1965–66, and fifth in 1966–67.[3] Upon losing his position he joined Goldenhill Y. & A. as a player. He worked as a school attendance officer between 1966 and 1995.[4] He died atNorton le Moors in Staffordshire on 24 July 1999.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Port Vale | 1950–51 | Third Division South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1951–52 | Third Division South | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | |
| 1952–53 | Third Division North | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 8 | |
| 1953–54 | Third Division North | 40 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 10 | |
| 1954–55 | Second Division | 27 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 6 | |
| 1955–56 | Second Division | 36 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 4 | |
| 1956–57 | Second Division | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 | |
| 1957–58 | Third Division South | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 1958–59 | Fourth Division | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |
| 1959–60 | Third Division | 33 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 3 | |
| Total | 269 | 34 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 291 | 43 | ||
| Macclesfield Town | 1960–61[6] | Cheshire County League | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| 1961–62[7] | Cheshire County League | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 46 | 1 | |
| 1962–63[8] | Cheshire County League | 41 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 1 | |
| 1963–64[9] | Cheshire County League | 40 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 56 | 2 | |
| 1964–65[10] | Cheshire County League | 35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 1965–66[11] | Cheshire County League | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 1966–67[12] | Cheshire County League | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
| Total | 208 | 9 | 19 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 262 | 9 | ||
| Career total | 477 | 43 | 41 | 9 | 35 | 0 | 553 | 52 | ||
Port Vale
Macclesfield Town