1947–48 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1947–48 season
Chairman	William Holdcroft
Manager	Gordon Hodgson
Stadium	Old Recreation Ground
Football League Third Division South	8th (43 Points)
FA Cup	First Round; (knocked out by Crystal Palace)
Top goalscorer	League: Ronnie Allen (13); All: Ronnie Allen (13)
Highest home attendance	18,147 vs. Notts County, 28 February 1948
Lowest home attendance	5,602 vs. Exeter City, 24 April 1948
Average home league attendance	13,569
Biggest win	7–0 vs. Watford, 15 September 1947
Biggest defeat	0–5 vs. Torquay United, 7 February 1948
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1946–47 1948–49 →

The 1947–48 season was Port Vale's 36th season of football in the English Football League, and their third full season in the Third Division South.^[1] Under the guidance of manager Gordon Hodgson and chairman William Holdcroft, the Valiants achieved an eighth‑place finish, amassing 43 points from 42 league fixtures, with just three away victories highlighting a stark home–away performance dichotomy.

In the FA Cup, Vale's run was brief, exiting in the First Round after a solitary tie, matching their league form in cup competition. Striker Ronnie Allen, then aged eighteen, emerged as the club's top scorer with 13 goals, which included consecutive hat‑tricks in home matches, underscoring his rapid rise through the ranks. Attendance figures remained healthy: an average crowd of 13,569, with the season’s lowest turnout of 5,602 against Exeter City on 24 April 1948, and the season's largest margin of victory — a 7–0 win over Watford on 15 September — demonstrating the team's occasional attacking flair.

Overall, while Vale maintained a solid mid‑table standing, inconsistencies — particularly on the road—and continued stadium redevelopment work meant that success remained elusive, setting the stage for further post-war rebuilding in subsequent seasons.

Manager Gordon Hodgson during his playing days.

Overview

Third Division South

The pre-season saw the arrival of outside-right John Currie from Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.^[1] The total number of players at the club was 81, though the vast majority of these amateurs who never played for the first-team.^[1] Standing season tickets were reduced to £3 13s, in an attempt to boost support.^[1]

The season began with a 1–1 draw with Bristol Rovers in front of 15,714 supporters, followed four days later by a 2–1 win over Norwich City at Carrow Road.^[1] Following this the Vale were exceptional at home but poor away, as their unbeaten run at home reached 15 games.^[1] Their home form was exemplified by 6–4 and 7–0 wins over Aldershot and Watford respectively, in which Ronnie Allen scored a hat-trick in both games, and Morris Jones score a hat-trick past Aldershot.^[1] The defence seeming too weak for a promotion push, Harry Hubbick was signed from Bolton Wanderers in October.^[1] However, the team lost Alf Bellis to a foot fracture. The Sentinel's "Placer" complained of the weakened passing of the post-war generation, in both the Vale side and in footballers in general.^[1] In November, Morris Jones was sold to Swindon Town for £2,500, having handed in a transfer request.^[1] Gordon Hodgson searched for new attacking talents, leaving his players to relax with games of table tennis, darts, and reading material.^[1] Results began to improve, starting with a 4–1 home win over Ipswich Town in which Alan Martin was shifted to inside-left.

On Christmas day, a 5–0 win was recorded over Brighton & Hove Albion, with defender Tommy Cheadle put into the centre-forward role.^[1] This marked the start of a seven-match unbeaten run, which took the "Valiants" into fourth place by the end of January.^[1] Hodgson's policy of prioritising youth over experience led many older players to submit transfer requests.^[1] In January Alf Bellis was traded to Bury in exchange for Walter Keeley and 'a substantial fee'.^[1] Vale nevertheless ended the month with consecutive 4–1 home victories over Newport County and Crystal Palace. A 5–0 thrashing at muddy Plainmoor from Torquay United in February was followed by a win over Swindon Town which was disturbed by a dog on the pitch, whilst the week after came a draw in 3 inches (7.6 cm) of snow at Southend United.^[1] The club's promotion hopes faded with a defeat by Notts County at the Old Recreation Ground; a crowd of 18,147 turned up to see England star Tommy Lawton scoring the winner.^[1]

An impressive 2–1 win over league leaders Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic was marred by spectators throwing stones onto the pitch. Vale then were beaten for only the second time at home by the new league leaders, Queens Park Rangers on 26 March, as they displayed "costly blunders in defence" and "a disconcerting naivety in attack". The following day, they recorded their last win of the season by beating Bristol City by a goal to nil. They failed to win in their last seven games, which cost them a third-place finish and the subsequent £165 in talent money. In preparation for next season, Joe Dale was signed from Manchester United for £1,000.^[1] The last game of the season attracted 5,602 spectators – the lowest total of the season – ironically, this was against Exeter City, their opponents in the highest attended home game of the previous campaign. This low attendance was partly blamed on the FA Cup final, which was broadcast simultaneously.^[1]

They finished in eighth place with 43 points, barely improving on the previous season.^[1] Ronnie Allen was the top-scorer with just 13 goals. Scoring was very much a team effort.

Finances

On the financial side, a loss of £1,292 was reported – mainly due to a transfer debit.^[1] Gate receipts had increased to £26,666 and the wage bill had risen drastically to £13,647.^[1] Cash was needed for the ongoing construction of 'The Wembley of the North', and so schemes such as the '100 Club' were introduced, offering supporters a seat for life at the stadium for £100.^[1] Meanwhile, Norman Hallam departed in the summer and left the area to become a Methodist Minister in Carlisle.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale fell at the first hurdle, losing 2–1 to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in a below-par performance.^[1] Unlike in the previous FA Cup campaign, the retreat to the old Royal Brine Baths in Stafford had failed to inspire the players.^[1]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
6	Notts County	42	19	8	15	68	59	1.153	46
7	Bristol City	42	18	7	17	77	65	1.185	43
8	Port Vale	42	16	11	15	63	54	1.167	43
9	Southend United	42	15	13	14	51	58	0.879	43
10	Reading	42	15	11	16	56	58	0.966	41

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Third Division South

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	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	A
Result	D	W	L	W	W	D	L	W	D	L	W	L	D	L	W	L	W	W	L	W	D	W	W	D	W	W	L	W	D	L	L	W	L	L	W	L	L	D	L	D	D	D
Position	12	4	10	6	4	4	9	3	5	7	7	8	9	11	9	10	8	8	11	7	9	8	6	6	5	4	4	4	4	4	5	4	6	6	5	6	7	6	6	7	8	8
Points	1	3	3	5	7	8	8	10	11	11	13	13	14	14	16	16	18	20	20	22	23	25	27	28	30	32	32	34	35	35	35	37	37	37	39	39	39	40	40	41	42	43

Source: Statto^[2]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
23 August 1947	Bristol Rovers	H	1–1	15,714	Pointon
27 August 1947	Norwich City	A	2–1	22,024	Cheadle, Smith
30 August 1947	Northampton Town	A	1–4	9,404	Smith
1 September 1947	Norwich City	H	2–0	11,688	Pointon, Smith
6 September 1947	Aldershot	H	6–4	13,840	Allen (3), Jones (3)
10 September 1947	Watford	A	1–1	8,802	Hallam
13 September 1947	Crystal Palace	A	0–2	15,063
15 September 1947	Watford	H	7–0	12,232	Allen (3), Hallam (2), Smith (2)
20 September 1947	Torquay United	H	1–1	17,092	Bellis
27 September 1947	Swindon Town	A	0–1	16,828
4 October 1947	Southend United	H	2–1	15,106	Allen, Smith
11 October 1947	Notts County	A	1–2	20,172	Bellis
18 October 1947	Swansea Town	H	1–1	14,355	Smith
25 October 1947	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	A	0–3	17,025
1 November 1947	Ipswich Town	H	4–1	14,878	Martin (2), Allen, Pointon
8 November 1947	Bristol City	A	1–2	27,740	Allen
15 November 1947	Reading	H	1–0	13,305	Smith
22 November 1947	Walsall	A	2–1	15,309	Bellis, Allen
20 December 1947	Bristol Rovers	A	1–2	11,651	Martin
25 December 1947	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	5–0	11,431	Cheadle (2), McGarry, Martin, Triner
27 December 1947	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	2–2	7,329	Cheadle, Martin
3 January 1948	Northampton Town	H	1–0	12,905	Bellis
10 January 1948	Leyton Orient	H	3–0	12,225	Keeley (2), Cheadle
17 January 1948	Aldershot	A	1–1	4,459	Cheadle
24 January 1948	Newport County	H	4–1	10,816	Pointon (2), Keeley, Martin (pen)
31 January 1948	Crystal Palace	H	4–1	13,419	Cheadle (2), Allen, Pointon
7 February 1948	Torquay United	A	0–5	6,067
14 February 1948	Swindon Town	H	1–0	14,263	Pointon
21 February 1948	Southend United	A	1–1	3,961	Martin
28 February 1948	Notts County	H	1–2	18,147	Allen
6 March 1948	Swansea Town	A	0–2	18,180
13 March 1948	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	2–1	15,221	Allen, Martin
20 March 1948	Ipswich Town	A	1–2	11,100	Pointon
26 March 1948	Queens Park Rangers	H	0–2	17,889
27 March 1948	Bristol City	H	1–0	12,541	Pointon
29 March 1948	Queens Park Rangers	A	1–2	24,053	Pointon
3 April 1948	Reading	A	0–2	12,293
7 April 1948	Exeter City	A	0–0	7,653
10 April 1948	Walsall	H	0–1	12,282
17 April 1948	Leyton Orient	A	0–0	12,430
24 April 1948	Exeter City	H	1–1	5,602	Smith
1 May 1948	Newport County	A	0–0	8,309

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	29 November 1947	Crystal Palace	A	1–2	13,000	Smith

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

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

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	George Heppell	39	0	1	0	40	0
FB	Garth Butler	39	0	1	0	40	0
FB	Bob Pursell	7	0	0	0	7	0
FB	Harry Hubbick	30	0	1	0	31	0
HB	Basil Hayward	24	0	0	0	24	0
HB	Tommy Cheadle	23	8	0	0	23	8
HB	Wilf Smith	1	0	0	0	1	0
HB	Jimmy Todd	24	0	0	0	24	0
HB	Alan Martin	42	8	1	0	43	8
HB	Bill McGarry	26	1	1	0	27	1
HB	Eric Eastwood	18	0	1	0	19	0
HB	Norman Hallam	29	3	1	0	30	3
FW	Alf Bellis	17	4	1	0	18	4
FW	Don Triner	2	1	0	0	2	1
FW	Walter Keeley	16	3	0	0	16	3
FW	Joe Dale	3	0	0	0	3	0
FW	John Currie	9	0	0	0	9	0
FW	Ted Shore	3	0	0	0	3	0
FW	Jack Smith	26	9	1	1	27	10
FW	Bill Pointon	29	10	1	0	30	10
FW	Morris Jones	14	3	0	0	14	3
FW	Ronnie Allen	38	13	1	0	39	13
FW	Eric Prince	3	0	0	0	3	0

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Third Division South	FA Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Ronnie Allen	13	0	13
2	FW	England	Bill Pointon	10	0	10
–	FW	England	Jack Smith	9	1	10
4	HB	England	Alan Martin	8	0	8
–	HB	England	Tommy Cheadle	8	0	8
6	FW	England	Alf Bellis	4	0	4
7	FW	England	Morris Jones	3	0	3
–	HB	England	Norman Hallam	3	0	3
–	FW	England	Walter Keeley	3	0	3
10	HB	England	Bill McGarry	1	0	1
–	FW	England	Don Triner	1	0	1
			TOTALS	63	1	64

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
June 1947	FW	Len Barber	Bury	Free transfer	^[3]
June 1947	FW	John Currie	Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic	Free transfer	^[3]
October 1947	FB	Harry Hubbick	Bolton Wanderers	£1,000	^[3]
January 1948	FW	Walter Keeley	Bury	Exchange	^[3]
April 1948	FW	Joe Dale	Manchester United	£1,000	^[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
November 1947	FW	Morris Jones	Swindon Town	£2,500	^[3]
January 1948	FW	Alf Bellis	Bury	'Substantial'	^[3]
February 1948	FW	Eric Prince	Macclesfield Town	Released	^[3]
Summer 1948	FW	John Currie		Released	^[3]
Summer 1948	FW	Ted Shore	Coventry City	Released	^[3]
Summer 1948	FW	Jack Smith	Congleton Town	'Free transfer	^[3]
Summer 1948	FW	Don Triner	Witton Albion	Released	^[3]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z Kent, Jeff (1990). "Creating Sunshine from the Shadows (1939–1950)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 151–171. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ Port Vale 1947–1948 : Results & Fixtures Archived 16 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

General

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

[Kent-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z Kent, Jeff (1990). "Creating Sunshine from the Shadows (1939–1950)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 151–171. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.

[2] Port Vale 1947–1948 : Results & Fixtures Archived 16 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[transfers-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Port Vale F.C. seasons
1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27 2027–28 2028–29 2029–30