The history of Port Vale Football Club, an English association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, began with the formation of the club, which is officially dated in 1876. However, later research has shown this event probably took place in 1879. In 1884, the club moved to the town of Burslem (which is located within the city of Stoke-on-Trent, just as Stoke-upon-Trent and four other towns), changing their name to Burslem Port Vale in the process. The club joined the Football League Second Division upon its formation in 1892 and spent 13 non-consecutive seasons in the division, punctuated by two seasons in the Midland League (1896–97 and 1897–98). A financial crisis resulted in the club's liquidation in 1907. However, the name of Port Vale F.C. survived as North Staffordshire Federation League side Cobridge Church took on the name and moved into the Old Recreation Ground in Hanley, before progressing through the divisions to win re-election to the Football League in October 1919.
They spent 16 non-consecutive seasons in the Second Division, punctuated by them winning the Third Division North title in 1929–30; they won the division despite having sold club record goalscorer Wilf Kirkham. The club then moved to Vale Park in 1950 after being forced to sell the Old Recreation Ground to pay off a debt. During the 1953–54 season, Vale secured the Third Division North title and a semi-final place in the FA Cup with manager Freddie Steele's "Iron Curtain" defence. After a brief decline, new manager Norman Low led the Vale to the Fourth Division title in 1958–59. However, the 1960s proved to be a tough decade, particularly in 1968 after Stanley Matthews resigned as manager and the club was forced to apply for re-election to the Football League after illegal payments were made to players. New manager Gordon Lee then masterminded promotion in 1969–70, and the Vale would spend most of the 1970s in the third tier until relegation in 1977–78. They were promoted again in 1982–83 before returning to the basement division immediately.
John Rudge was appointed as manager in December 1983 and would remain in the post for the next 16 years. Overseeing a golden period for the club, Vale won promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1985–86 and into the second tier following promotions from the third tier in 1988–89 and 1993–94. They also won the Football League Trophy in 1993. His reign ended in January 1999, and the club entered a decline, slipping into the fourth tier whilst twice entering administration in 2003 and 2012 after the chairmanships of first Bill Bell and then Bill Bratt ended in crises. Norman Smurthwaite took the club out of administration in 2012 and manager Micky Adams achieved automatic promotion from League Two in the 2012–13 season, though they were relegated back into League Two at the end of the 2016–17 season after a failed experiment with a continental staff and playing style. Carol Shanahan bought the club in 2019 and manager Darrell Clarke secured promotion out of the League Two play-offs at the end of the 2021–22 season. Vale were relegated again at the end of the 2023–24 season, though they secured an immediate promotion in 2024–25.
1876 or 1879: Founding The precise details of the club's founding are not known. A Port Vale cricket club were in existence in 1874, which may or may not have had any relation to the football club. It had been thought that Port Vale were formed during an 1876 meeting at Port Vale House, from where the club was supposed to have taken its name. However, no evidence of such a named public house ever came to light.
However, comprehensive research by historian Jeff Kent indicated that the club was probably formed in 1879 as an offshoot of the Porthill Victoria football club and took its name from its location in the valley of canal ports.The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale, , 1990, pages 4–13, The Port Vale Record 1879–1993, , 1993, page 4, and What If There Had Been No Port in the Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories, , pages 18–33, all by Kent, Jeff. Evidence supporting this came from Vale chairman Robert Audley writing that the club was "an organisation of twenty-eight years standing" in 1907. Also, John Hood and an 'E.Hood' were recorded as scoring goals for Porthill Victoria on 4 January 1879, which seems to have disbanded at the end of that season. The 1879 theory suggests that Porthill Victoria players broke away to found Port Vale in 1879, having tired of travelling up the hill to Wolstanton from their workplaces to play their football. Before 1926, the occasional mentions in print of the club's founding had given the year of formation as 1879, and most of the founders would not have reached adulthood by 1876.What If There Had Been No Port in the Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories! (Witan Books, 2011, ) However, the January 1926 50-year jubilee celebrations saw the 1876 date firmly established as the year of the club's founding; it is unknown what convinced the organizers at the time that the date was correct. To add to the confusion, local newspaper The Sentinel also printed 1879 as the club's founding date on 10 March 1928 and 24 August 1931, despite reporting on the jubilee celebrations in January 1926.
Another theory on the club's origins is that Port Vale was formed from a merger of Wolstanton, Middleport and Burslem St. Paul's, but little evidence supports it. A further theory is that Port Vale were originally a brickworks team, mainly based on the existence of bricks with "Burslem Port Vale" and "Port Vale" marked upon them. However, these names appear to indicate their place of manufacture (in Port Vale, the valley of ports) and often have a company name upon them, so there is no hard evidence to link them to the football club.
The unique name of Port Vale has attracted interest and debate. The players lived near Port Vale Wharf, Port Vale Street, Port Vale Corn Mills and Port Vale House. Also, with nearby Porthill Victoria having played upon a hill, the team of the valley below meant that the name Port Vale was "a rather natural choice." Another theory was that the name came from a shortening of 'Longport Vale'.
1879–1907: Early years
The club played football at Limekiln Lane, Longport. From 1880 at Westport, paying £1 for the use of Westport Meadows. The 1851 Ordnance Survey Map of Longport clearly shows the Port Vale Wharf and the adjacent Longport Lime Kilns, including the eponymous lane. Under its founder Enoch Hood, the club rose rapidly above the dozen or so other local Burslem clubs to become the strongest club in the town within a few years. Already in 1880, the club had a reserve team and managed to attract the best players from their local rivals. They began to charge admission to their games and joined the Staffordshire Football Association on 6 September 1882.
The first recorded line-up was on 9 December 1882 in a Staffordshire Senior Cup second round replay at Stoke. The match finished 5–1 to Stoke, with Enoch Hood scoring Vale's goal. 1 J.Baskeville 2 R.Dain 3 W.Poulson 4 C.Simpson 5 G.Bateman 6 G.Boulton 7 E.Hood (c) 8 B.Davies 9 H.Alcock 10 W.Reynolds 11 H.Hood
On 2 February 1884, the club annihilated Middlewich 16–0 in a friendly. Later in the month, Billy Poulson and Charlie Simpson were selected to represent Staffordshire. The Sentinel wrote of "our two local champions – Stoke and Port Vale". From that point on, it was these two clubs that defined football in the Potteries.
The club moved to Burslem in 1884, playing on a new ground constructed at Moorland Road. The first game at the ground was a 6–0 thrashing of Everton. Not long after the club changed its name to Burslem Port Vale. In the summer of 1885, the club moved into the Athletic Ground and started to pay their players regular wages. In 1888, the club failed to gain inclusion for the founding of the English Football League; rivals Stoke were one of the twelve founders. Instead, Vale joined The Second Combination, a league that lasted just one season. Their poor showing in that league meant they were not invited to join the new and short-lived Football Alliance. Progress was made, however, as the club hired their first professional trainer – Joey Law, from West Bromwich Albion.
In 1890, the club became founder members of the Midland League, where they played two seasons of football. A third-place finish in 1891–92 was enough to win them election to the new Football League Second Division in 1892. The club suffered greatly from the death of star striker Frank McGinnes. On 10 December 1892, they played in a snowstorm, and lost 10–0 at home to Sheffield United. This remains a Football League record. Vale finished eleventh out of twelve but won re-election to the league. The team fared poorly in the league for the following three seasons and failed to win re-election at the end of 1895–96. This resulted in another two seasons in the Midland League. They fared poorly, but as the Football League expanded for the 1898–99 season, Port Vale were re-elected – this came mostly thanks to their FA Cup victory over eventual First Division champions Sheffield United. The club's financial troubles were not solved by their league status, they suffered indifference in the league the cup competitions for several seasons. Adrian Capes was top scorer for four consecutive seasons and was a rare bright light. The club survived by selling their top players (including Copes), going on cup runs and cutting costs wherever possible. The club resigned from the league on 14 June 1907. An appeal for supporters to prop the club up with donations failed; the directors did not believe the club to be viable "in any shape or form". Stoke and Oldham Athletic took on most of the now-unemployed players.
1907–1919: Years in the wilderness
Burslem Port Vale was awaiting liquidation and was no longer in operation; it eventually wound up in 1909. The club's history would have ended at this point had it not been for an unexpected twist. North Staffordshire Church League champions Cobridge Church were accepted into the North Staffordshire Federation League, which was still a minor league. Joint-secretaries Millward and E.C.Brundrett had very big ambitions however. In 1907, they sought permission from the Football Association to change the club's name to Port Vale and bought the old club's ground (the Athletic Ground). To signify their roots they renamed their reserve side to Cobridge Church. Port Vale were now playing teams such as Leek United, Newchapel United and Ashwood Villa. However, their fifth-placed finish encouraged the club to apply successfully for North Staffordshire & District League membership. Financial pressures soon affected the lowly club, and in December 1908, former Vale player Sam Bennion led a buy-out consortium. Former players Adrian Copes, Bert Eardley and Harry Croxton were re-signed and the future looked bright.