The 1918–19 season was Port Vale's third season of football after going into abeyance during World War I. They competed in the Football League Lancashire Section under manager-secretaries Jock Cameron (until January) and Joe Schofield (from January), with Frank Huntbach as chairman at the Old Recreation Ground. The club finished 12th in the 30‑match league season, accumulating 24 points from 10 wins, 4 draws, and 16 losses, with a goal tally of 39 scored and 77 conceded. Vale also competed in the Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament, finishing 4th with 3 points from that mini-competition

Forward Harry Howell led the team as top scorer, with 6 league goals and 9 in all competitions. The season included mixed fortunes: the club suffered its largest defeat of the era, an 8–1 loss to Stoke in October, yet achieved occasional strong results, including resounding wins of 4–0 and 5–1 in league play. Attendances were variable — peaking at around 16,000 spectators for a Potteries derby match against Stoke on 28 April 1919, with an average attendance of approximately 5,772

Overall, the 1918–19 campaign signalled Port Vale's final phase in wartime regional football and served as a transitional foundation for their reinstatement into the national Football League in October 1919.

Overview With Tom Holford largely unavailable, Jock Cameron was promoted to captain and team manager. The squad had to be made up largely of players available and willing to play, with only the Pearson brothers (Harry and Albert) offering much in the way of continuity from the previous campaign. The team started with a four-game unbeaten run, only to pick up one point from their next six games. The poor run included an embarrassing 8–1 defeat by Stoke at the Old Recreation Ground. The war was drawing to a close, ending on 11 November, but not before claiming the lives of Bob Suart and Jack Shelton. Vale beat bottom-club Burnley 4–2 five days later, and began to be strengthened by first-team players who returned from their wartime duties – as were every other club however. From this point, Vale began winning their home games but losing their away matches, ending this run with a 2–0 win over Preston North End at Deepdale on 18 January – the first away win of the campaign. A sign of things returning to normal was the sale of Albert Pearson to Liverpool in January.

As players again started to be paid their regular wage, the Football League began a tax on rich clubs to support poorer clubs, which benefited Vale to the tune of £71. Eager to win a place in the expanding Football League the following season, Vale appointed former England international Joe Schofield as team secretary in January. Four straight wins around the new year were followed by four straight defeats in February, though attendance began to rise back to regular peacetime levels. On 10 March, the Football League held a vote on which clubs to admit for the 1919–20 season and Vale were disappointed only to tally 27 votes, leaving Stoke, West Ham United, South Shields, Rotherham County and Coventry City as the successful applicants. Vale also ended the league programme with eight defeats in their last ten matches, losing heavily to Oldham Athletic, Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers. They ended the season 12th out of 16 teams, scoring 39 goals whilst conceding 77. The club set up a Supporters' club in April with 220 members each contributing a shilling subscription. Vale again fared poorly in the six-game Subsidiary Tournament, losing four and winning only once. They did end positively, though, beating Potteries derby rivals Stoke 4–1 in front of a season-high crowd of 16,000.

Results WinDrawLoss

Football League Lancashire Section League table

Matches

Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament League table

Matches

Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

|colspan="14"|Players who featured but departed the club during the season:

Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameLeagueSubsidiaryTotal1FWHarry Howell6392FWDick Burgess404–FWBilly Fitchford4044FWHarry Pearson303–FWTom Brennan2136FWTom Davies202–FWJack Foster202–FWJames Hill202–FWAlbert Pearson202–FWJ Parker02211FWA Cope101–FWA Salt101–FBTom Lyons101–FBJock Cameron101–FWBobby Blood101–FWArthur Rogers101–FWJ Kelly101–FBW Garner101–FWF McCarthy101–FWJoe Smith011–FWBilly Briscoe011–FWJ Asbury101–––Own goals212TOTALS39948

Transfers

Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 1918 FB Ben Marsden Free transfer Summer 1918 FW F McCarthy Free transfer Autumn 1918 HB Arthur McGarry Free transfer Autumn 1918 FB J Taylor Free transfer November 1918 FW J Parker Longton Free transfer December 1918 FW Dick Burgess Free transfer April 1919 HB Andie Newton Manchester City Free transfer

Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. Autumn 1918 FW Joe Daley Released October 1918 FW F McCarthy Stafford Rangers Free transfer November 1918 HB Alf Smith Released 1919 FW Tom Davies Released 1919 FW Arthur Rogers Released January 1919 FW Albert Pearson Liverpool Transfer February 1919 FW Dick Burgess Arsenal Free transfer Summer 1919 HB G Arrowsmith Released Summer 1919 GK John Dennis Released Summer 1919 FW A Floyd Released Summer 1919 FW Jack Foster Released Summer 1919 FB George Holmes Merthyr Tydfil Released Summer 1919 FB Harry Leese Crewe Alexandra Released Summer 1919 FW J Parker Released Summer 1919 FW Jack Smith Released Summer 1919 FB J Taylor Released

References Specific

General