The 1903–04 season was Burslem Port Vale's sixth consecutive season (tenth overall) of football in the English Football League. The club played home fixtures at the Athletic Ground under the direction of manager‑secretary Sam Gleaves and chairman Robert Audley. Vale finished 13th in the Second Division with 29 points (10 wins, 9 draws, 15 losses), scoring 54 goals and conceding 52. Remarkably, they went the entire season without registering a single away win, part of a club record of 29 successive away matches without victory.

In cup competition, Vale were eliminated in the First Round of the FA Cup by Southampton, and suffered first‑round exits in both the Staffordshire Senior Cup and Birmingham Senior Cup, losing to Stoke in each case. The club's leading scorer was Adrian Capes, with 14 league goals and 17 across all competitions. Attendances peaked at approximately 5,000 spectators for the festive fixture against Bristol City on 26 December 1903, while the lowest recorded crowd was just 500 for the match against Grimsby Town on 13 February 1904, giving an average attendance of around 2,250. The season also witnessed Arthur Rowley become the first player to score from a direct free‑kick, following the introduction of the new free kick rule that season.

Overview

Second Division A rather quiet pre-season saw no major signings or departures, and hopes were built of an improvement on last season's ninth-place finish. The first game of the season was on 7 September 1903 against Bolton Wanderers, where Arthur Rowley wrote himself into the history books by becoming the first player to score from a direct free kick. Five days later, the Vale beat Manchester United 1–0, and their season got going – albeit very slowly. Four games later, they found their second victory, beating newly-elected Bradford City 5–2 after a poor performance from the Bradford goalkeeper. On 24 October, Vale fell to a 3–2 defeat at home to second-placed Woolwich Arsenal, which was described as a classic game as Billy Heames scored only the second goal of the season past Arsenal in the third minute and the Vale bombarded the opposition goal all game but to no ultimate avail.

A seven-game unbeaten run saw them surge up the table towards the end of the calendar year. This included a 2–0 win over Stockport County at the Athletic Ground that was played in a dense fog. Boxing Day saw 5,000 bear witness to a 3–1 victory over a strong Bristol City team. Three days later, they gained a point away at Bradford, with the hosts missing a number of first-team players due to them eating tinned salmon. This run ended at Gainsborough Trinity but could be justified because they had played three games in four days. They went on to muster just one point from seven games to find themselves in the danger zone as players looked towards their promising cup run rather than the league itself. On 2 January, Vale were "outclassed" in a 5–0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers in which William Loverseed badly injured himself in a fall after stepping on the ball. On 16 January, Vale went into a two-goal lead within four minutes at home to Burnley, but went on to draw the match. Confidence had escaped the players as they then fell to a 4–1 defeat at bottom club Glossop.

Three consecutive defeats concluded with a 2–1 loss at home to Grimsby Town on 13 February, which left Vale level on points with second-bottom. Two weeks' rest revived the players, though, and Leicester Fosse were beaten 6–2 over two inches of snow. The next home game saw another big win as Blackpool were dispatched 5–0 despite a good performance from opposition goalkeeper Arthur Hull. A win on the road proved impossible to come by, however, and Vale remained third-from-bottom with four games to play. Two home wins, over Burton United and Chesterfield, eased re-election concerns, and a point was also earned at Arsenal's Manor Ground on the final day. A crowd of 20,000 had turned up to see Arsenal attempt to secure the league title, but Harry Cotton "pulled off at least a dozen remarkable saves" to keep a clean sheet and hand Preston North End the championship.

Port Vale finished two points ahead of the re-election zone, failing to win an away match all season. Adrian Capes was the top scorer for the fourth consecutive season, scoring 17 goals, 14 of which came in the league. Tom Simpson contributed 15 goals and would score only 13 more Football League goals in his entire career. Important players Arthur Rowley, W. Perkins and Billy Heames were no re-signed at the end of the campaign.

Finances Again, attendances were disappointing, and to improve the financial outlook, players were sold as early as October, when a highly promising Tom Coxon signed to nearby Stoke for £200. Their FA Cup clash at Southampton saw them rake in a £491 share of gate receipts. A loss of £39 was recorded on the season, and rising wages and falling gate receipts were offset only by the income from transfers and cup runs. Recognising this, the directors insisted that a controversial policy of selling on players had to be adopted.

Cup competitions In September, three-goal margins eliminated the club in both county cup competitions by Stoke. The "Valeites" found rather more success in the FA Cup, overcoming both Crewe Alexandra, Stockport County, Nantwich and Burton United in qualification. Stockport accused the substitute referee, from Burslem, of bias, and over a thousand of them waited for him to leave the dressing room before he was escorted to the railway station by police, enduring a punch on the way even though the match had ended goalless. Vale won the replay by a clear six goals. They were eliminated in the first round proper by Southampton of the Southern League, losing 3–0 in front of a crowd of 8,000 at The Dell after Cotton was injured and lying prone for the host's opening goal.

Results

Football League Second Division

League table

Results by matchday

Matches

FA Cup

Birmingham Senior Cup

Staffordshire Senior Cup

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

Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameSecond DivisionFA CupSenior CupTotal1FWAdrian Capes1430172FWTom Simpson1140153FWGeorge Price61074FWTom Coxon4004–FWBilly Heames22046FWDick Allman3003–FWBert Eardley21038HBArthur Rowley2002–HBW. Perkins2002–FWHarry Mountford2002–HBJoseph Holyhead110212HBHarry Croxton1001–FBErnest Mullineux1001–FWWilliam Loverseed1001TOTALS5212064

Transfers

Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. May 1903 HB William Bradbury Newcastle Swifts Free transfer May 1903 FW Sam Howshall Newcastle Swifts Free transfer June 1903 FW Harry Mountford Hanley Swifts Free transfer June 1903 FW William Thomas Newcastle Swifts Free transfer August 1903 HB Sam Whittingham Stoke Free transfer September 1903 HB Joseph Holyhead Wolverhampton Wanderers Free transfer

Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. Summer 1904 GK William Chadwick Released Summer 1904 FW Billy Heames Left contract Summer 1904 HB W. Perkins Newark Free transfer Summer 1904 HB Arthur Rowley Released Summer 1904 FW William Tunstall Released

References Specific

General