Burslem Port Vale

1902–03 season
Chairman	Robert Audley
Manager	Sam Gleaves
Stadium	Athletic Ground
Football League Second Division	9th (34 Points)
FA Cup	Fourth Qualification Round (knocked out by St. Helens Recreation)
Birmingham Senior Cup	First Round (knocked out by Stoke)
Staffordshire Senior Cup	First Round (knocked out by Stoke)
Bass Charity Vase	First Round (knocked out by Burton United)
Top goalscorer	League: Adrian Capes (16) All: Adrian Capes (18)
Highest home attendance	5,000 vs Manchester City, 18 October 1902
Lowest home attendance	500 vs Burton United, 28 March 1903
Average home league attendance	2,250+
Biggest win	4–0 and 5–1
Biggest defeat	1–7 vs. Manchester City, 14 February 1903
Home colours
← 1901–02 1903–04 →

The 1902–03 season was Burslem Port Vale's fifth consecutive season (ninth overall) of football in the English Football League.^[1] Finishing in ninth place for the second time in three years, it would take just over two decades for the club again to reach the heights of a top ten second-tier finish. Their success was down mainly due to their home form, and in fact, a club record 29 away games without a win began on 17 January 1903. Adrian Capes would become the club's top scorer for the third successive season.

The pre-season saw tough-tackling left-back Arthur Hartshorne arrive from Wolverhampton Wanderers, whilst left-half W. Perkins and forward William Loverseed both arrived from Newark. In September, experienced right-half Arthur Rowley arrived from Bristol Rovers.

Vale had an awful start to the season, winning just one of their first ten games. However, this run ended with five wins in their following seven games to take them back to mid-table safety. Their 4–2 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on 3 January 1903 was their last away win until the 1904–05 season. Their finish to 1902–03 was strong, winning their last seven home games. However, they finished with 34 points from 34 games, seventeen points from the promotion zones, and nine points clear of the re-election zones.

Adrian Capes was top scorer with eighteen goals in 37 games, missing just one league game. Goalkeeper Harry Cotton played 36 games; Billy Heames, W. Perkins, Ernest Mullineux, Arthur Hartshorne, Bert Eardley, Arthur Rowley, George Price, and William Loverseed were all constant figures in the first XI. At the end of the campaign, all the major players were kept on, and no big signings were made.^[1]

In a financially difficult season, in March 1903, the directors decided to sell defenders Arthur Hartshorne and Ted Holdcroft to Stoke for over £500.^[1] This gave the club a profit of £112 on the campaign.^[1] Poor attendance figures saw gate income fall by £200 from the previous season.^[1] The club's debt was totalled at £171,^[1] and subsequently the club's reserve team was moved from The Football Combination to the North Staffordshire League to save on travel costs.^[1]

In cup competitions, Vale performed poorly, falling at the first hurdle in the Staffordshire Senior Cup, Birmingham Senior Cup, and Bass Charity Vase. Losing to rivals Stoke in the county cups: 2–0 at home in the Birmingham Cup and 5–3 away in the Staffordshire Cup replay following a 1–1 draw at home. In the Charity Vase, they were conquered by Second Division rivals Burton United 5–1 away in a replay, following a 1–1 draw at home. The club failed to qualify for the FA Cup, after losing 2–1 away at St. Helens Recreation's short, sloped, boggy pitch.^[1]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
7	Preston North End	34	13	10	11	56	40	1.400	36
8	Barnsley	34	13	8	13	55	51	1.078	34
9	Burslem Port Vale	34	13	8	13	57	62	0.919	34
10	Lincoln City	34	12	6	16	46	53	0.868	30
11	Glossop	34	11	7	16	43	57	0.754	29

Burslem Port Vale's score comes first

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
6 September 1902	Blackpool	H	1–1	3,200	Capes
8 September 1902	Preston North End	H	0–0	2,000
13 September 1902	Woolwich Arsenal	A	0–3	12,000
20 September 1902	Doncaster Rovers	H	3–0	2,000	Cook, Loverseed, Capes
27 September 1902	Lincoln City	A	1–4	3,000	D.Simpson
4 October 1902	Small Heath	H	2–2	4,000	Perkins, Croxton
11 October 1902	Leicester Fosse	A	0–2	1,000
18 October 1902	Manchester City	H	1–4	5,000	Croxton
25 October 1902	Burnley	A	3–3	1,200	Eardley, Rowley, Holdcroft (pen)
8 November 1902	Chesterfield	A	0–3	2,000
10 November 1902	Stockport County	H	3–1	1,000	Heames, Hartshorne, Eardley
22 November 1902	Gainsborough Trinity	H	3–1		Capes (2), Eardley
6 December 1902	Bristol City	H	2–0	2,000	Eardley, Loverseed
9 December 1902	Glossop	A	1–2	3,000	Heames
13 December 1902	Stockport County	A	4–0		Capes (3), Price
20 December 1902	Manchester United	H	1–1	2,000	Price
3 January 1903	Blackpool	A	5–2	1,000	Loverseed (2), Capes, Hartshorne, Price
10 January 1903	Woolwich Arsenal	H	1–1	4,000	Price
17 January 1903	Doncaster Rovers	A	2–3	3,000	Capes, Eardley
24 January 1903	Lincoln City	H	5–1	2,000	Capes (3), Price (2)
31 January 1903	Small Heath	A	1–5	3,000	Price
7 February 1903	Leicester Fosse	H	2–0	1,000	Eardley, Capes
14 February 1903	Manchester City	A	1–7	12,000	Hartshorne
28 February 1903	Preston North End	A	1–5	3,000	Mullineux
7 March 1903	Chesterfield	H	2–1	800	Rowley, o.g.
21 March 1903	Gainsborough Trinity	A	1–1	3,000	Capes
28 March 1903	Burton United	H	4–2	500	Eardley, unknown, Capes, unknown
30 March 1903	Burnley	H	3–1		Loverseed, Price, T.Simpson
4 April 1903	Bristol City	A	0–3	2,000
10 April 1903	Barnsley	A	0–1	4,000
11 April 1903	Glossop	H	1–0	2,000	Price
13 April 1903	Burton United	A	0–0
18 April 1903	Manchester United	A	1–2	8,000	Rushton
20 April 1903	Barnsley	H	2–0		Rushton, Capes

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
3Q	1 November 1902	Stalybridge Rovers	H	3–1		Eardley, Price, Capes
4Q	15 November 1902	St. Helens Recreation	A	1–2	8,000	Capes

1

29 September 1902

Stoke

H

0–2

3,000

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1	22 September 1902	Stoke	H	1–1		unknown
2	6 October 1902	Stoke	A	3–5		unknown

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1	9 March 1902	Burton United	H	1–1	poor	Eardley
Replay	18 March 1902	Burton United	A	1–5		Coxon

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	Other	Total
1	FW	England	Adrian Capes	14	3	0	17
2	FW		Tom Simpson	11	4	0	15
3	FW	England	George Price	6	1	0	7
4	MF	England	Tom Coxon	4	0	0	4
–	MF	England	Billy Heames	2	2	0	4
6	FW	England	Dick Allman	3	0	0	3
–	MF	England	Bert Eardley	2	0	0	3
8	MF	England	Arthur Rowley	2	0	0	2
–	MF		W. Perkins	2	0	0	2
–	FW	England	Harry Mountford	2	0	0	2
–	MF	England	Joseph Holyhead	1	1	0	2
12	MF	England	Harry Croxton	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Ernest Mullineux	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	William Loverseed	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	2	0	0	2
–	–	–	Unknown	0	0	1	1
			TOTALS	54	12	1	67

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1902	MF		W. Perkins	Newark	Free transfer	[3]
June 1902	DF		Arthur Hartshorne	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	[3]
June 1902	FW		William Loverseed	Newark	Free transfer	[3]
September 1902	MF		Arthur Rowley	Bristol Rovers	Free transfer	[3]
January 1903	MF		George Rushton	Barrow	Free transfer	[3]
February 1903	FW		Edward Williams	East Vale	Free transfer	[3]
March 1903	DF		James Hamilton	Burslem Town	Free transfer	[3]
April 1903	FW		Dick Allman	Burslem Higherhave	Free transfer	[3]

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
September 1902	DF		Lucien Boullemier	Philadelphia Hibernian	Released	[3]
March 1903	DF		Ted Holdcroft	Stoke	£500	[3]
April 1903	DF		Arthur Hartshorne	Stoke	Unknown	[3]
Summer 1903	MF		Arthur Bourne		Released	[3]
Summer 1903	DF		Duncan Cooper		Released	[3]
Summer 1903	DF		Tom Davies		Released	[3]
Summer 1903	FW		Leonard Jones		Released	[3]
Summer 1903	MF		George Rushton	Brighton & Hove Albion	Free transfer	[3]
Summer 1903	FW		Danny Simpson		Released	[3]

Specific

General

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