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Roy Sproson
Roy Sproson (23 September 1930 – 24 January 1997) was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts (and 5 substitute appearances) for Vale between 1950 and 1972. This includes a run of 128 consecutive appearances between April 1954 and March 1957. He is also fourteenth on the all time Football League appearance list. Sproson remained with the club from its highest peaks in the early 1950s until the troughs of the last 1960s near the bottom of the English Football League. He served under eight managers before taking the reins himself between 1974 and 1977. A relic of a bygone era when it was common for players to only play for a few clubs throughout their entire careers, his record for the club is unlikely ever to be equalled or bettered. He finished with around 350 more appearances for the club than his closest rival, and teammate of fifteen years, Harry Poole. Playing care ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49,768 managed to squeeze in for a 1960 FA Cup fifth round fixture against Aston Villa. Due to safety restrictions it now has a capacity of 15,036, having undergone major restructuring to make the stadium an all-seater venue in the 1990s. Overview At 525 feet above sea level it is the eleventh highest ground in the country, and second highest in the English Football League. The pitch is clay underneath the grass, rather than sand. These two factors make the pitch vulnerable to freezing temperatures. It is an extremely dry pitch, which often makes passing football quite difficult. There is also a coal seam under the pitch, and numerous mine shafts dotted around the local area, including many under the park opposite the ground. The Vale Park ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolton Wanderers F
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th century, introducing a wool and cotton-weaving tradition. The urbanisation and development of the town largely coincided with the introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. Bolton was a 19th-century boomtown and, at its zenith in 1929, its 216 cotton mills and 26 bleaching and dyeing works made it one of the largest and most productive centres of cotton spinning in the world. The British cotton industry declined sharply after the First World War and, by the 1980s, cotton manufacture had virtually ceased in Bolton. Close to the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is north-west of Manchester and lies between Manchester, Darwen, Blackburn, Chorley, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several neighbouring ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stan Palk
Stanley Palk (28 October 1921 – 12 October 2009) was an English footballer. An inside-forward, he moved from South Liverpool to Liverpool in 1940. He remained at the club throughout World War II, whilst also serving with the Royal Navy in Mombasa. He played 13 league games for the club after the war, and was a squad member for the First Division title winning season of 1946–47, before joining Port Vale as part-exchange for a £10,000 transfer fee in July 1948. He made 169 appearances in all competitions for the "Valiants", before heading into non-League football with Worcester City, Flint Town, Oswestry Town, and Maghull. Career Palk started his career with South Liverpool, when in 1940 he was invited to train with Liverpool by manager George Kay. He scored 14 goals in 61 games throughout World War II, including one in the Merseyside derby match of April 1944, in the Liverpool Senior Cup. He spent 1944 to 1946 in Mombasa, serving in the Royal Navy. On his return to Anfiel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freddie Steele (footballer)
Frederick Charles Steele (6 May 1916 – 23 April 1976) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Stoke City and England. He also had spells at Mansfield Town and Port Vale as a player-manager, leading Vale to a league title. He remains a legendary figure in the histories of both Stoke and Vale. His nephew is former England cricketer David Steele. Signing with Stoke City in 1931 at the age of fifteen, he set a club record when he scored 33 league goals in the 1936–37 season. During the season his 214-day-long international career also made for impressive reading, as he hit eight goals in six games for England. However a series of misfortunes severely disrupted his playing career. Picking up a serious knee injury in 1937, he retired two years later after suffering from depression – aged just 23. After an improvement in his physical and mental state he resumed his career, only to have it cut short again, this time due to the outbreak of World W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torquay United F
Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay and across from the fishing port of Brixham. The town's economy, like Brixham's, was initially based upon fishing and agriculture, but in the early 19th century it began to develop into a fashionable seaside resort. Later, as the town's fame spread, it was popular with Victorian society. Renowned for its mild climate, the town earned the nickname the English Riviera. The writer Agatha Christie was born in the town and lived at Ashfield in Torquay during her early years. There is an "Agatha Christie Mile", a tour with plaques dedicated to her life and work. The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning lived in the town from 1837 to 1841 on the recommendation of her doctor in an attempt to cure her of a disease which is tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivor Powell
Ivor Verdun Powell, MBE (5 July 1916 – 6 November 2012) was a Welsh football player and manager. He won eight caps for Wales. A wing half, he began his professional career with Queens Park Rangers in September 1937. His career was interrupted by World War II, though he returned to QPR to help them to the Third Division South title in 1947–48. He moved to Aston Villa for £17,500 in December 1948, and played 79 games in the First Division. He was appointed player-manager at Port Vale in July 1951, though was sacked after just four months. He was appointed Bradford City manager in 1952, but was again unsuccessful, and departed in February 1955. He did find success at Carlisle United following his appointment in 1960, leading the club to promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1961–62. He left the club in 1963, and later managed Bath City, before becoming a coach. He was inducted to the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 alongside snooker player Terry Griffiths a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill McGarry
William Harry McGarry (10 June 1927 – 15 March 2005) was an England international association footballer and manager who spent 40 years in the professional game. He had a reputation for toughness, both as a player and as a manager. A right-half as a player, he joined Port Vale following the end of World War II, and spent the next six years with the club. He then moved on to Huddersfield Town in 1951, where he would spend the next ten years of his career. He was an ever-present as Town won promotion out of the Second Division in 1952–53. He retired in 1963, after spending two years as Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic's player-manager. In all he scored 33 goals in 617 league and cup games in an eighteen-year career in the Football League. After winning one England "B" cap in 1954, he went on to win four senior England caps. He also found success as a manager, moving from Bournemouth to Watford in 1963, he was appointed as Ipswich Town manager the following year. Ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Todd
James Todd (19 March 1921 – 21 December 2007) was a footballer from Northern Ireland who played for Port Vale between 1946 and 1953. A half-back, he was "a real terrier type who used to fight for the ball all the time". Career Todd began his playing career with Ards, before playing for the Royal Air Force and then Blackpool, before moving to Port Vale for a then- club-record four-figure fee in October 1946, on the recommendation of Stanley Matthews. He made 31 appearances in the Third Division South in 1946–47, 24 appearances in 1947–48, and 11 appearances in 1948–49. Having slipped out of the first team picture at The Old Recreation Ground, he returned to play 41 games in 1949–50. However, he played only eight games in 1950–51, becoming a fringe player at newly constructed Vale Park. In the summer, manager Gordon Hodgson died, and following Ivor Powell's brief tenure, Freddie Steele took charge of the club in November. Todd played 25 times in 1951–52, and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has been the home of Gillingham Football Club since the club's formation in 1893, and was also the temporary home of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club for two seasons during the 1990s. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international football matches and a London Broncos rugby league match. The stadium underwent extensive redevelopment during the late 1990s, which has brought its capacity down from nearly 20,000 to a current figure of 11,582. It has four all-seater stands, all constructed since 1997, although one is only of a temporary nature. There are also conference and banqueting facilities and a nightspot named The Factory. Despite having invested heavily in its current stadium, Gillingham F.C. has plans to relocate to a n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gillingham F
Gillingham may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Gillingham, Dorset () ** Gillingham railway station (Dorset) ** Gillingham School, a coeducational school situated in Gillingham in North Dorset, England ** Gillingham Town F.C., a football club ** Gillingham (liberty), a former administrative division * Gillingham, Kent () ** Gillingham and Rainham (UK Parliament constituency), existing since 2010 ** Gillingham (UK Parliament constituency), existed from 1918 to 2010 ** Gillingham EMU depot, a train maintenance ** Fort Gillingham, a former fort ** Gillingham railway station (Kent) ** Gillingham F.C., football club * Gillingham, Norfolk () United States * Gillingham, Wisconsin () People * Gillingham (surname) See also * Gillingham F.C. players (1–24 appearances) * Gillingham F.C. players (25–49 appearances) Gillingham Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Gillingham, Kent, playing in EFL League One, the third level of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The length and nature of national service depends on the country in question. In some instances, national service is compulsory, and citizens living abroad can be called back to their country of origin to complete it. In other cases, national service is voluntary. Many young people spend one or more years in such programmes. Compulsory military service typically requires all citizens to enroll for one or two years, usually at age 18 (later for university-level students). Most conscripting countries conscript only men, but Norway, Sweden, Israel, Eritrea, Morocco and North Korea conscript both men and women. Voluntary national service may require only three months of basic military training. The US equivalent is Selective Service. In the Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
