Frederick Lewis Donaldson (7 April 1937 – 24 July 2018) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a full-back for

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, Macclesfield Town and Stafford Rangers. He won the Fourth Division title with Port Vale in 1958–59.

Career

Port Vale

Donaldson was born in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

and graduated through the junior squad at local club

to sign first-team forms in July 1954. He made his senior debut on 4 May 1955, in a 1–0 win over Lincoln City at

Sincil Bank Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England, which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since t ...

on the last day of the 1954–55 season. However, he had to wait until the start of the 1957–58 campaign before he played another game; by this time the "Valiants" had been

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

from the Second Division to the Third Division South, and

Norman Low Norman Harvey Low (23 March 1914 – 21 May 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the son of Scottish international footballer, Wilf Low. A central defender, he played for Newcastle United between 1931 and 1933, before three ...

had replaced Freddie Steele as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. Donaldson played 27 league games at right-back throughout the campaign, but featured only 11 times in the 1958–59 season as Vale won the Fourth Division title. He featured just eight times in the Third Division in the 1959–60 season, but claimed four goals against

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

(2), and Newport County. He left

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

in August 1960, when he was sold to

for a £2,000 fee.

Later career

Donaldson made his debut for the "Grecians" in a 0–0 draw with

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, ground of Newcastle United F.C. * St James Park (Exeter), England, ground of Exeter City F.C. * St James Park, ground of Brackley Town F.C., ...

on the opening day of the 1960–61 season. He went on to score six goals in 36 Fourth Division games as Glen Wilson's finished 21st in the Fourth Division, before departing at the end of the campaign after remaining on the

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

-list for four months. He then played 20 Fourth Division games for

in the 1961–62 campaign, as the "Seals" finished bottom of the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. He then left the

Deva Stadium Deva Stadium is an association football stadium which is the home of Chester F.C., the effective successor club to the liquidated Chester City. The stadium straddles the England–Wales border at Sealand, on the outskirts of Chester. The ...

and later played for

Cheshire County League The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales. Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Fo ...

sides Macclesfield Town and Stafford Rangers.

Later life

Donaldson became a sales rep after retiring as a player, selling carpets and floorings. He married Iris and had two children, Linda and David. He remained a keen crown green bowler from his teenage years up until his death following a short illness on 24 July 2018.

Style of play

Port Vale teammate

Colin Askey Colin Askey (born 3 October 1932) is an English former footballer who played on the right wing. He made 341 league and cup appearances in a 15-year career in the English Football League, scoring 40 goals. His son, John Askey, played for and man ...

described Donaldson as "a nice footballer, someone who liked to get the ball down and play", able to play in various positions from his preferred spot at right-back as well as inside-forward and right-half.

Career statistics

Honours

Port Vale *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

: 1958–59

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Fred 1937 births 2018 deaths Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football wing halves Men's association football inside forwards Port Vale F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen