Reuben Vine (12 September 1903 – 13 January 1969) 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 scored 11 goals from 48 appearances in the

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 ...

playing as an

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

between 1929 and 1931. He was on the books of

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

without playing for their League team, and played

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

for

Stanley United Stanley United Football Club were an English association football club which participated in the Northern Football League, Northern League from 1910 to 1974. The club also participated in the Wearside Football League, Wearside League from 1988 to ...

and Eden Colliery Welfare.

Personal life

Vine was born in 1903 in Leadgate,

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. His father, Joseph, was a coal miner originally from

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, and his mother, Barbara Ann ''née'' Day, was a local girl. By the time of the 1911 Census, Vine's father was dead and his mother worked as a charwoman to support her five young sons. Vine married Phyllis May Barham in

Ashbourne, Derbyshire Ashbourne is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district in Derbyshire, England. Its population was measured at 8,377 in the 2011 census and was estimated to have grown to 9,163 by 2019. It has many historical buildings and independent sho ...

, in 1938. The

1939 Register The National Registration Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 91) was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. The initial National Registration Bill was introduced to Parliament as an emergency measure at the start of the Second World War. The ac ...

finds the couple living in

Cheddleton Cheddleton is an ancient parish and village in the Staffordshire Moorlands, near to the town of Leek, England. History The earliest reference to the village of Cheddleton is in the Domesday Book when it was held by Roger de Montgomery, Earl o ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, where Vine is working as a mental nurse at the county asylum. His death in 1969 at the age of 65 was registered in the Cheadle district, which includes Cheddleton.

Football career

Vine played football for

and Eden Colliery Welfare before joining

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated t ...

club

in 1929. He came into the first team for the

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

fixture against

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 ...

, and scored with his first touch of the ball in League football. Vine played twice more over the festive period, then returned to the side on 25 January and scored five goals from five matches during February. He retained the left-wing position to the end of the season, and Darlington retained his services for 1930–31. In September, Vine was left out of the side for two matches to accommodate triallist Tommy Duff, who was not taken on, but was a regular thereafter until he was injured during a match against

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

in March 1931. He regained fitness, but not his place, George Hurst being preferred initially, and then newcomer Mike Westgarth. Vine returned in place of the injured Westgarth to score the only goal after two minutes of the visit to

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

on 11 April, but it was Westgarth who completed the season. He was given a free transfer at the end of the season, and signed for another Northern Section club,

, who were without an outside left after the departures of Jimmy Talbot and Albert Taylor. However, it was another new arrival, Dicky Boland, who "found his place on the Gateshead side without much difficulty"; by early October, he was "playing at the top of his form", and he did not miss a game until the following February. Vine saw out the season in the reserve team. The financially struggling club retained only nine players, and Vine was not among them.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vine, Reuben 1903 births 1969 deaths People from Leadgate, County Durham Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Stanley United F.C. players Eden Colliery Welfare F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players English Football League players Place of death missing 20th-century English sportsmen