Stanley Palk (28 October 1921 – 12 October 2009) 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 ...

. An

inside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the rol ...

, he moved from South Liverpool to

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in 1940. He remained at the club throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, whilst also serving with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

. 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 Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

as part-exchange for a £10,000

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 ...

fee in July 1948. He made 169 appearances in all competitions for the "Valiants", before heading into

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 s ...

with

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City ...

, Flint Town,

Oswestry Town Oswestry Town Football Club was a football club from Shropshire, playing at Victoria Road. They joined the Birmingham League in 1924 and switched to the Cheshire County League in 1959. In 1975 they made the move to the Southern League before ...

, and

Maghull Maghull ( ) is a town and civil parish in Sefton, Merseyside (historically a part of Lancashire). The town is north of Liverpool and west of Kirkby. The area also contains Ashworth Hospital. Maghull had a population of 20,444 at the 2011 Cen ...

Career

Palk started his career with South Liverpool, when in 1940 he was invited to train with

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

George Kay George Kay (21 September 1891 – 18 April 1954) was an English football player and manager of Luton Town, Southampton and Liverpool. The highlight of his playing career was when he captained West Ham United in the first FA Cup final to be pla ...

. He scored 14 goals in 61 games throughout

, including one in the

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the football matches between Everton and Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it is the longest running top-flight derby in England ...

match of April 1944, in the

Liverpool Senior Cup The Liverpool County Football Association Senior Cup, commonly known as the Liverpool Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament involving teams from the city of Liverpool, England and surrounding areas. It is the County Cup competition o ...

. He spent 1944 to 1946 in

, serving in the

. On his return to

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

he made thirteen competitive appearances, featuring in the First Division title winning season of 1946–47, and the disappointing 1947–48 campaign. He signed for a then club record

fee of £10,000 in July 1948. Palk scored four goals in 42

Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

games in the 1948–49 campaign, scoring his first senior goal against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

in a 2–1 win at

Elm Park Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority for re ...

on 1 September. He then scored three goals in 46 appearances in 1949–50, in the last ever season of football at

The Old Recreation Ground The Old Recreation Ground was a football stadium located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England, and home to Port Vale F.C. from 1913 to 1950. It was the sixth ground the club used. Structure and facilities The stadium was in rather bad conditio ...

. During a 2–1 defeat at

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

on 17 December 1949, he caused a minor dispute as his successfully converted

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

passed through the net. He hit six goals in 49 appearances in the 1950–51 season, missing just one league game. This was the first season of football at the newly opened

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, ...

. Following the death of manager Gordon Hodgson,

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 inte ...

was appointed as manager, before he was replaced by

Freddie Steele Freddie Steele (December 18, 1912 – August 22, 1984) was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington. He was recognized as the National Boxing Association (NBA) Middleweight Champion of the World between 1936 ...

in December 1951. Palk played 31 games in 1951–52, scoring one goal, before he was released by the club. He had made 169 appearances (159 in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and 10 in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

) for the "Valiants", scoring 14 league goals. He later played for

, Flint Town and

Personal life

Palk had a son, Gary, and two daughters in Alex and Nicola. He also had four grandchildren (Rob, Rachel, Caroline and Natalie) and one great-grandchild (Oliver) before his death at

Royal Liverpool University Hospital The Royal Liverpool University Hospital (RLUH) is a major teaching and research hospital located in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the largest and busiest hospital in Merseyside and Cheshire, and has the largest emergency department of it ...

on 12 October 2009.

Palk or Polk?

Palk has often been recorded as Polk.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Liverpool *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First D ...

: 1946–47

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palk, Stan 1921 births 2009 deaths Footballers from Liverpool English people of Cornish descent English men's footballers Men's association football inside forwards South Liverpool F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Royal Navy personnel of World War II Port Vale F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Flint Town United F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players Maghull F.C. players English Football League players English football managers