The heroes of ’54 get the magazine treatment
The excellent football nostalgia magazine Backpass has an extensive feature on Port Vale’s 1954 Iron Curtain side including an interview with Vale great Colin Askey.
Port Vale’s legendary 1954 team known as the Steele or Iron Curtain side (referring both to the team’s manager Freddie Steele and the side’s parsimonious defence) reached the FA Cup semi-finals and also finished as champions of the Third Division. The side used just nineteen players throughout the season, the majority of which were locally-born.
The side set two Football League records – thirty clean sheets in a season and conceded just 26 goals in a season. They also set several club records including being undefeated at home all season, losing just three games all season and recording a 42 game unbeaten run.
Backpass is a bi-monthly publication dedicated to football nostalgia. The latest issue isn’t available at time of publication but should be available from this link soon – http://www.backpassmagazine.co.uk/shop.htm