A look at Port Vale’s club record 9-1 win over Chesterfield in 1932

How it stood ahead of the game…

The 1932-33 season was Vales third successive in the Second Division and marked the end of an era for the club as legendary goalscorer Wilf Kirkham was playing his final season for the club.

Pushing Kirkham for a starting place was Stewart Littlewood. The 27 year-old was in his second spell at the club. Unable to dislodge Kirkham during his first spell, the striker, then boasting an incredible record of eighteen goals in nineteen games, was sold to Oldham Athletic in 1928 for £1,300, then a substantial sum.

With Kirkham approaching the twilight of his career, Littlewood was brought back for £1,550 in 1930. At the time of the Chesterfield match, the two Vale strikers, Kirkham and Littlewood had three goals apiece as they battled for a starting place.

The game itself…

The Valiants had won two of their opening three home games before this fixture. It took place on the 24th September at the Old Recreation ground in front of a crowd of 9,950.

Here’s the result as reported in the Sunday Sun:

Here’s the Sunday Mercury report:

And here’s how the Sentinel newspaper reported on it:

How the season ended…

How the Vale team lined-up at the start of the 1932-33 season

The Valiants followed that record win with well… a 7-0 away defeat at Burnley and a 5-0 loss at Notts County in their next away game. However, a good run of form over the festive period stabilised things.

Kirkham won the individual scoring honours with fifteen goals compared to Littlewood’s ten. It mean that Wilf ended his Valiants career with a stunning 164 goals from just 276 games. It was the sixth time Kirkham had been the season’s top-scorer. Both strikers left at the end of the season. Kirkham retired at the age of 32 to take up a teaching post while Littlewood moved on to Bournemouth.

The Valiants finished in 17th place, four places above relegation while Chesterfield went down in 21st place.

Photos of some Port Vale players in action during the 1932-33 season

The final League table