Five of the best: Port Vale goalkeepers who played prior to WW2

Teddy Peers

The former Wolves keeper may have been 38 years old when he joined the Valiants but he made a considerable impact during his two season stay. Peers joined a formidable defence which kept a club record seven consecutive clean sheets. A confident crowd pleaser, Peers was known to have such faith in his defence that he would lean on his goalpost and chat to fans as Vale attacked. He also became the first ever Port Vale full International when he picked to play for Wales. In total, Peers made 58 appearances for the club between 1921 and 1923 and won four caps for his country.

George Heppell

The goalkeeper was the great grandfather of recent Port Vale captain Tom Conlon and a long-standing keeper for the Valiants. Joining in 1937, arguably his best form came after the war when he was a regular pick between 1946 and 1949. He stayed with the club until 1952 making 203 appearances for his only League club. It was a tally which surely would have been more but for the outbreak of World War Two which saw Heppell join up and fight in the army before returning to the club in 1946.

Tom Baddeley

The first of two Port Vale keepers to go on to play for England, Baddeley was born in Burslem and joined the Valiants in 1893 after joining from Burslem Swifts. He was an ever-present during the 1894-5 and 1895-6 seasons. Top-flight Wolves noticed his form and he moved to Molineux for the princely sum of £50. He ended up making nearly 300 appearances for Wolves and winning five England caps.

George Holdcroft

File this one under the “ones which got away” category. Holdcroft was born in Leek and played for local amateur clubs before joining Port Vale in August 1926. However, after only ten games in two seasons for the club he was mystifyingly released and allowed to join Darlington. It proved to be a huge error of judgement. A regular for Darlo, Holdcroft was signed by first division Everton in 1931 and went on to earn two England caps as well as lift the FA Cup in 1938.

Thomas Fern

In 1924, the Valiants replaced Tommy Lonsdale, who had retired at the age of 32, with an even older player. Thomas Fern, who had played for Lincoln City and Everton. Fern joined the club at the grand old age of 38 but he swiftly became a regular as Vale boss Joe Schofield preferred his experience over rookie keepers Sidney Brown and Robert Wallis. A regular pick, Fern’s career was ended by injury and without it, it’s likely his tally of 90 appearances for the club would have been even higher. He’s pictured top-right in the photo.