The little-known Port Vale striker capped by England days after leaving the club

A prolific striker of the 1930’s, Port Vale’s Harry Roberts earned an England cap just a few weeks after departing the club.

Born in Barrow in 1907, Roberts began his career with his local side and soon showed an ability to find the back of the net. He moved on to spells with Chesterfield and Lincoln City and was top-scorer at the latter with 21 goals during the 1929-30 season.

His form attracted the attention of the Valiants who tabled a £100 fee for the player. Here’s the Sentinel report on the striker signing in June 1930.

Roberts had a slow start to his Vale career after being unable to force his way into the 1930-31 side. This was primarily due to the form of veteran strikers Sam Jennings and Albert Pynegar who had netted 49 times between them the previous season. However, when Pynegar put in a transfer request and was granted a move to Chesterfield in October, Roberts was given his chance. He certainly took it. He’d scored three times by the end of 1930 and continued that form into the new year, ending the season with eleven goals from 26 appearances.

His form had attracted the interest of Millwall, especially as Roberts had scored in both games against the London side. The Valiants netted a substantial profit on the £100 they had paid earlier in the season as this Sentinel report confirms:

The move to Millwall came on the 30th April 1931 and just sixteen days later, the striker was wearing an England shirt. Roberts was called up for a friendly game against Belgium, which England won 4-1 with Roberts scoring one of the goals. As Roberts had played just a solitary game for Millwall, it’s highly likely that had Vale not accepted the bid from the London side then he would have become Vale’s first England International. Here’s the Sunday Mirror’s report on the England game:

The striker spent five years at Millwall before a final move to Peterborough United. He retired in 1938 aged 31 with a tally of 95 goals from 310 games plus that solitary England cap (and goal). Roberts passed away in Torbay, aged 77, in 1984.