We take a trip back to 1938 and Port Vale’s first-ever Football League clash with Swindon Town – which included a dramatic start to the second-half for the Valiants…
The 1938-39 season
Tom Nolan
Port Vale were switched to their first-ever season in the Third Division (South) and an ageing side struggled through the season. Vale’s cause wasn’t helped by the shock departure of manager Tom Morgan part-way through the campaign while Vale’s cup ambitions also came to an unfortunate end. A new competition – the Third Division League Cup had been introduced and Vale progressed to the semi-finals, only for the competition to be cancelled.
As for League matters, veteran Tom Nolan finished as top-scorer with seventeen goals in his last season for the club. It was the fourth time the striker had finished as top-scorer. Midfielder George Hannah was the only ever-present.
The match
Here’s a photo and a couple of match reports of the game…
The Daily Mirror
Sunday Mercury
Who was Arthur Jepson?
Port Vale had signed the highly rated goalkeeper from Grantham Town in the summer. He was picked ahead of rival George Heppell and made 38 appearances during the 1938-39 season.
He was also a regular during the next season until it was halted by the start of World War Two. In September 1946, following the end of World War Two and having played 92 games for the Vale, he was sold to local rivals Stoke City for a £3,750 fee, as Vale manager Billy Frith believed Heppell to be a superior goalkeeper.
Jepson also had a distinguished cricket career. It wasn’t unusual in those days for sportsmen to have separate summer and winter sports. He took over 1,000 first-class wickets for Nottinghamshire and then went on to be an umpire, presiding over four Test matches.
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