Bobby Moore vs Tommy McLaren: here’s a couple of clippings from a Port Vale scrapbook – including an image of the Vale’s 1973 clash with West Ham United.
The FA Cup third-round game between Port Vale and West Ham United took place at Vale Park in 1973 in front of a crowd of 20,619. The game ended in a narrow 1-0 victory for the Hammers taking them into the fourth round.
The defining photograph below shows Port Vale’s battling midfielder Tommy McLaren taking on England legend Bobby Moore as the Valiants mount an attack.
Bobby Moore vs Tommy McLaren
The next clipping shows McLaren again – this time scoring against Wrexham in the league. This game took place earlier in the 1972-73 season and ended in a 3-2 win for the Vale with the midfielder netting the winner. The other Vale goalscorers were Bob Mountford and John James.
Tommy McLaren – Port Vale FC Cult Hero
You may also be interested in our Port Vale cult hero feature on midfielder Tommy McLaren. You can read it here
This scrapbook with Port Vale FC press cuttings from the late 1960’s and early 1970’s was kindly provided to OVF by a long-standing Port Vale supporter.
I recently watched a re run of the 1966 World Cup final where Bobby Moore stood out. I was old enough to remember Bobby giving as good as he got against Pele in the World Cup in 1970. Against Vale in 1973 he genuinely struggled. The photograph really summed up his afternoon. Vale played brilliantly with Tommy McLaren producing a stand out performance. The very least Vale deserved was a replay. The FA Cup really meant something in those days with over 20000 present at Vale Park.