45 years ago today

[Conrad]

When i think of that season always think of the Aston Villa games a 4 all draw at vale park in which Roy Cross managed to score a blinding own goal.Then a 2 nil defeat at villa park in the wet when Bruce Rioch was at his best and just a bit nasty.

 

It was either that villa game or Bolton the same season, can't remember which, that was my first game.

[Tosh]

I saw my first ever Vale game. Notts County 2 Vale 1. If only I'd realised what I was letting myself in for!

 

Did Eddie misunderstand when you told him you wanted to go and see the Magpies?

[Aussie Rules]

I saw my first ever Vale game. Notts County 2 Vale 1. If only I'd realised what I was letting myself in for!

 

So the game was on a Wednesday then?

 

45 years eh! One day a bright eyed young woman stepped out to savour the delights of the Burslem Caravan, next thing we know she is sharing a magical mini memoir with us.

 

'Onya Jean

[geosname]

Thank you Jean... that player list brought back some names I had forgotten about and times I hadnt thought about for ages.

 

My first was 1958 ish..... Vale won 7 - 1 I think, Jackson [i think] scored but I cant remember against who or anything else about the team or match....

its probably the only good think my old man ever did for me... I was never into playing the game or even watching if Im being honest... but there was something magical about Vale, something that always made me check scores and league position... although I cant remember much else I can remember doing it.. There was always an expectancy when I could get to the games myself although I dont remember much about them now they are still pleasant tugs at the past.

 

Thanks again Jean.... it brought back a lot of smiles from the past

[hamilboy]

First match for me was boxing day 1955 barnsley at home 3 years later the best xmas for a young vale fan ever when we beat Gateshead 8 nil on boxing day at vale park,then two or three days later we beat them 4 nil away.Oh for somebody to find the net like that in our current side always loved the strip we played in them days aswell.

[mikey]

Next week, on the 6th May it will be my 50th anniversary of when I saw us entertain Hartlepool.It finished 0-0 in front of 3178.I obviously wasn't put off by the lack of goals.

[Aussie Rules]

Did Eddie misunderstand when you told him you wanted to go and see the Magpies?

 

Maybe there was a promise of a fish'n'chip dinner afterwards Tosh

[TheSage]

I haven't scanned the record books for the exact details but I think my first game must have been early in the 1962 season. I remember (I think) the team wearing black and amber and I'm fairly sure they scored 4 goals that match.

I went with my uncle and cousin, who lived in Tunstall, and we walked up Scotia Road then across the fields and into Bycars. I sat on a barrier and I'm told wasn't really sure what was going on, thinking that they were still in the pre-match kick around when in reality it was 20 minutes in! The naivity of a 6 year old, eh? Most folk seemed to wear scarves then and there were even some of those old wooden rattles around.

 

Perhaps, checking the record books now, it was against Colchester in September.

 

The programmes then had an orange cover. I can remember that. I've kept a lot of them but don't honestly know where some of them now are.

 

My earliest, exact memories were of Gordon Lee's 1969 promotion team. It's funny how I can recite their names in the blink of an eye and some of my favourite players of all time were from that era (Tommy Maclaren, Roy Sproson, Johnny Green, Clinton Boulton - not there for long).

 

Seems like only yesterday.

[smada]

1971 for me in the FA Cup v Darlington, Sammy Morgan scoring a last minute worldie (only they didn't have such a term then). Goodness 46 years of pain!

[Santa]

Is that programme correct? Were our change colours blue shirts and white shorts that year?

[Timothius]

was the Notts County game where there was loads of trouble and someone lit a fire in the paddock?

[Fosse69]

My first game at Vale Park was August 1950, Newport County we won 1-0, how many of the 30,000 still alive?

[Aussie Rules]

My first game at Vale Park was August 1950, Newport County we won 1-0, how many of the 30,000 still alive?

 

Me too, thanks to my dad taking me

[Essex Vale]

This is a good nostalgic post. I knew the anniversary of my first game was close to this day. I just checked the exact date it was 56 years and 3 days ago, on 24 April 1961. Score from that game Stoke City 0 Port Vale 1. I am pleased to say that I have never seen Stoke beat us. I lived all over the country and in three different countries so did not attend all games with Stoke in that time, but I got to most of them. I am not a Stoke hater. The game I remember the most was from 1970 an end of season friendly after our promotion and just as Stoke were really coming to their peak. We beat them 3-2. We wore Wedgwood Blue (someone earlier in the thread commented on that).

 

That team was Gordon Lee's heroes, we might not have had the most skillful bunch of players but we were so tough to beat and our commmitment was relentless. My all time Vale hero is from that era, John James. He was far from being the most gifted player but he just had that indefinable something.

[Fosse69]

Me too, thanks to my dad taking me

We didn't realise there were so many more fans in Burslem than Hanley, but the gate dropped to 18,000 for the next game. Standing on the Hamil as young lads, so long ago.