John Rudge

Quite simply the best manager the club has ever had, and the longest serving. Rudge originally joined the club as coach to John McGrath in January 1980, taking over as caretaker manager in November 1983. He became manager four months later and remained in the role until January 1999, 843 games in charge later.

During his reign, the club achieved three promotions, including twice to what is now the Championship, unique in Vale terms. Also, three visits to Wembley Stadium, winning two trophies - the Autoglass Trophy and the LDV Vans Trophy - and many FA Cup giant killings. He returned to the club as an adviser but became Club President in 2019. A statue to him was unveiled at the ground on his 80^th birthday in October 2024.

Freddie Steele

As a player, Steele was a striker with local rivals Stoke City, for whom he scored what is still the record number of league goals in one season. He gained his first England cap at the age of 19 and scored eight goals in six games for the Three Lions. In 1949, he became the player-manager of Mansfield Town but couldn’t resist the chance to return to his home city when Vale asked him to be their own player-manager in December 1951. In effect, he negotiated the deal on his own, becoming the first player-manager to transfer himself! He took the Vale to runners-up spot in Division Three (North) in 1952/53 and then won the championship a year later, as well as reaching the FA Cup semi-finals.

Steele remained as manager until resigning in January 1957. He was re-appointed in October 1962, but left by mutual consent in February 1965. He later became a publican and was landlord of the Plough Inn in Stoke.

He died at the age of 59 in Newcastle-under-Lyme in April 1976, three days before Vale celebrated their centenary with a game against Stoke City.

Brian Horton

Horton is one of a handful of people to have both played for and managed the Vale. He originally joined the club as a player in July 1970 from Hednesford Town, the transfer fee being a pint of shandy! He became a superb midfield player with over 260 appearances until being sold to Brighton for £30,000 in March 1976, which at the time equalled the club-record fee received. He went on to play for Luton Town and Hull City.

He then became a manager at Hull, Oxford United, Manchester City, Huddersfield Town and Brighton before taking over at the Vale in January 1999. He was in charge when Vale won the LDV Vans Trophy in 2000/01 at the Millenium Stadium, the club’s most recent trophy. He left in March 2004, later managing Macclesfield Town and is often back at the Vale just watching games, as he does at all of his former clubs.

Ray King

King began his career with Newcastle United and also played for Leyton Orient and Ashington before linking up with his brother George, a striker, at the Vale in May 1949. As a young player with Newcastle United, he saved a penalty from Tommy Lawton at Goodison Park and, in doing so, broke both of his wrists. Two years later, he made a comeback with Leyton Orient and broke a wrist in his first game. In his next comeback, he broke his jaw in his first game! Then, his brother George persuaded him to come to Vale and make another comeback.

He was a regular for the first two seasons, but then dropped out of the side being, replaced by Ray Hancock. Another brother Frank was a goalkeeper with Everton. Ray only conceded 21 goals as Vale won the Third Division (North) in 1953/54 and also reached the FA Cup semi-finals. Ray kept 29 clean sheets in the league, a joint Football League record.

King was transferred to Boston United for £2,500 in July 1957. He also managed them as well as Poole Town and Sittingbourne. He also set up a physiotherapy business (where his clients included a Liverpudlian by the name of John Lennon!), and occupied roles for Oxford United (coach), Luton Town and Southampton (scout). He died in Thailand in August 2014 aged 89.

Roy Sproson

A utility defender, Sproson served in the RAF before signing for the Vale in July 1949 after being a junior with Stoke City. His brother Jess had played for the Vale during the war, and that swayed his change of allegiance. He became a regular in the side in 1951 and only missed one game in 1952/53. The following season Vale won the Third Division (North) and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, with Roy again only missing one game as they conceded just 21 league goals.

Roy carried on as a player, winning the Fourth Division Championship in 1959, and was the club’s first-ever Player of the Year in 1967. He retired in 1972 after 22 years as a player at the time with the highest number of appearances in all competitions for one club, 837, since being beaten by John Trollope, Ryan Giggs and Dean Lewington. He turned his hand first to coaching and was then made manager of the Vale between 1974 and 1977. After football, he ran a newsagents shop in Sneyd Green. He died in Stoke-on-Trent in January 1997 aged 66.

His legacy lives on with Sproson Way and Sproson Park either side of Vale Park, and there is a superb statue outside the club’s main entrance.

Phil Sproson

The nephew of Roy Sproson, Phil was a central defender who was signed on professional forms in December 1977. Over the next 12 years, he made exactly 500 appearances for the Vale, a total that has only been beaten by his uncle Roy, also helping the club to three promotions. He became part of football folklore by scoring the second goal in the FA Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur in 1988 that really put Vale on the map. 

He moved to Birmingham City for £50,000 in 1989 and also played for Stafford Rangers and Northwich Victoria. Nowadays, he is a football agent and a regular summariser on Vale games for Radio Stoke. He is mentioned as part of the family trilogy on his uncle Roy’s statue as well as his father Jess.

Tommy Cheadle

Tommy worked at Mossfield Colliery and in the pottery industry before joining the army. Whilst there he was coached by Matt Busby, then a Liverpool player and he secured Tommy a trial there. In 1944, on a battlefield in Holland, Cheadle threw a faulty grenade which went off almost in his hand. Tommy woke up in hospital where he met Ken Fish, PT instructor and Vale trainer. After being demobbed Tommy went to see Ken and got a trial at Vale, which led to him signing professional forms in May 1946.

Solid as a rock, he soon held down a regular place in the Vale defence and became captain. He was known as ‘Wooden Head’ because of his toughness. He was captain of the team that won the Third Division (North) and reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1953/54, the club’s best-ever season.

Cheadle joined Crewe Alex as player coach in July 1957. He hung up his boots at the age of 40 in 1959 and later became a postman in the Porthill area. He died in September 1993 in Bucknall, aged 74. His legacy lives on by the name of the pub on the Hamil Road car park at Vale Park, Tommy’s.

Wilf Kirkham

Kirkham has scored more goals for the Vale than any other player, 164 in 273 senior games to be precise. He joined Vale in 1923 and soon became a goalscoring hero with 33 goals in the 1924/25 season. A hat-trick against Stoke endeared him to the fans and he scored 41 goals in 1926/27, 38 of them in the league, both still club records. In 1929, he joined Stoke for a record £2,800 but returned two years later. He was Vale’s leading scorer six times and has also notched the most hat-tricks with a total of 12. He also played once for the Football League, scoring twice in a 5-1 win over the Irish League.

After football, he was a headmaster in Cobridge, a job which caused his retirement from senior football. He also played part-time for Kidderminster. He died in Bournemouth in October 1974.

Tom Pope

A life-long Vale who fulfilled his dream of not only playing for the club, but going on to score more goals at Vale Park than any other player (62) and ending his career second on Vale’s all-time list of goalscorers with 115. After playing for Crewe Alexandra and Rotherham United, Tom first joined the Vale on loan from the latter in January 2011, making the move a permanent one at the end of the season.

In the 2012/13 he led the line brilliantly as Vale won promotion from League Two, scoring 33 goals, more than anyone else in England, and more impressively it didn’t include any penalties. He moved to Bury in 2015 but returned two years later, and was released at the end of the 2020/21 season. He was the club’s leading scorer six times and, as of 2024, he was the only player to win the Supporters’ Player of the Year award three times. In his senior career, Pope made over 500 appearances, and since leaving Vale he has played for Congleton Town, Witton Albion, Hanley Town and Kidsgrove Athletic, before taking over as manager of the latter.

Tom Holford

One of the most loyal servants the club has ever had, Holford served in a variety of roles for 36 years altogether - even longer than Roy Sproson, which says it all. He began his playing days with 10 years at Stoke, winning one England cap, and six years at Manchester City before joining the Vale in 1914 as player-manager at the age of 36. He retired as a player in 1920 and became the club’s trainer, but an injury crisis meant that he returned for one game in 1924 at the age of 46 years and 68 days, making him Vale’s oldest-ever player and the sixth oldest player of all time in the Football League.

He remained as the club trainer until being made manager in 1932, but was relieved of his duties in 1935, whereupon he became club scout. A cousin of Wilf Kirkham, he retired in 1950 and died in April 1964 at the age of 86.

Martin Foyle

A striker who is one of only three men to score over 100 goals for the Vale alongside Wilf Kirkham and Tom Pope. Foyle began his career with Southampton and also played for Aldershot and Oxford United before signing for the Vale in the summer of 1991 for a club-record fee of £375,000. Ironically, his debut was against Oxford and he scored twice.

He helped the club to win the Autoglass Trophy in 1993 and promotion to the Championship a year later, topping the goalscoring charts on three occasions. He also scored twice for Vale at Wembley in the 1996 Anglo-Italian Cup Final. He retired in 2000, having scored 108 goals for the Vale and became manager of the youth team.

He became first-team manager in February 2004, and at the end of his first season missed out on the League One Play-Offs on goal difference. He left the club in 2007 after 16 years’ service and has since been a coach or manager with Wrexham AFC, York City, Bristol Rovers, Northwich Victoria and Hereford United before roles as a scout for Northampton Town, Motherwell and St Mirren whilst still living in North Staffordshire.

Dean Glover

Arguably the most cultured defender the club has ever had. Glover began his career with Aston Villa and also played for Sheffield United (on loan) and Middlesbrough, before joining Vale in February 1989. Vale supporters were rubbing their eyes in disbelief as the fee was £200,000, which was five times higher than the club’s previous record fee. He had a superb debut in a 0-0 draw against Steve Bull and league leaders Wolves and helped Vale to promotion to the Championship in his first season. He helped them to win the Autoglass Trophy as captain in 1993, and then also promotion back to the Championship in 1994. He was instrumental in the team finishing 8^th in 1997, their highest placing since 1934.

Glover left in 1998 after 430 appearances, the sixth highest for the club, and joined Kidderminster Harriers. He returned to Vale a year later as coach and was assistant manager to Martin Foyle, his best mate, in 2004. He was in charge of the team twice as caretaker manager before being made manager in October 2008. He left at the end of the season but returned as youth coach in 2012 and then chief scout three years later, but left for the final time in 2016. He has since managed Hednesford Town. His son Danny also played for the Vale, one of two father and son combinations to do so.

Neil Aspin

Aspin was a take-no-prisoners defender who would lay everything on the line to stop the opposition from scoring, and was a fantastic player in the club’s glory years of the 1990s, later becoming their manager as well. He made over 200 appearances for the team he supported, Leeds United, before joining the Vale for £140,000 in July 1989. He made over 400 appearances for the Vale in a 10-year stay and helped them to win the Autoglass Trophy in 1993 and promotion to the Championship a year later, as well as winning the Supporters’ Player of the Year twice. He also played in the Anglo-Italian Cup Final at Wembley in 1996 and was an important member of the team that finished 8^th in 1997. After leaving Vale in 1999, he played for Darlington, Hartlepool, Harrogate Town and FC Halifax.

Aspin began his managerial career with Harrogate in 2005 and then had success with FC Halifax and Gateshead before taking over as manager of the Vale in October 2017. Vale only had five points from 11 games in League Two but recovered to avoid relegation. He resigned in January 2019 and has since done corporate work for Leeds United and some scouting in Scotland.

Albert Leake

Leake began his career with Stoke City and also played for the RAF. He was good enough to play six times for England youth and upon being demobbed he signed for the Vale in February 1950. His wages then were £7 a week plus £1 win bonus. He could also play half-back and began to hold down a regular place midway through the 1952/53 campaign, also playing as a wicket keeper and batsman for Norton Cricket Club and Staffordshire. He was instrumental in the 1953/54 season as the club won the Third Division (North) and also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup where he scored seven goals in eight of the cup games. That included two against FA Cup holders Blackpool and one in the semi-final itself.

Albert stayed with the Vale, winning a Fourth Division Championship medal in 1959 as a central defender, until January 1961 when he moved to Macclesfield Town. Two years later, he became their manager, but then worked as a school attendance officer between 1966 and 1995. He died in July 1999 in Norton aged 69.

Harry Poole

Henry ‘Harry’ Poole was a midfield player who signed for the Vale in 1953 as an amateur. He made his debut in 1956 and was a vital member of the team that won the Fourth Division Championship in 1958/59, scoring a career best 16 league goals. In the early 1960s, he developed a knack of bending the ball from a free-kick, before the Brazilians and David Beckham were well known for it. He remained loyal to the club despite them turning down a bid from Tottenham Hostpur for his services and was a regular fixture in the side throughout the 12 years he was in the first team, making almost 500 senor appearances, a figure still only topped by Roy and Phil Sproson.

After being given a free transfer in 1968, he joined Sandbach Ramblers but retired a year later and became a season ticket holder at the Vale, standing or later sitting at the Bycars End with his son and grandchildren for over 50 years until ill health prevented him from attending. That surely makes him unique as a league footballer. He died in September 2023, aged 88.

Robbie Earle MBE

One of Vale’s all-round top players, mainly a midfielder who could also play up front. After beginning his career with Stoke City, Earle joined the Vale in 1982 and made his first-team debut aged 17. He went on to be a regular in the side and helped the club to promotion in 1982/83. He was moved up front and scored 36 goals in two seasons and the club were promoted in 1985/86 and then again in 1988/89 although he had returned to a midfield role by that stage. He scored the goal that took the club to promotion in the Play-Offs against Bristol Rovers.

He helped the club to establish themselves in what is known nowadays as the Championship but after over 350 senior appearances he moved to Wimbledon, then a top-flight club, for £775,000 in June 1991. He also made over 350 appearances for Wimbledon, mainly in the Premier League and appeared for Jamaica in the 1998 World Cup Finals, scoring once. He was made an MBE in 1999 and retired from playing to take up a role in the media. In 2011, he moved to America to front their Premier League coverage, a job he still does to this day.

Darren Beckford

Beckford was a goalscorer supreme for the Vale. Darren began his career with Manchester City and played for Bury on loan before joining Vale on loan in March 1987. Three months later, he made it a permanent move for a fee of £15,000, half of which was raised by a supporters’ Buy a Player Fund. His goalscoring prowess soon shone and he scored 23 times as Vale won promotion to the Championship in 1989 including a hat-trick in the semi-final against Preston. He also topped the 20-goal mark in the next two seasons making him still the only Vale player to top the 20 tally in three successive seasons since Wilf Kirkham in the 1920s. He scored 81 goals for the Vale in just over 200 appearances.

Earle was sold to Norwich City in June 1991 for £925,000, later playing for Oldham, Hearts, Preston and Walsall amongst others. He represented England five times at U17 level and both his son Jason Beckford and his stepson Danny Webber both went on to play for the Vale. Darren later worked for the Prince’s Trust in Manchester.

Mark Chamberlain

Chamberlain was one of the best wingers the club has ever had and went on to prove it on the international stage. Born in Burslem, he joined the Vale as a schoolboy, also playing for England at that level, and turned professional in 1978. He soon broke into the first team alongside older brother Neville, and scored his first goal in his fourth appearance aged 17, the fourth youngest goalscorer in the club’s history. Mark shone in what was a struggling team and he tormented wingers all over the country and he was chosen as the Daily Star’s Fourth Division Player of the Season in 1981/82.

Vale knew he was destined for higher things and in August 1982 he was sold to Stoke City along with goalkeeper Mark Harrison for £180,000. His talent was such that he became a star in the First Division and was chosen for the full England squad a matter of months after leaving the Vale and scored on his debut against Luxembourg in December 1982, going on to win eight caps. He left Stoke in 1985 to play for Sheffield Wednesday, Portsmouth, Brighton and Exeter City. After his playing days were over, he coached in the Portsmouth academy. His sons Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain are both professional footballers.

Chris Birchall

Birchall is the club’s most-capped player with 26 appearances for Trinidad & Tobago and is also the only player on the Vale’s books to appear in the World Cup Finals tournament. He originally joined Vale as an attacking midfielder at the age of nine, in 1993. After turning professional in 2000, he soon became a member of the first team but shot to fame in 2005 when it was discovered that he was eligible to play for Trinidad & Tobago as it is his mother’s birthplace. He made his international debut soon afterwards and went on to score a vital goal in the Play-Offs as they qualified for the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany.

He played in all three of their group games, one of which was against England, to go down in Vale history. That upped his profile and he joined Coventry City for £325,000 in July 2006. He later played for St Mirren, Carlisle United and Brighton before moving to America in 2009 to join LA Galaxy, where he became friends with someone called David Beckham. He came back to the Vale in January 2013, helped the club to promotion from League Two. Since retiring he gained a broadcasting degree, ran a Soccer School for youngsters and took up refereeing.

Ray Walker

A classy midfielder who began his career with Aston Villa before originally joining the Vale on loan in 1984. Two years later, the move was made permanent for a fee of £12,000 and Vale’s fortunes started to rise. In January 1988, he scored an unforgettable 25-yard shot against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup as Vale won 2-1 to really put themselves on the map. The following season, Vale won promotion to what is now the Championship as Walker starred in midfield and won the Player of the Year trophy twice in four years. He scored a crucial goal in an FA Cup win at top-flight Derby County and then Vale regained their place in the Championship in 1994. He helped the club to reach the Anglo-Italian Cup Final in 1996 and a year later they finished 8^th in the table, their highest placing since 1934.

Ray left Vale in 1997 after 440 senior appearances and went on to be player-manager of Leek Town and Newcastle Town. He joined the staff at the academy at Crewe Alexandra in 2001, later becoming the head of the Football in the Community for them, a position he still holds.

Jon McCarthy

An excellent right winger who began his career with Hartlepool United and played for York City before signing for the Vale in July 1995 for a club record fee at the time of £450,000. He soon became a first team regular in the Championship side and scored the winning goal to knock FA Cup holders Everton out of the competition in 1996. He also helped Vale to reach the Anglo-Italian Cup final the same year, won the Supporters’ Player of the year award and then helped the team finish 8^th in 1996/97. Whilst at the Vale he won the first few of his 18 caps for Northern Ireland.

After over 100 games, McCarthy joined Birmingham City in September 1997 for £1.5 million, another club record. He unluckily broke his leg three times in five years at Birmingham before returning to the Vale for a short spell in 2002. He later played for Doncaster, York, Carlisle, Hucknall Town and Northwich Victoria. He managed Chester for a spell and became assistant manager at Connahs Quay Nomads as well as being a physical education teacher.

Steve Guppy

A superb left winger who began his career with Southampton and then helped Wycombe Wanderers into the Football League before a move to Newcastle United. Guppy joined the Vale for £225,000 in November 1994 and scored twice on his debut against Millwall to begin a three-year love affair with the supporters. He helped the club to hold their own in the Championship and was instrumental in the FA Cup victory over holders Everton in 1996 before which he had to run the last mile to the ground because of stationary traffic.

The club also reached the Anglo-Italian Cup Final the same year and his profile surged so much that he joined Leicester City in February 1997 for £850,000. He helped Leicester to win the League Cup, also gaining a full England cap, and later moved to Celtic where they won the League. He later played for Leeds, Stoke City, Wycombe again, DC United, Stevenage and Rochester Rhinos in America. After his playing days ended, he coached in America, at Sunderland and for the Republic of Ireland national side before a spell at Vale under Neil Aspin in 2018/19.

Gareth Ainsworth

An all-action winger who ended up being the club’s record buy and sale. Ainsworth began his career with Northwich Victoria before joining Preston and then Cambridge before rejoining Preston. One of his early games for Preston was ironically at Vale Park when he played as a substitute goalkeeper. He then moved to Lincoln from where he signed for the Vale in September 1997 for a record £500,000. His all-action style made him an instant favourite with the Vale faithful and he won the Player of the Year award at the end of his first season.

Vale turned down a bid of £1 million from Leeds for Gary but in November 1998 a £2 million bid from Wimbledon, then a Premier League club, proved too good to resist. He later had a short spell at Cardiff City before beginning a seven year stay at QPR in 2003. In 2010, he joined Wycombe, a stay that was to last 13 years, the last 11 as manager. His retired from playing in 2013, with his last game being ironically against the Vale. He took Wycombe from League Two to the Championship before leaving to manager QPR in 2023. In November 2024, he became manager of Shrewsbury Town. Away from football, he is a rock singer.

Tony Naylor

A diminutive striker who scored 89 goals for the club, 69 of them in the Championship, to highlight just how good he was. Naylor began his career with Droylsden before having four years at Crewe Alexandra, joining the Vale in July 1994 for £150,000. He formed a superb partnership with Martin Foyle but was equally effective as a lone striker, helping the club to reach the Anglo-Italian Cup Final and knock holders Everton out of the FA Cup in 1996. In 1996/97, Tony was their leading scorer with 20 goals as the club finished 8^th in the Championship, one of the three seasons he topped the charts. In 2001, he was in the side that won the LDV Vans Trophy at the Millenium Stadium and was brought down for the penalty that led to our equaliser. His last goal for the Vale was the last one ever scored at Oxford’s Manor Ground before it was demolished.

In 2001, he left the Vale for Cheltenham and then played for Telford before re-joining the Vale for a short spell in 2005 although he didn’t make an appearance. He has since raised money for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia through organising friendly games, Vale against Stoke on two occasions.

Ian Taylor

An outstanding goalscoring midfielder. Taylor began his career with Moor Green before joining the Vale in May 1992 for an initial £15,000 that later rose to £25,000 based on appearances. He was originally intended to be one for the future and biding his time, but he was so good in pre-season that he began the season in the team and soon excelled in the role with a knack for scoring. He topped scored in 1992/93 with 19 goals and helped the side win the Autoglass Trophy Final at Wembley as well as winning the Player of the Year award. He scored another 16 in 1993/94 as Vale were promoted to the Championship.

At the end of that season, he was sold to Sheffield Wednesday for £1 million, becoming Vale’s first-ever seven-figure sale. Later in 1994 he signed for Aston Villa, the club he has always supported, staying nine years and helping them to win the League Cup and be runners-up in the FA Cup Final. He later played for Derby County and Northampton Town. Since retiring he has become a Football Ambassador for Aston Villa as well as commenting in the media.

Nathan Smith

A two-time Player of the Season and two-time promotion winner at Vale Park, the local lad racked up more than 400 appearances in the famous black and white, having first come up through the ranks in the Vale Academy.  

‘Smudge’ signed his first professional contract at the club in June 2014, and the defender would make no fewer than 53 appearances in all competitions in his debut season, also featuring in all 54 matches in 2017/18. 

By March 2019, he had reached 150 appearances for the club before the age of 23, the youngest player to reach the landmark since Billy Paynter in 2005. 

Smith was a key part of the side that won promotion in 2022, starting in that famous win over Mansfield Town at Wembley Stadium. He was named captain ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, one during which he made his 400th appearance for the club, and featured a further 27 times in 2024/25, helping Vale secure an instant return to League One.