It may surprise some people – particularly given it’s been almost a century since our last encounter - but we have indeed met Chelsea 14 times before, all in the old Second Division, nowadays called the Championship.
Chelsea were only formed in March 1905, so 1905/06 was their first season of league football, and they first met the Vale in October 1905 at the Athletic Ground in Cobridge.
The goalkeeper was William 'Fatty' Foulke (you could say that in those days), who also played for England. He came up against the Vale seven years earlier when playing for Sheffield United, as non-League Vale defeated the First Division leaders in the FA Cup, and Mr Foulke sat down and cried at the end of that game.
It’s not known if he also cried as Vale beat Chelsea 3-2 in their meeting in 1905. The return game at Stamford Bridge finished 7-0, so we won’t dwell on that. Vale have visited Stamford Bridge on seven occasions, losing six of them, but the other one was the last time Vale played there in November 1928 and ended 3-3.
Vale’s record goalscorer, Wilf Kirkham, gave Vale a 15th-minute lead, but George Biswell equalised two minutes later. A further two minutes elapsed before Albert Thain put the Blues ahead. Kirkham scored his second of the game just after the half-hour mark, but five minutes before the break, Biswell put Chelsea back in front. Jack Simms earned Vale a draw four minutes from time.
In the return at the Old Recreation Ground in Hanley in April 1929, Albert Pynegar scored the only goal of the game as Vale won 1-0.
Sadly, Vale were relegated at the end of that season and never met Chelsea again – until now...
Thanks to Club Historian, Phil Sherwin, for the info above!
