Where is Port Vale? I thought to myself having never been to the ground. So I went to my map and searched, but I couldn’t find it. So, I got out my magnifying glass thinking it must be a smaller place than what I had been looking for, but no luck, I still could not see it. I scratched my head and asked that head why could I not find it? Just before I stormed back to WH Smith and started demanding my money back for selling me a moody map, I thought, let me just check the club website. It will tell me where the club is located, and lo and behold it does not exist. It’s not an actual place, not a real city, town, or even village. Confused, I started thinking, how can a football club exist without the place it is named after existing? The reason is, I found out, is that the club was not named after a place, but the venue of their inaugural meeting. The meeting to form a football team was held at Port Vale House, situated in a suburb of Stoke-On-Trent in 1876. I can’t think of any other teams not named after an actual place, but if one exists please let me know.
The name Port Vale is in reference to the valley of ports along the 93 ¹⁄₂ mile long Trent and Mersey canal. After moving to Burslem in 1884, the club changed its name to Burslem Port Vale FC and became founder members of the Football League Division Two in 1892. Burslem was dropped from the name after the club moved several miles away, but they chose not to readopt the name when they moved back to Burslem, and their present ground in 1950. Many thanks, go to Secretary Bill Lodey, for replying to my letter.
The badge currently in use has been on a journey that has brought it back to where it started. In 1956 the shirts sported the Burslem coat of arms. (PIC 1) The shield is divided into four gold and red quarters, with two vertical and two horizontal stripes interlaced. In the first and fourth quarters a Portland Vase, in the second, a scythe, and in the third a silver fret. The crest is a sheaf of grain and a fleur-de-lis, between two branches of laurel. The Portland vase represents the local industry, and the town’s association with Josiah Wedgwood. Josiah was born in Burslem on July 12 1730, and is considered to be the finest exponent of English ceramic art. A little more classy than your car boot Clarice. The scythe is from the arms of the Sneyd family. The scythe also appears in the Tunstall arms, not the pub, but the family coat of arms. The silver fretted cross in the third quarter is from the Audley arms. The scythe and fretted cross also allude to the original woodland nature of the district. The sheaf in the crest has me puzzled as no local families or dignitaries use it in their arms. Straw is used in some aspects of pottery so it may allude to that. There is evidence that badges existed on the shirts prior to the arms. The first one is the shield from the arms with an old lace-up football and a Staffordshire knot on top. (PIC 2)
The West Brom page has more on the Staffordshire knot. The badge before the 1956 arms was a Staffordshire Knot, with the clubs initials. (PIC 3) I had to make this picture up myself, as the only image I could find was very rough but it is accurate. In the 1970s, the initials were introduced on their own. This was a craze at the time and Leeds’ badge pays more than just a passing resemblance to this badge. (PIC 4) See the Leeds page to compare. Clubs like Norwich use the club’s nickname to make up the badge and very nice it is too. However, I have unearthed a badge that ain’t so nice. In fact it looks quite comedic in its design and could have been unveiled on April fool’s Day. (PIC 5) The club nickname stems from the Vale and is “The Valiant’s”, and as you can see the V has a valiant knight, probably tilting at a windmill, but only succeeding in spearing the horses eye with his lance. The next two badges were the result of competitions, a popular way to involve supporters in the design of the club badge.
The first from 1982, has the shield quartered, with a kiln, upon which is a Staffordshire Knot and the year formed, 1876. The club’s nickname appears in a banner beneath the kiln. (PIC 6) The next badge came in 1986, with another fan lucky enough to watch the team play behind his badge. (PIC 7) The badge has a banner surrounding a shield, with the club’s name and year founded. In the top right of the quartered shield is the Staffordshire knot. In the bottom left quarter is a kiln, and this is symbolic, as Burslem is reputed to be the mother town of the Potteries. The other two quarters are taken up by the club’s colours, which makes a nice change to the just black and white badges of yore. The present badge reverts back to not only the black and white, but the original coat of arms badge in picture 2, and so the circle of life is complete. (PIC 8) It differs, inasmuch as it is surrounded by the laurel leaves that adorn the crest in the full arms, see picture 1. It also has the club’s name in the scroll, and year formed beneath the scroll. Vale Park is the home of Port Vale and holds 19,000 all-seated. Port Vale’s local rivals are just as potty Stoke City. Find out more on “The Valliant’s” by pottering down to www.port-vale.co.uk
