Third Division South The pre-season saw expansion for the league, and so the addition of two new teams to the division; nevertheless, only one
promotion place was available for the 24 teams. For Vale, two attacking players were added to the squad;
Syd Peppitt arrived from
Stoke City for £4,000, and
Roland Lewis was signed from
Congleton Town. The season opened with a 2–0 defeat to
Norwich City at
Carrow Road, though the real excitement came five days later on 24 August, when
Vale Park hosted its first league game; 30,196 turned up to see
Newport County beaten 1–0 with a
Walter Aveyard goal. The stadium had cost £50,000 and held 40,000 spectators, though work was still needed to complete the covers. Waterlogging of the Vale Park
pitch caused numerous games to be postponed, as well as abandonment when the team were 5–1 ahead against
Crystal Palace. This meant six home games would be played between 23 April and 3 May. This gave young reserves a chance to impress. The one victory, 2–0 at home to
Exeter City, came on a total quagmire. They finished 12th with 45 points, 25 points short of promotion.
Cliff Pinchbeck proved to be the only regular scorer, with 19 goals, though he was on the transfer list at his own request.
Finances On the financial side, a profit of £5,367 was recorded thanks to a transfer credit of £12,315. Gate receipts had fallen to £27,650, though the wage bill was slashed to £20,063. Leaving the club were new signings Peppitt and Lewis, the former joining
Worcester City. On 16 May, the club hosted
Progrès Niederkorn of
Luxembourg, who were on their British tour, Vale won 4–1. After the game 3,000 tons of soil were removed from the stadium, as a new drainage system was installed. On 14 June,
manager Gordon Hodgson died following a lengthy battle against
cancer, his
funeral at Carmountside was conducted by Reverend
Norman Hallam. His replacement was
Ivor Powell, who was signed as
player-manager from
Aston Villa.
FA Cup In the
FA Cup, the "Valiants" progressed past
Third Division North New Brighton and
Lancashire Combination Nelson with two 3–2 home victories. Drawn against
First Division Potteries derby rivals Stoke in the third round, it was the first competitive derby game since
1933. Vale showed some 'lively attacking' to achieve a 2–2 draw at the
Victoria Ground on 6 January in front of a crowd of 49,500. Vale Park had problems with drainage, and so the
replay two days later had to be played at the Victoria Ground as well – this time, 40,977 fans showed up. Stoke won by the odd goal from
Frank Bowyer, though Vale were consoled by the £2,800 worth of gate receipts they had earned. ==Results==