Port Vale Tartt qualified as a teacher at Alsager College before he joined
Port Vale, initially on trial, in June 1972. His made his debut as a
substitute in a 7–0 drubbing by
Rotherham United at
Millmoor on 26 August 1972, and made his first full debut on 26 September in a 4–0 defeat to
Bournemouth at
Dean Court. Tartt impressed, despite the embarrassing score-lines (goalkeeper
Alan Boswell was held responsible) and became a regular in the side, making 32 appearances in
1972–73, as the "Valiants" missed out on
promotion out of the
Third Division by four points. He had to be pulled away by the police from
Wrexham's
Arfon Griffiths on the full-time whistle of Vale's 1–0 win at
Vale Park on 1 October 1973, in what was described as an 'ugly' game. Tarrt played a total of 45 games in
1973–74, retaining his first-team place as
manager Gordon Lee departed in January, and was replaced by
Roy Sproson. He played 38 games in
1974–75, as Vale again finished four points short of the promotion places. He scored his first senior goal on 13 September 1975, in a 3–3 draw with
Southend United at
Roots Hall, and went on to become something of a regular scorer in
1975–76, hitting five goals in 48 games. Tarrt scored four goals in 31 appearances in
1976–77 before he was sold to
Chesterfield for £15,000 in March 1977. He said that "[manager]
Arthur Cox taught me more in six weeks than I'd learnt in five years at Port Vale". The "Spireites" finished one place above Port Vale in
1976–77, before going to within eight points of the promotion places in
1977–78. However, they dropped to just one place and four points above the drop zone in
1978–79 before rising to one place and one point off the promotion places in
1979–80. New manager
Frank Barlow took the
Saltergate club to another unsuccessful promotion push in
1980–81, as they finished two places and three points behind promoted
Charlton Athletic, and only five points behind champions
Rotherham United. He was a key member of the side that lifted the last ever instalment of the
Anglo-Scottish Cup, despite
Rangers manager
John Greig calling him "the worst full-back in Europe". Tarrt hit four goals in 43 games in
1981–82. He was transfer-listed in December 1982 following a bust-up with McGrath. However, he retained his first-team place, hitting two goals in 48 appearances as Vale won promotion in
1982–83, playing alongside former Chesterfield teammate
John Ridley. Tarrt hit three goals in 29 games in
1983–84 but lost his place in March 1984 after
John Rudge replaced McGrath as manager.
Relegated back into the basement division, Rudge attempted to rebuild the squad, and so gave Tartt a
free transfer in May 1985, following two goals in 15 games in
1984–85. He marked his last appearance for the "Valiants" on the final day of the campaign with a goal from the halfway line against
Scunthorpe United at the
Old Showground. He later played for
Shepshed Charterhouse and
Matlock Town in the
Midland Football Alliance and
Northern Premier League, and returned to teaching. He agreed to assist
Stuart Murdoch at
Wimbledon, but Murdoch was sacked before Tartt was due to start. He taught at
Hope Valley College until retiring at the age of 63, citing excessive paperwork requirements. ==Style of play==