Stoke
1915–16 season
ChairmanMr E.Reynish
ManagerJoe Schofield
StadiumVictoria Ground
Lancashire Section Primary Competition8th
Midland Section Secondary Competition4th
Top goalscorerBob Whittingham
(26)
Highest home attendance14,000 vs Bolton Wanderers
(5 February 1916)
Lowest home attendance3,000 vs Various teams

The 1915–16 season was Stoke's first season in the non-competitive War League.[1]

With the start of World War I, all Football League football was cancelled.[1] In its place were formed War Leagues, based on geographical lines rather than based on previous league placement. Stoke contested the Lancashire Section in the Principal Tournament, and the Southern Division of the Midland Section in the Subsidiary Tournament. However, none of these were considered to be competitive football, and thus their records are not recognised by the Football League.[1]

Season review

With Peter Hodge returning to his family in Scotland former club great, Joe Schofield returned to the club in 1915 as manager for the War-time seasons and with a number of first team players joining the army Stoke fielded a number of 'guest' players as did many other clubs.[1] For the whole war Stoke played in the Lancashire section and in the 1915–16 season ended up in mid-table position of 8th while in the Midland Section Secondary Competition Stoke finished 4th.[1] Stoke's best result was a 7–1 win over Chesterfield Town and guest forward Bob Whittingham was top scorer with 26 goals to his name.[1]

Final league table

Lancashire Section Primary Competition

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Manchester City 26 16 3 7 61 35 1.743 35
2 Burnley 26 14 5 7 71 43 1.651 33
3 Blackpool 26 14 3 9 54 41 1.317 31
4 Everton 25 15 0 10 59 42 1.405 30
5 Oldham Athletic 25 13 3 9 52 44 1.182 29
6 Liverpool 26 11 7 8 48 42 1.143 29
7 Stockport County 26 13 3 10 47 43 1.093 29
8 Stoke 26 10 7 9 43 46 0.935 27
9 Southport Central 26 9 6 11 41 41 1.000 24
10 Bury 26 10 3 13 46 52 0.885 23
11 Manchester United 26 7 8 11 41 51 0.804 22
12 Bolton Wanderers 26 9 3 14 48 65 0.738 21
13 Rochdale 26 7 5 14 34 56 0.607 19
14 Preston North End 26 4 2 20 23 67 0.343 10
Source:

Midland Section Secondary Competition

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Nottingham Forest 10 7 0 3 28 12 2.333 14
2 Notts County 10 5 3 2 16 12 1.333 13
3 Leicester Fosse 10 3 3 4 15 19 0.789 9
4 Stoke 10 4 0 6 21 18 1.167 8
5 Derby County 10 4 0 6 23 28 0.821 8
6 Chesterfield Town 10 3 2 5 15 29 0.517 8
Source:

Results

Stoke's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Lancashire Section Primary Competition

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
14 September 1915Preston North EndH3–16,000Smith, Jones, Whittingham
211 September 1915Stockport CountyA1–34,000Smith
318 September 1915LiverpoolH2–28,000Whittingham (2)
425 September 1915BuryH3–27,000Whittingham (2), Herbert
52 October 1915Manchester UnitedH0–06,500
69 October 1915BlackpoolA1–14,000Herbert
716 October 1915Southport CentralH2–03,000Whittingham, Tempest
823 October 1915Oldham AthleticA3–12,000Whittingham (2), Herbert
930 October 1915EvertonH3–24,000Whittingham, Smith, Hargreaves
106 November 1915Bolton WanderersA1–24,000Smith
1113 November 1915Manchester CityH1–07,000Parker
1220 November 1915RochdaleH1–14,000Whittingham
1327 November 1915BurnleyA2–34,000Whittingham, Hargreaves
144 December 1915Preston North EndA3–23,500Whittingham (2), Ellis
1511 December 1915Stockport CountyH0–23,000
1618 December 1915LiverpoolA0–27,500
1725 December 1915BuryA2–42,000Herbert, Whittingham
181 January 1916Manchester UnitedA2–18,000Hargreaves, Ellis
198 January 1916BlackpoolH3–17,500Whittingham, Watkin (2)
2015 January 1916Southport CentralA1–12,000Whittingham
2122 January 1916Oldham AthleticH2–16,000Whittingham (2)
2229 January 1916EvertonA1–44,000Whittingham (pen)
235 February 1916Bolton WanderersH1–114,000Parker
2412 February 1916Manchester CityA2–410,000Own Goal, Ellis
2519 February 1916RochdaleA1–33,000Whittingham
2626 February 1916BurnleyH2–213,000Whittingham, Smith

Midland Section Secondary Competition

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
14 March 1916Chesterfield TownA0–32,000
211 March 1916Nottingham ForestH0–14,000
318 March 1916Leicester FosseA1–27,500Whittingham
425 March 1916Notts CountyH3–06,000Whittingham (2), Smith
51 April 1916Derby CountyA2–44,000Smith (2)
68 April 1916Chesterfield TownH7–17,000Herbert (3), Ellis, Turner, Boxley (2)
715 April 1916Nottingham ForestA1–34,000Morris
822 April 1916Leicester FosseH1–06,000Own Goal
924 April 1916Derby CountyH6–16,000Own Goal, Whittingham (2), Herbert, Boxley, Harrison
1029 April 1916Notts CountyA0–34,000

Squad statistics

Pos. Name Matches
Apps Goals
GKEngland Richard Herron 360
DFEngland G. Cameron 20
DFEngland George Clarke 20
DFWales Albert Groves 20
DFEngland Alec McClure 20
DFEngland Alec Milne 10
DFEngland George Smart 320
DFEngland George Turner 361
DFEngland Billy Twemlow 10
MFEngland Frank Bentley 110
MFEngland George Handley 20
MFEngland Billy Harrison 71
MFWales Joe Jones 331
MFEngland A. Morris 61
MFEngland Charlie Parker 282
MFEngland Jack Shelton 260
FWEngland David Boxley 23
FWEngland Billy Briscoe 20
FWEngland Matthew Burton 10
FWEngland S. Cooper 10
FWEngland Albert Ellis 204
FWEngland Reginald Forrester 10
FWEngland Thomas Greaves 70
FWEngland Henry Hargreaves 223
FWEngland Billy Herbert 358
FWEngland Jack Peart 10
FWEngland Dick Smith 237
FWEngland Billy Tempest 131
FWEngland Billy Tompkinson 40
FWEngland G. Ward 10
FWEngland Arthur Watkin 32
FWEngland Albert Whitehurst 10
FWEngland Bob Whittingham 3226

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
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