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Albert Leake

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Albert Leake
Personal information
Full name Albert George Leake[1]
Date of birth (1930-04-17)17 April 1930[1]
Place of birth Smallthorne, Staffordshire, England[1]
Date of death 24 July 1999(1999-07-24) (aged 69)
Place of death Norton le Moors, Staffordshire, England
Position(s) Half-back
Youth career
Moorland Road Youth Club
RAF
Stoke City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1950–1961 Port Vale 269 (34)
1961–1967 Macclesfield Town 208 (9)
Total 477 (43)
Managerial career
1963–1967 Macclesfield Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Albert George Leake (17 April 1930 – 24 July 1999) was an English footballer who played as a half-back.

He spent the entire 1950s with Port Vale, as the club enjoyed an exciting period of their history. He helped the "Valiants" to the Third Division North title in 1953–54 and Fourth Division title in 1958–59. After a total of 43 goals in 293 league and cup games, he left the club in 1961 for non-League Macclesfield Town, a club he served as manager from 1963 to 1967. He guided the club to a Cheshire County League and Cheshire Senior Cup double in 1963–64.

He also played cricket for Staffordshire in the Minor Counties Cricket Championship between 1955 and 1960. He was a right-handed batsman who fielded as a wicket-keeper.[2]

Career

[edit]

Leake played for Stoke City and the RAF before joining Port Vale from Stoke in February 1950.[1] He made his debut on 24 March 1951, in a 3–1 win over Bristol City at Ashton Gate.[1] Signed and given his debut by Gordon Hodgson, the manager's early death meant that Leake had to win a regular first-team place under new boss Freddie Steele.[1] He played eight Third Division South games in 1951–52, scoring his first senior goal on 1 September, in a 1–1 draw with Watford at Vale Park.[1]

He became a first-team regular from December 1952, and scored four goals in 26 games in 1952–53, as the "Valiants" finished as runners-up of the Third Division North.[1] He hit 20 goals in 48 appearances in 1953–54, as Vale won the Third Division North title and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.[1] He was the scorer of the FA Cup semi-final goal against West Bromwich Albion in Vale's 2–1 defeat and also had an equaliser disallowed for offside.[1] He had previously scored five of Vale's six goals from the Third Round onwards that were enough to defeat Queens Park Rangers, Cardiff City, Blackpool, and Leyton Orient.[1]

Leake scored six goals in 30 games in 1954–55, as Vale retained their Second Division status.[1] He hit four goals in 38 games in 1955–56, before losing his first-team place to Harry Poole.[1] He hit four goals in 22 appearances in 1956–57, as Vale suffered relegation despite the best efforts of new boss Norman Low.[1] He featured 34 times in 1957–58, and was an ever-present in the 1958–59 season as the club won the Fourth Division title.[1] He scored three goals in 39 games in 1959–60; however, he lost his first-team place in April 1960.[1] He did not play a Third Division game in 1960–61, and was instead transferred to Macclesfield Town in January 1961.[1] Two years later, he was appointed as Macclesfield's new manager, and using firm discipline, he led the club to the Cheshire County League and Cheshire Senior Cup double in 1963–64. They went on to finish second in 1964–65, third in 1965–66, and fifth in 1966–67.[3] Upon losing his position he joined Goldenhill Y. & A. as a player. He worked as a school attendance officer between 1966 and 1995.[4] He died at Norton le Moors in Staffordshire on 24 July 1999.

Career statistics

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[5]
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Port Vale 1950–51 Third Division South 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1951–52 Third Division South 8 2 0 0 0 0 8 2
1952–53 Third Division North 24 4 1 0 0 0 25 8
1953–54 Third Division North 40 13 8 7 0 0 48 10
1954–55 Second Division 27 5 3 1 0 0 30 6
1955–56 Second Division 36 4 2 0 0 0 38 4
1956–57 Second Division 22 4 0 0 0 0 22 4
1957–58 Third Division South 32 0 2 0 0 0 34 0
1958–59 Fourth Division 46 0 1 0 0 0 47 0
1959–60 Third Division 33 2 5 1 0 0 38 3
Total 269 34 22 9 0 0 291 43
Macclesfield Town 1960–61[6] Cheshire County League 20 2 0 0 1 0 21 2
1961–62[7] Cheshire County League 38 1 1 0 7 0 46 1
1962–63[8] Cheshire County League 41 1 2 0 5 0 48 1
1963–64[9] Cheshire County League 40 2 5 0 11 0 56 2
1964–65[10] Cheshire County League 35 1 5 0 4 0 44 1
1965–66[11] Cheshire County League 26 0 2 0 5 0 33 0
1966–67[12] Cheshire County League 8 2 4 0 2 0 14 2
Total 208 9 19 0 35 0 262 9
Career total 477 43 41 9 35 0 553 52

Honours

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Port Vale

Macclesfield Town

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 170. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. ^ "Player profile: Albert Leake". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  3. ^ "Profile". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. ^ Sherwin, Phil (2013). Men of Steele. Hanley, Staffordshire: Pass. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-9926579-1-8.
  5. ^ Albert Leake at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  6. ^ "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  12. ^ "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ Sherwin, Phil; Askey, Steve (2013), Men of Steele: The story of Port Vale's stunning 1953/54 season, Pass Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9926579-1-8
  14. ^ Kent, Jeff (1990). "Fame and Fortune (1950–1959)". The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 171–196. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
  15. ^ a b c d "Silkmen Archives – Cheshire League – Overview". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
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