Port Vale 1888-89

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The 1888-89 season was Burslem Port Vale’s first season and only season of football in The Combination. This was a league set up during the early days of English football for teams across Northern England and the Midlands. It was established by clubs who had been excluded from the main Football League, initiated by Crewe Alexandra secretary J. G. Hall, and was announced at the Royal Hotel in Crewe.

The clubs in attendance were Small Heath Alliance, Walsall Town Swifts, Derby Midland, Notts Rangers, Burslem Port Vale, Leek, Crewe Alexandra, Newton Heath, Witton, and Blackburn Olympic. While the Football League quickly proved a success, the Combination lacked central organisation, with poor planning and unfulfilled fixtures.

Games were left to individual clubs, which resulted in confusion, as it was unclear whether matches were friendlies or competitive. The Combination failed to complete its first season, finishing in April 1889 without a winner.

During this period, the business Burgess and Leigh moved to Middleport Pottery by the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1889. Following the deaths of Frederick Rathbone Burgess and William Leigh, the business continued with the support of their sons, Edmund Leigh and Richard Burgess. The Leigh family took sole control of the business in 1912 when Richard Burgess passed away. The trademark “Burleigh”, used from the 1930s, is a combination of the two names.

In 2010, Burleigh was acquired by Denby Holdings Limited, the parent company of Denby Pottery. A year later, The Prince of Wales stepped in to help with emergency repair works needed at Middleport Pottery – his charity, HRH The Princes Regeneration Trust, offered the £9 million support that they needed to keep production going.