Roy Sproson
|
Sproson statue outside Vale Park | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roy Sproson | ||
| Date of birth | 23 September 1930 | ||
| Place of birth | Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England | ||
| Date of death | 24 January 1997 (aged 66) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Youth career | |||
| Trent Vale | |||
| Stoke City | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1949–1972 | Port Vale | 760 | (30) |
| Total | 760 | (30) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1974–1977 | Port Vale | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Roy Sproson (23 September 1930 – 24 January 1997) was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts (and 5 substitute appearances) for Vale between 1950 and 1972. This includes 128 consecutive appearances between April 1954 and March 1957. He is also 16th on the all-time Football League appearance list.
Sproson stayed with Port Vale through its peak in the early 1950s and the challenging period of the late 1960s, when the club was near the bottom of the English Football League. He played under eight different managers before becoming the manager himself from 1974 to 1977. As a relic of an era when players often spent their entire careers with a few clubs, Sproson's appearance record for Port Vale is unlikely to be surpassed. He concluded his career with approximately 350 more appearances for the club than his closest rival and teammate of 15 years, Harry Poole.