Phil Griffiths (footballer)

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Phil Griffiths
Griffiths in 1929
Personal information
Full name Philip Henry Griffiths[1]
Date of birth (1905-10-25)25 October 1905[1]
Place of birth Tylorstown, Wales[1]
Date of death 14 May 1978(1978-05-14) (aged 72)[1]
Place of death Bucknall, Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Tylorstown
Wattstown
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1926–1931 Port Vale 85 (30)
1931–1933 Everton 8 (3)
1933–1934 West Bromwich Albion 0 (0)
1934–1935 Cardiff City 12 (1)
Folkestone Town
1939–1945 Port Vale 0 (0)
Total 105 (34)
International career
1931 Wales 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Griffiths in 1928

Philip Henry Griffiths (25 October 1905 – 14 May 1978) was a Welsh international footballer. He won his only cap for Wales in 1931. He started and ended his career at Port Vale, and also had spells with Everton, West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City, and Folkestone Town. He played in the Southern League and in every division of the Football League, winning the Third Division North title with Port Vale in 1929–30, and winning the First Division title with Everton in 1931–32.

Career[edit]

Griffiths played for Tylorstown and Wattstown and, after failing a trial with Stoke City, joined Port Vale following a trial period in August 1926.[1] He had walked 170 miles (270 km) to Stoke-on-Trent from South Wales to win a contract at one of the Potteries clubs.[2][3] He played one Second Division game in the 1926–27 season, and featured 11 times in the 1927–28 campaign.[1] He scored his first goal in the Football League on 14 April 1928, in a 3–0 win over Blackpool at The Old Recreation Ground.[1] He scored against rivals Stoke City in a 2–1 defeat at the Victoria Ground on 15 September, and went on to play six matches in the 1928–29 season, claiming his third career goal on the last day of the season, in a 5–0 home win over Bristol City.[1] The "Valiants" were relegated, and Griffiths established himself in the first-team in the Third Division North, claiming 14 goals in 31 appearances as Vale won promotion as champions in the 1929–30 campaign.[1] He went on to score 13 goals in 39 games in the 1930–31 season, and was sold to Everton for a £6,000 fee in May 1931.[1]

Griffiths helped the "Toffees" to win the First Division title in 1931–32. Never a first-team regular, he left Goodison Park at the end of the 1932–33 campaign, and moved on to West Bromwich Albion. He helped the "Throstles" to post a seventh-place finish in the First Division in 1933–34. He then left The Hawthorns to return to his native South Wales, and turned out for Third Division South side Cardiff City in the 1934–35 season. He played for Folkestone Town in the Southern League after departing Ninian Park. He returned to Port Vale in October 1939, where he was also made the "A" team coach.[1] However, with World War II he was called into active service during the 1944–45 season.[1]

Career statistics[edit]

Source:[4][5]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Port Vale 1926–27 Second Division 1 0 0 0 1 0
1927–28 Second Division 11 1 0 0 11 1
1928–29 Second Division 6 2 0 0 6 2
1929–30 Third Division North 30 14 0 0 30 14
1930–31 Second Division 37 13 2 0 39 13
Total 85 30 2 0 87 2
Everton 1931–32 First Division 7 3 0 0 7 3
1932–33 First Division 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 8 3 0 0 8 3
West Bromwich Albion 1933–34 First Division 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cardiff City 1934–35 Third Division South 12 1 0 0 12 1
Career total 105 34 2 0 107 34

Honours[edit]

Port Vale

Everton

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 120. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. ^ Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 91. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3.
  3. ^ Fielding, Rob (23 August 2020). "Cult hero 71: Phil Griffiths". onevalefan.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  4. ^ Phil Griffiths at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  5. ^ "Profile". evertonfc.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  6. ^ Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Glory to Despair (1929–1939)". The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 124–150. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
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