Mystery Sportsman: Port Vale defender played on with the pox

THERE was no doubt about this player's commitment to Port Vale – he even turned out for a game when suffering from chickenpox.

As a central defender, he was an ideal foil for his taller partner and could rarely be faulted either in the tackle or in the air.

He captained a hard-working Vale side and led the club to promotion in his first season at Vale Park before an ankle injury enforced a lengthy stay on the sidelines.

He left Vale after making 112 appearances and moved to a club where he later made a name for himself as a successful manager and was subsequently made a director

A Londoner by birth, he was a northerner by adoption and his easygoing nature off the field made him a well-respected figure both at Vale and elsewhere.

Can you recognise this star Vale defender? Send your answers and comments to John Abberley, All Our Yesterdays, The Sentinel, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5SS.

LAST week's mystery player was the Stoke City striker Keith Bertschin, who joined the club in 1984 when Stoke were sliding towards relegation.

However, Bertschin proved to be one of manager Bill Asprey's best signings at a bargain £50,000 fee, scoring 33 goals in 103 appearances. In one purple patch he scored five goals in two games.

In 1987 he left Stoke for Sunderland and ran up his total to eight league clubs before spending the last three years of his long career with Stafford Rangers.

As a teenager Bertschin had a dream start in 1976, scoring for Ipswich against Arsenal with his very first kick in league football.