Port Vale FC is an English football club based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Port Vale is one of two English league clubs not to be named after a geographical location (the second being Arsenal). Port Vale was formed in 1876, following a meeting at the Port Vale House, from where the club took its name. They played their football at Limekiln Lane, Longport and from 1880 at Westport. The club moved to Burslem in 1884, changing its name to Burslem Port Vale in the process, they played at Moorland Road before moving into the Athletic Ground in 1885. They were founder members of the Football League Second Division in 1892.  In 1896, having had to seek re-election for the third time in only four seasons, Burslem Port Vale lost their League status and returned to the Midland League. The club dropped 'Burslem' from their name in 1907 and moved into their new home of The Old Recreation Ground in 1912.  They returned to the Football League in October 1919, taking over the fixture list of Leeds City in the Second Division. Port Vale made little impact and were relegated in 1929 to Division Three (North) although they returned as champions the following season, going on to finish fifth in the Second Division in 1931, their highest ever league position. In 1936 they went down again and for the next eleven years they played variously in the Northern or Southern sections of the Third Division owing to their central location. In 1954 Vale romped to the Third Division (North) championship and reached the FA Cup semi-final only to drop back into Division Three (South) in 1957. The following season Vale were founder members of the new Fourth Division, winning the title at the first attempt. In 1968 they were expelled from the Football League because of financial irregularities, but they were immediately voted back in again. Promotion came in 1970 and eight seasons were spent in the Third Division before Vale dropped back into the Fourth in 1978. During the 1980s they were promoted and relegated with some regularity but it was as a Third Division club that their fortunes improved in 1988. After beating Spurs in a Fourth Round FA Cup-tie, Vale secured promotion to Division Two via the play-offs. Despite a set back in 1992 when they were relegated, Vale bounced back in 1994 and remained in the new First Division (previously the Second) until 2000 when they were relegated to Nationwide Division Two. In 2008 they dropped again, this time into League Two (the fourth tier of English football). The club twice entered administration in 2003 and 2012.  The decline was arrested when manager Micky Adams achieved automatic promotion from League Two in the 2012-13  season, though they were relegated back into League Two at the end of the 2016-17 season. They returned to league One via the play-offs at the end of the 2021-22 season.