Clint Boulton

Clinton William Boulton (born 6 January 1948) is an English former professional football. A defender, he made 506 league appearances in a 14-year career in the Football League.

Clint Boulton

Personal information
Full name	Clinton William Boulton[1]
Date of birth	(1948-01-06) 6 January 1948[1]
Place of birth	Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Playing position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1963–1965	Port Vale
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1965–1971	Port Vale	244	(11)
1971–1979	Torquay United	262	(34)
	Minehead
Total		506+	(45+)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He began his professional career with Port Vale in August 1965, and went on to play 267 league and cup games for the club, helping the "Valiants" to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1969–70. He was sold on to Torquay United for a fee of £10,000 in November 1971. He remained with the "Gulls" for the next eight years, playing 286 games in all competitions. He left the club in 1979 and later played for non-league side Minehead.

Playing career

Boulton was born in Stoke-on-Trent and began his career as an apprentice with local Football League club Port Vale in July 1963.[1] He chose to begin his career at Vale rather than Potteries derby rivals Stoke City as he reasoned he had a better chance of breaking into the first team for the lower ranked Vale.[3] He played five games of the 1964–65 season, as the "Valiants" were relegated out of the Third Division under Jackie Mudie.[1] Boulton scored on the last day of the season, in a 2–1 win over Walsall at Vale Park.[1] This made him the youngest goalscorer in the club's history.[4] He turned professional in August 1965 at the age of 17, and made 20 appearances in 1965–66.[1] He became a mainstay of the defence by 1966–67, featuring 39 times, scoring three goals.[1] He played 42 games under Stanley Matthews, however he "gave away two needless penalties" in a defeat to Portsmouth at Fratton Park in the FA Cup, and The FA also charged the club with paying Boulton and Gordon Logan illegal bonuses.[1] He remained at the club under new boss Gordon Lee, and made 46 appearances in 1968–69.[1] He was then an ever-present in the 52 game 1969–70 season, also scoring six goals, as Vale were promoted out of the Fourth Division after securing a fourth-place finish; he played consistently alongside defenders Ron Wilson and Roy Sproson, and goalkeeper Keith Ball.[1] He played 47 games in 1970–71, scoring two goals.[1] Sixteen games into the 1971–72 season, in November 1971, he was sold on to Torquay United for a fee of £10,000.[1] He played a total of 267 games for Port Vale in all competitions, scoring 12 times.[1]

He replaced Ian Twitchin at right-back and quickly settled into the side, playing all but the last four of the remaining games of the season as Torquay struggled unsuccessfully to avoid relegation out of the Third Division. He began the 1972–73 season as first choice in the centre of defence, though soon moved back to right-back in a reshuffle of the team. He was an ever-present until the local derby against Exeter City on Boxing Day 1972, but played just five games in the remainder of the season. Manager Jack Edwards was replaced by Malcolm Musgrove, and Boulton was an ever-present in 1973–74. The "Gulls" continued to battle in the bottom half of the table in 1974–75, before reaching ninth in 1975–76. Musgrove was replaced by Frank O'Farrell, who was in turn replaced by Mike Green, in a chaotic campaign in 1976–77. He was named the club's Player of the Season in 1976–77. Boulton remained a regular until the end of the 1977–78 season, as Torquay again finished ninth. However, he played just eleven times the 1978–79 season, with his final game for Torquay coming on the final day of the season, a 1–0 defeat away to Rochdale. He left Plainmoor that summer, and was awarded a testimonial by Torquay with a friendly match against Southampton on 15 January 1980. In total he played 286 games for the club in league and cup competitions, scoring 36 goals.[5] He later played for Southern League side Minehead.

Post-retirement

Since retirement from football he has owned a company in Devon that produces blinds and awnings.[6]

Statistics

Source:[7]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Port Vale	1964–65	Third Division	5	1	0	0	0	0	5	1
	1965–66	Fourth Division	18	0	0	0	2	0	20	0
	1966–67	Fourth Division	35	2	3	1	1	0	39	3
	1967–68	Fourth Division	39	0	1	0	2	0	42	0
	1968–69	Fourth Division	41	0	4	0	1	0	46	0
	1969–70	Fourth Division	46	6	5	0	1	0	52	6
	1970–71	Third Division	45	2	1	0	1	0	47	2
	1971–72	Third Division	15	0	0	0	1	0	16	0
	Total		244	11	14	1	9	0	267	12
Torquay United	1971–72	Third Division	24	0	2	0	0	0	26	0
	1972–73	Fourth Division	28	9	2	0	1	0	31	9
	1973–74	Fourth Division	46	9	1	0	1	0	48	9
	1974–75	Fourth Division	36	7	1	0	0	0	37	7
	1975–76	Fourth Division	44	2	1	0	6	2	51	4
	1976–77	Fourth Division	32	3	0	0	2	0	34	3
	1977–78	Fourth Division	41	4	1	0	3	0	45	4
	1978–79	Fourth Division	11	0	2	0	0	0	13	0
	1979–80	Fourth Division	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		262	34	11	0	13	2	286	36
Career total			506	45	25	1	22	2	553	48

Honours

Individual

• Torquay United F.C. Player of the Year: 1976–77

Port Vale

• Football League Fourth Division fourth-place promotion: 1969–70[8]

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 36. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
2. Rollin, Jack (1980). Rothmans football yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 366. ISBN 0362020175. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
3. "Aston Villa v Port Vale, 1971". onevalefan.co.uk. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
4. "21 things you didn't know about Port Vale". The Sentinel. 30 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
5. Edwards, Leigh; Jon Gibbes, John Lovis (1999). Torquay United, The Official Centenary History, 1899–1999. p. 104, Yore Publications.
6. Maul, Rob (13 August 2006). "Caught in Time: Port Vale pre-season tour of Czechoslovakia, 1967". The Times. London. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
7. Clint Boulton at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
8. Kent, Jeff (1990). "Surviving on a Shoestring (1969–1979)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 227–257. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.