thumb|Kirkham in a 1928 Port Vale squad photo
Wilfred Thomas Kirkham (26 November 1901 – 20 October 1974) was an English footballer who holds four goalscoring records at Port Vale. His 153 league goals and 164 goals in all competitions are both records, as are his tally of 38 goals in the 1926–27 season and his total tally of 13 competitive hat-tricks. A cousin of Tom Holford, he was noted for his "Kirkham Special" hook shots, intelligent football and prolific scoring record.
After spending time with Cobridge Church and Congleton Town, he graduated as a teacher. Splitting his time between teaching and playing football, he turned professional with Port Vale in 1923. After six prolific seasons with the "Valiants", he was sold on to rivals Stoke City for a £2,800 fee after the Vale suffered relegation out of the Second Division. He scored 30 goals in 51 games for the "Potters" before returning to Port Vale in January 1932, who had now regained their Second Division status. He added 19 goals in 51 appearances before announcing his retirement in the summer of 1933. His combined tally in his ten years at both Stoke-on-Trent clubs is 194 goals in 327 games. He later advanced his teaching career when he became a headmaster.
Playing career
Port Vale
Kirkham was born in Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent, and progressed from a promising schoolboy footballer through Cobridge Church and Congleton Town before heading to Sheffield to go through teacher training. Upon his return, numerous clubs approached him, but Kirkham joined local side Port Vale after a successful trial in April 1920.
He turned professional in August 1923, making his debut on 27 October at Elland Road in 3–0 defeat by Leeds United. He scored his first senior goal on 19 January 1924, in a 3–1 win over Coventry City at Highfield Road. He hit hat-tricks against Grimsby Town, South Shields, Notts County, and Middlesbrough, and also hit four in a 7–1 win over Fulham. In the FA Cup, he earned the Vale a replay against Arsenal with the equaliser in a 2–2 draw before the tie was lost at Highbury.
He never rediscovered his record-setting form, though he still hit 14 goals in 40 games in 1927–28. He was also briefly rested, as Stewart Littlewood found a short period of good form. Though he scored 15 goals in 32 appearances in 1928–29, hitting a hat-trick against Reading, the club suffered relegation into the Third Division North. Kirkham remained in the Second Division, after he transferred to Stoke City for a £2,800 fee; this was a club record for Stoke.
Stoke City
Kirkham continued his impressive scoring record with the "Potters" and hit a hat-trick past Nottingham Forest as he posted 15 goals in 27 games in 1929–30. He then a hit-trick past Oldham Athletic, and went on to score 14 goals in 23 appearances in 1930–31. However, he broke his leg on the opening day of the 1931–32 season, in a 2–1 home win over Chesterfield. For both Potteries clubs he scored a total of 194 goals in 327 competitive games, an average of a goal every 1.7 games.
Later life
Upon his retirement from the game, Kirkham became head teacher of Cobridge C.E. School. He also played part-time football for Kidderminster Harriers in the Birmingham & District League.
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|FA Cup
!colspan="2"|Other
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="7"|Port Vale||1923–24||Second Division||21||7||0||0||1||0||22||7
|-
|1924–25||Second Division||41||26||3||7||0||0||44||33
|-
|1925–26||Second Division||40||35||1||0||0||0||41||35
|-
|1926–27||Second Division||41||38||4||3||1||0||46||41
|-
|1927–28||Second Division||37||13||3||1||0||0||40||14
|-
|1928–29||Second Division||31||15||1||0||0||0||32||15
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!211!!134!!12!!11!!2!!0!!225!!145
|-
|rowspan="4"|Stoke City||1929–30||Second Division||27||15||0||0||0||0||27||15
|-
|1930–31||Second Division||23||14||0||0||0||0||23||14
|-
|1931–32||Second Division||1||1||0||0||0||0||1||1
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!51!!30!!0!!0!!0!!0!!51!!30
|-
|rowspan="3"|Port Vale||1931–32||Second Division||16||4||0||0||1||0||17||4
|-
|1932–33||Second Division||33||15||1||0||0||0||34||15
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!49!!19!!1!!0!!1!!0!!51!!19
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!311!!183!!13!!11!!3!!0!!327!!194
|}
Honours
Individual
- Port Vale F.C. Hall of Fame: inducted 2026 (inaugural)