Archibald Samuel Dyke (1886-1955) was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme during September 1886 and died in Audley, Staffordshire in 1955. A diminutive and pacy winger, Dyke played for a number of clubs either side of the First World War, during which he would put his career on hold and enlist in the British Army.
Football Career
Dyke’s career began with spells at amateur sides Chesterton, Newcastle Congregational and Newcastle PSA. In 1909, he joined Southern League outfit Stoke where he would play 40 games and score three goals. In 1913, Dyke signed for local rivals Burslem Port Vale where he would make 14 appearances before leaving in January 1913 to join Aston Villa.
Handed his Villa debut in a 3-2 win at The Wednesday on 14 February 1914, Dyke went on to play five further games during the 1913/14 campaign and made another three appearances in 1914/15. He then played as a wartime guest for Bellis, Morecambe and Port Vale before joining Stafford Rangers in 1919. Brief spells at Coventry City and Blackpool followed before Dyke finally finished his career at Congleton Town in 1922.
First World War Service
Private 226 Dyke originally enlisted in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) on 6 September 1915 before later transferring to the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA). Gunner 206398 Dyke was then posted to Ireland before serving in Palestine with XIX Brigade RHA (TF). He would later contract dysentery and spend time in a military hospital in Cairo before returning to Britain where he was discharged from the British Army on medical grounds (King’s Regulations 392 (xvia) Sick) on 21 August 1919.
CAREER STATISTICAL RECORD
| Season | Club | League Pos | FA Cup | League Games | League Goals | FA Cup Games | FA Cup Goals | ||||||
| 1906/07 | Chesterton | ||||||||||||
| 1907/08 | Newcastle Congregational | ||||||||||||
| 1908/09 | Newcastle PSA | ||||||||||||
| 1909/10 | Stoke | 1st (S.League Two) | R1 | ||||||||||
| 1910/11 | Stoke | 2nd (S.League Two) | R1 | ||||||||||
| 1911/12 | Stoke | 10th (S.League One) | R1 | 24 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1913/14 | Port Vale | 19 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 1913/14 | Aston Villa | 2nd (First Division) | SF | 6 | |||||||||
| 1914/15 | Aston Villa | 14th (First Division) | R2 | 3 | |||||||||
| 1919/20 | Stafford Rangers | ||||||||||||
| 1920/21 | Coventry City | 21st (Second Division) | Q6 | 3 | |||||||||
| 1921/22 | Blackpool | 19th (Second Division) | R1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1922/23 | Congleton Town | ||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||
| Aston Villa | 9 | ||||||||||||
| Blackpool | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Coventry City | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Port Vale | 19 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Stoke | 40 | 3 | |||||||||||
| Totals | 72 | 4 | |||||||||||
A full list of sources used to create this page can be found here.
