Reuben Vine (12 September 1903 – 13 January 1969) was an English footballer who scored 11 goals from 48 appearances in the Football League playing as an outside left for Darlington between 1929 and 1931.[1] He was on the books of Gateshead without playing for their League team, and played non-league football for Stanley United and Eden Colliery Welfare.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Reuben Vine[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1903-09-12)12 September 1903 | ||
| Place of birth | Leadgate, England | ||
| Date of death | 13 January 1969(1969-01-13) (aged 65)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Cheadle district, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Outside left | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Stanley United | |||
| 192?–1929 | Eden Colliery Welfare | ||
| 1929–1931 | Darlington | 48 | (11) |
| 1931–1932 | Gateshead | 0 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Vine was born in 1903 in Leadgate, County Durham. His father, Joseph, was a coal miner originally from Cornwall, and his mother, Barbara Ann née Day, was a local girl. By the time of the 1911 Census, Vine's father was dead and his mother worked as a charwoman to support her five young sons.[4]
Vine married Phyllis May Barham in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, in 1938.[5] The 1939 Register finds the couple living in Cheddleton, Staffordshire, where Vine is working as a mental nurse at the county asylum.[6] His death in 1969 at the age of 65 was registered in the Cheadle district, which includes Cheddleton.[7]
Vine played football for Stanley United and Eden Colliery Welfare before joining Football League Third Division North club Darlington in 1929.[1][8] He came into the first team for the Christmas Day fixture against Accrington Stanley,[9] and scored with his first touch of the ball in League football.[10] Vine played twice more over the festive period, then returned to the side on 25 January and scored five goals from five matches during February. He retained the left-wing position to the end of the season,[9] and Darlington retained his services for 1930–31.[11]
In September, Vine was left out of the side for two matches to accommodate triallist Tommy Duff, who was not taken on,[12] but was a regular thereafter until he was injured during a match against York City in March 1931.[13][14] He regained fitness,[15] but not his place, George Hurst being preferred initially, and then newcomer Mike Westgarth.[13] Vine returned in place of the injured Westgarth to score the only goal after two minutes of the visit to Southport on 11 April,[16][17] but it was Westgarth who completed the season.[13]
He was given a free transfer at the end of the season,[18] and signed for another Northern Section club, Gateshead, who were without an outside left after the departures of Jimmy Talbot and Albert Taylor.[8] However, it was another new arrival, Dicky Boland, who "found his place on the Gateshead side without much difficulty"; by early October, he was "playing at the top of his form",[19] and he did not miss a game until the following February.[20] Vine saw out the season in the reserve team.[1][21] The financially struggling club retained only nine players, and Vine was not among them.[22]
... the bridegroom was Mr. Reuben Vine, son of Mrs. Emmerson, Iveston, near Leadgate, County Durham.