John Rudge, Date of Birth, Place of Birth

John Rudge

Footballer, football manager

Date of Birth: 21-Oct-1944

Place of Birth: Wolverhampton, England, United Kingdom

Profession: association football manager, association football player

Nationality: United Kingdom

Zodiac Sign: Libra

John Robert Rudge (born 21 October 1944) is an English former football player and football manager who is now working as football adviser and club president at Port Vale. His playing career began at Huddersfield Town in November 1961, but he made little impact at the club and was transferred to Carlisle United in December 1967.
In January 1969 he joined Torquay United, and twice finished as the club's top scorer, before he moved on to Bristol Rovers in February 1972.
He helped the club to win promotion of the Third Division in 1973–74, before departing for Bournemouth in March 1975.
His time on the coast was disrupted by injury, and he retired in 1977.
He scored a total of 78 goals in 270 league and cup appearances in a sixteen-year career in the English Football League. He managed Port Vale for a sixteen-year period between 1983 and 1999, easily the longest spell in the club's history.
He masterminded some of the club's most successful campaigns, leading them to promotion in 1985–86, 1989 and 1993–94; he also led them to the Anglo-Italian Cup final in 1996, and to victory in the Football League Trophy final in 1993.
However, he was sacked in January 1999, and subsequently was appointed director of football at their rivals – Stoke City, a position he held until May 2013.
After working as a scout at Hull City, he returned to Port Vale in an advisory role in October 2017.