- Birthdate: 28 October 1921
- Birthplace: Liverpool, England
- Date of death: 12 October 2009
- Other clubs: South Liverpool (1938-40), Port Vale (1948-52), Worcester City, Northwich Victoria, Prescot Cables, Pwllheli, Flint Town United, Oswestry Town, Maghull
- Bought from: South Liverpool
- Signed for LFC: 21.03.1940 - signs as professional
- Liverpool debut: 12.02.1947
- Last appearance: 06.03.1948
- Contract expiry: 02.07.1948
- Win ratio: 53.85% W:7 D:3 L:3
- Wartime games/goals: 63 / 14
- League games / goals: 13 / 0
- Total games / goals: 13 / 0
Player Profile
Palk was a right-winger who arrived at Anfield after one of his teammates put in a good word for him to Liverpool. One day when he was in the factory that he had worked at during the war, George Kay, Liverpool's manager, came to talk to him. After impressing at training Palk was signed for £1.50-a-week. Palk made six League appearances in the second half of the 1946/47 season, the first post-war championship eventually going to Liverpool. He was called on seven times the following season but then moved on to Gordon Hodgson's Port Vale in July 1948 as he told LFC.tv in 2005. "I'd just come back from the States [from Liverpool's summer tour] and I got the shock of my life. Tom Bush, a former centre-half, who was then working on the office staff, knocked on my door and said I was wanted down at the ground. I turned up and standing there was Gordon Hodgson, the legendary Liverpool centre-forward, who managed Port Vale. I really wanted to stay with Liverpool but the opportunity of first team football was too tempting and I eventually decided to go." Palk was Vale's skipper for four years and made 159 League appearances, scoring 14 goals.
Appearances per season
| Season |
League |
FA |
LC |
Europe |
Other |
Total |
| Totals |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
| 1946-1947 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
| 1947-1948 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
| Apps |
Minutes |
Opponent |
| 3 |
270 |
Manchester United |
| 1 |
90 |
Preston North End |
| 1 |
90 |
Blackpool |
| 1 |
90 |
Bolton Wanderers |
| 1 |
90 |
Burnley |
| 1 |
90 |
Grimsby Town |
| 1 |
90 |
Stoke City |
| 1 |
90 |
Sunderland |
| 1 |
90 |
Aston Villa |
| 1 |
90 |
Huddersfield Town |
| 1 |
90 |
Charlton Athletic |
| Total |
Venue |
| 9 |
Home |
| 4 |
Away |
| Total |
W |
D |
L |
Win % |
Manager |
| 13 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
53.8% |
George Kay |
Wartime Appearances / Goals
| Season |
Appearances |
Goals |
| 1939-1940 |
2 |
0 |
| 1940-1941 |
21 |
1 |
| 1941-1942 |
20 |
8 |
| 1942-1943 |
3 |
1 |
| 1943-1944 |
17 |
4 |
Milestone Appearances
| # |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
| 1 |
12.02.1947 |
Grimsby Town |
Anfield |
League |
Related Quotes
"It's all down to a mix-up with the birth certificate when I first signed for the Reds. For some reason I had two birth certificates, one with Palk and one with Polk. On the day I signed I had to produce it and must have shown them the wrong one. The name Palk is Cornish and is actually pronounced with an 'O', so I can understand how the confusion has come about. It's never bothered me though."
NOTE: His name is spelt wrongly in various sources as Polk. Stan PALK explained.
"One of my team-mates at South (Liverpool) worked for one of the Liverpool directors, Mr Martindale, and he put a word in for me. One day I was in the factory where I worked at the time and in walked George Kay. He introduced himself and invited me to go training with Liverpool. I eventually signed and my first wage was about £1.50 a week. That was during the war, in peacetime it went up to about two quid!
I'd just come back from the States and I got the shock of my life. Tom Bush, a former centre half who was then working on the office staff, knocked on my door and said I wanted down at the ground. I turned up and standing there was Gordon Hodgson, the legendary Liverpool centre forward who managed Port Vale. He wanted to sign Mick Hulligan and myself in a double deal. I was unsure what to do at first because I really wanted to stay with Liverpool but the opportunity of first team football was too tempting and I eventually decided to go."
Stan Palk - from liverpoolfc.tv in February 2005
