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{{Short description|English footballer (1951–2022)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Stuart Chapman
| image =
| caption =
| fullname = Stuart Chapman<ref name="kent"/>
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1951|05|06}}
| birth_place = [[Lynemouth]], England<ref name="kent"/>
| death_date = {{Death date and given age|2022|07|13|71|df=y}}
| height =
| position = [[Midfielder]]
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 =
| years1 = 1966–1970| clubs1 = [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] | caps1 = 9| goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1970–1984| clubs2 = [[Stafford Rangers F.C.|Stafford Rangers]] | caps2 = | goals2 =
| years3 = 1984–1985| clubs3 = [[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]]| caps3 = 31| goals3 = 2
| years4 = 1985–19??| clubs4 = [[Rocester F.C.|Rocester]] | caps4 = | goals4 =
| totalcaps = | totalgoals =
| manageryears1 = 1985–19??| managerclubs1 = [[Rocester F.C.|Rocester]] (player-coach)
}}

'''Stuart Chapman''' (6 May 1951 – 13 July 2022) was an English [[Association football|footballer]] who played as a [[midfielder]] for [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]], [[Stafford Rangers F.C.|Stafford Rangers]] and [[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]], and worked as the player-[[Coach (sport)|coach]] of [[Rocester F.C.|Rocester]]. He won [[Promotion and relegation|promotion]] out of the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] with Port Vale in 1969–70, and won the [[Northern Premier League]], [[FA Trophy]] (twice) and [[Staffordshire Senior Cup]] (twice) with Stafford Rangers. He made over 650 appearances and scored 60 goals during his 14 years at Stafford Rangers. He also led Rocester to two [[Midland Football League (1994)|Staffordshire Senior League]] and two Staffordshire FA Vase titles.

== Playing career ==

=== Port Vale ===

Chapman joined [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] as an amateur in June 1966 and made his debut at [[Vale Park]] in a 2–2 draw with [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]] on 3 May 1967, the last day of the [[1966–67 Port Vale F.C. season|1966–67]] season, three days before his 16th birthday.<ref name="kent">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=58|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0|id= {{ASIN|0952915200|country=ca}}}}</ref><ref name="prog5">{{cite book |title=official matchday programme of Port Vale FC 2022/23 Season - Issue 1 |date=30 July 2022 |publisher=Port Vale F.C. |url=https://pvfc-shop.com/portvale/download/h731Xhhr5fExuaQSnLaL.pdf |page=9 |access-date=22 August 2023}}</ref> Known as "Shack", he helped the [[Youth system|youth team]] to reach the [[FA Youth Cup]] quarter-finals.<ref name="shack">{{cite news |last1=Sherwin |first1=Phil |title=RIP {{!}} Stuart Chapman |url=https://www.port-vale.co.uk/news/2022/july/rip--stuart-chapman/ |access-date=19 July 2022 |work = Port Vale F.C. |date=19 July 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref> He then played two [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] games in the [[1967–68 Port Vale F.C. season|1967–68]] season.<ref name="kent"/> [[Jackie Mudie]] and [[Stanley Matthews]] had a youth policy for the "Valiants", but new [[Manager (association football)|manager]] [[Gordon Lee (footballer)|Gordon Lee]] preferred more experienced players.<ref name="kent"/> Chapman featured just five times in the [[1968–69 Port Vale F.C. season|1968–69]] season before he signed as a professional in May 1969.<ref name="kent"/> He made three appearances in the [[1969–70 Port Vale F.C. season|1969–70]] [[Promotion and relegation|promotion]] campaign. He was given a [[Free transfer (association football)|free transfer]] at the end of the season.<ref name="kent"/>

=== Stafford Rangers ===

Chapman moved into [[Northern Premier League]] football with [[Stafford Rangers F.C.|Stafford Rangers]] as manager [[Roy Chapman]]'s first signing.<ref name="strr">{{cite news |last1=Allport |first1=Darren |title=Stuart Chapman RIP |url=https://www.staffordrangersfc.co.uk/stuart-chapman-rip/ |access-date=19 July 2022 |work=Stafford Rangers Football Club |date=19 July 2022}}</ref> Rangers finished second in the [[Northern Premier League]] at the end of the [[1971–72 Northern Premier League|1971–72]] campaign.<ref name="strr"/> Rangers won the Northern Premier League, [[FA Trophy]] and [[Staffordshire Senior Cup]] treble in the [[1971–72 Northern Premier League|1971–72]] season, beating [[Barnet F.C.|Barnet]] 3–0 in the [[1972 FA Trophy final|FA Trophy final]] at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] and [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] in the Staffordshire Senior Cup.<ref name="strr"/> They dropped to sixth in [[1972–73 Northern Premier League|1972–73]]. Still, they retained the Staffordshire Senior Cup with a victory over Port Vale in the final. They finished in fourth place, just two points short of first, in [[1973–74 Northern Premier League|1973–74]]. They again finished fourth in [[1974–75 Northern Premier League|1974–75]]. They also reached the fourth round of the [[FA Cup]] with victories over [[Stockport County F.C.|Stockport County]] (after a [[Replay (sports)|replay]]), [[Halifax Town A.F.C.|Halifax Town]] and [[Rotherham United F.C.|Rotherham United]] (after a replay in which Chapman scored).<ref name="strr"/> Manager [[Colin Meldrum (footballer, born 1941)|Colin Meldrum]] led Rangers to second in the [[1975–76 Northern Premier League|1975–76]] campaign, one point behind champions [[Runcorn F.C. Halton|Runcorn]], and Rangers finished as FA Trophy runners-up in [[1976 FA Trophy final|1976]] after losing 3–2 to [[Scarborough F.C.|Scarborough]]. Rangers dropped to eleventh in [[1976–77 Northern Premier League|1976–77]] and seventh in [[1977–78 Northern Premier League|1977–78]], though again won the Staffordshire Senior Cup after beating [[Kidderminster Harriers F.C.|Kidderminster Harriers]] in the final. Chapman was awarded a [[testimonial match]] against [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] in 1978, which finished as a 2–2 draw.<ref name="strr"/>

Rangers finished eighth in the [[1978–79 Northern Premier League|1978–79]] season and won the FA Trophy again by beating [[Kettering Town F.C.|Kettering Town]] 2–0 in [[1979 FA Trophy final|the final]].<ref name=silkmenarchives.org.uk>{{cite web|title=Profile|url=http://www.silkmenarchives.org.uk/player_profiles/Players/c.html|website=silkmenarchives.org.uk|accessdate=31 March 2015}}</ref> The club finished 19th in the newly created [[National League (division)|Alliance Premier League]] in [[1979–80 Alliance Premier League|1979–80]], and went on to finish eleventh in [[1980–81 Alliance Premier League|1980–81]] under [[Paul Ogden]] and 14th in [[1981–82 Alliance Premier League|1981–82]], before being [[promotion and relegation|relegated]] in last place at the end of the [[1982–83 Alliance Premier League|1982–83]] season under the stewardship of [[Bobby Thomson (footballer, born 1943)|Bobby Thomson]] and [[Colin Clarke (footballer, born 1946)|Colin Clarke]]. Chapman left [[Marston Road (Stafford)|Marston Road]] after Rangers finished tenth in the Northern Premier League at the end of the [[1983–84 Northern Premier League|1983–84]] campaign and was given a second testimonial game against [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]].<ref name="strr"/> Manager Ron Reid wrote in the testimonial [[matchday programme|programme]] that: "he was always known to be a keen competitor, a hard-[[Tackle (football move)|tackling]] strong midfielder. All in all, he was a winner."<ref name="strr"/> He made more than 650 appearances and scored 60 goals during his 14 years for the club.<ref name="strr"/>

=== Later career ===

He joined [[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]] in 1984, and [[Captain (association football)|captain]]ed the "Silkmen" to a second-place finish in the Northern Premier League in [[1984–85 Northern Premier League|1984–85]], behind former club Stafford Rangers.<ref name="strr"/> He later became the player-[[Coach (sport)|coach]] of [[Rocester F.C.|Rocester]] and led the club to two Staffordshire FA Vase final wins in 1986 and 1987, as well as back to back [[Midland Football League (1994)|Staffordshire Senior League]] titles.<ref name=silkmenarchives.org.uk/>

== Style of play ==

Chapman was a strong, tough-[[Tackle (football move)|tackling]] [[midfielder]] who tended to play in either the number four or number eight position.<ref name="strr"/>

== Personal and later life ==

Chapman was diagnosed with mixed [[dementia]] in August 2013, and his condition deteriorated in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Keen |first1=Liam |title=Stuart Chapman's dementia battle shows need for help lower down the football ladder |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/non-league/stafford-rangers/2021/04/23/stuart-chapmans-dementia-battle-shows-need-for-help-lower-down-the-football-ladder/ |access-date=19 July 2022 |work=Express and Star |date=23 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref> He died at the age of 71, leaving behind wife Vicky. His funeral was scheduled to be held at the [[Kick-off (association football)|kick-off]] of the [[2022–23 in English football|2022–23]] football season.<ref name="shack"/>

== Career statistics ==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{ENFA}}</ref>
|-
!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="5"|[[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]]
| [[1966–67 Port Vale F.C. season|1966–67]]
| [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]]
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0
|-
| [[1967–68 Port Vale F.C. season|1967–68]]
| Fourth Division
| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0
|-
| [[1968–69 Port Vale F.C. season|1968–69]]
| Fourth Division
| 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0
|-
| [[1969–70 Port Vale F.C. season|1969–70]]
| Fourth Division
| 1 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!9!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!11!!0
|-
| [[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]]
| [[1984–85 Northern Premier League|1984–85]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Stats|url=http://www.silkmenarchives.org.uk/season_stats/npl/1984_85.html|website=silkmenarchives.org.uk|accessdate=12 July 2016}}</ref>
| [[Northern Premier League]]
| 31 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 7 || 1 || 40 || 3
|}

== Honours ==

'''Port Vale'''

* [[Football League Fourth Division]] fourth-place promotion: [[1969–70 Port Vale F.C. season|1969–70]]<ref name="Kent6970">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale|publisher=Witan Books|year=1990|pages=227–257|chapter=Surviving on a Shoestring (1969–1979)|isbn=0-9508981-4-7}}</ref>

'''Stafford Rangers'''

* [[Northern Premier League]]: [[1971–72 Northern Premier League|1971–72]]<ref name="strr"/>
* [[FA Trophy]]: [[1972 FA Trophy final|1972]], [[1979 FA Trophy final|1979]]<ref name="strr"/>
* [[Staffordshire Senior Cup]]: 1972, 1973, 1978<ref name="strr"/>
* [[FA Trophy]] runner-up: [[1976 FA Trophy final|1976]]<ref name="strr"/>

'''Macclesfield Town'''

* [[Northern Premier League]] runner-up: [[1984–85 Northern Premier League|1984–85]]

'''Rocester'''

* [[Midland Football League (1994)|Staffordshire Senior League]]: 1985–86, 1986–87<ref name=SCSL>[http://www.staffordshirecountyseniorleague.co.uk/52601.html Staffs County Senior League website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092153/http://www.staffordshirecountyseniorleague.co.uk/52601.html |date=2007-09-29 }}</ref>
* Staffordshire FA Vase: 1986, 1987<ref name="strr"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Stuart}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:Footballers from Northumberland]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:Northern Premier League players]]
[[Category:National League (English football) players]]
[[Category:Port Vale F.C. players]]
[[Category:Stafford Rangers F.C. players]]
[[Category:Macclesfield Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Rocester F.C. players]]
[[Category:English football managers]]
[[Category:Deaths from dementia in England]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]

Stuart Chapman - Revision history

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