The 1966–67 season was Port Vale's 55th season of football in the Football League, and their second successive season (third overall) in the Fourth Division. Again hopeful of escape from the basement division, Vale could only manage a mid-table finish. Player-manager Jackie Mudie resigned at the end of the season. Veteran defender Roy Sproson became the club's first ever Player of the Year winner.

The pre-season saw general manager Stanley Matthews injured in a car accident with a National Coal Board lorry on 29 July, Jackie Mudie was also in the car but remained relatively unharmed. As Matthews recovered in came four new forwards, the most significant of which was Crystal Palace's Ian Lawson. Lawson cost £1,000 with an additional £1,000 signing on fee. Other new faces included winger Mick Mahon (Loughborough United); inside-forward Jimmy Goodfellow (Bishop Auckland); and Billy McCartney (Rangers). There was a kit change to an all-white strip, upon the suggestion of Stanley Matthews.

The season opened with a 2–1 home win over Southport using an optimistic 4–2–4 formation. Following Roy Sproson's winning goal there was a pitch invasion – by then a disturbingly common occurrence. Six games without a loss followed, leaving the club in fourth position. Goals were still rare however, and so Lawson was dropped from the first eleven, despite the departure of in-form forward John Rowland to Mansfield Town for £6,500. Financial difficulties made the atmosphere around Burslem quite gloomy, not helped by the news that former Valiant John Nicholson had been killed in a car crash. Vale's form suffered, though the defence remained quite strong. Young Scot Mick Cullerton was a ray of sunshine for the club in front of goal.

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