Sproson remained with the club from its highest peaks in the early 1950s until the troughs of the last 1960s near the bottom of the English Football League.
The Stoke manager Bob McGrory promised him a contract after Sproson finished his National service.
However, following the appointment of Freddie Steele in December 1951, Sproson was dropped in favour of the experienced Stan Palk.
The club stormed to the Third Division North championship with just 21 goals conceded in 46 games (a Football League record).
Norman Low couldn't bring his team to a top twelve finish, which meant the club spent 1958–59 in the new Fourth Division.
In 1964–65, the veteran couldn't prevent the club from slipping back into the fourth tier, as Freddie Steele's second time in charge proved much less successful than the first.
[9] After manager Gordon Lee left to join Blackburn Rovers in January 1974, he advised Vale's chairman Mark Singer to appoint Sproson as his successor.
[8] For the 1974–75 season he signed midfielders Terry Bailey and Frank Sharp, defender Garry Dulson, and goalkeeper John Connaughton.
[11] For the 1976–77 season, he was forced to sell Terry Lees to Sparta Rotterdam for £25,000 (representing a £22,000 profit in the space of twelve months).
He added to his squad with youngsters Ian Osborne and Kevin Kennerley and experienced midfielder Geoff Davies.
His team struggled with poor discipline – Rotherham manager Jimmy McGuigan claimed Vale were 'the worst exhibition of football thuggery I have ever seen'.
[12] Midway through the season Sproson sold two more key players: striker Ray Williams went into non-League football for 'a small fee' and midfielder Colin Tartt joined Chesterfield for £15,000.
Sproson brought in Alan Lamb from Preston North End and Peter Sutcliffe from Stockport County for a combined outlay of £8,000.
Ultimately, though, the loss of star midfielder Brian Horton to Brighton for £30,000 in March 1976 was something Sproson proved unable to remedy.
[11] There was unrest at Port Vale at the start of 1977–78, as Sammy Morgan and David Harris were so upset by the low wages they were offered that they refused to play for the club.
[11] Sproson brought in three players on free transfers: Jeff Hemmerman, Grahame McGifford, and Bill Bentley.
[11] However, at a meeting on 28 June, Sproson was severely criticised for his supposed poor judgement of players and for seeming to place greater priority on his newsagent business than the club.
[11] The Sentinel reported that "there is disenchantment in the air", and there were rumours that former Stoke manager Tony Waddington would be brought in to replace Sproson.
England manager Don Revie had predicted such a fate when he said at a dinner that "English football suffers from the same complaint all the time.
But you know they're after your blood, and if truth were told you've already had your bags packed for weeks.Sproson ran a newsagent's shop until he died on 24 January 1997, aged 66.
Former England international and Port Vale teammate Colin Grainger wrote in his autobiography that "[Sproson] was a player of First Division standard".
"Though three decades as a player and captain he made a record 837 appearances for Port Vale and scored 35 goals.
[19] Port Vale's away kit for the 2005–06 season (in the club's old amber and black colours) bore the motto '837 – One Man One Team', embroidered on the left sleeve to honour his memory.
[21] After ten years of planning, a £96,000 statue of Sproson was unveiled on 17 November 2012, before a home game with York City.