Stoke City FC (The Potters) History
The history of Stoke City F.C. , an English football club based in Stoke-on-Trent , covers the years from the club's formation to the present day.
1863 the Stoke Ramblers were formed, when former pupils of Charterhouse School formed a football club while apprentices at the North Staffordshire Railway works in Stoke-on-Trent
17 October 1868 the club's first documented match.
1868 Stoke played four fixtures, recording their first victory with a 2-0 win against Newcastle-under-Lyme.
1875 the club switched to a ground at Sweetings Field, not far from the Victoria Cricket Ground.
1877 the Staffordshire Football Association was formed and created a new competition, the County Cup, which Stoke won in the inaugural season, beating Talke Rangers 1-0 in the final.
1878 moved in to the Victoria Ground , which was to be their home for the next 119 years. In the same year, the club merged with Stoke Victoria Cricket Club to become Stoke Football Club .
1881 Stoke entered the newly formed Birmingham Association Cup.
1882-1883 season, Stoke reached the final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup but were beaten 3-2 by West Bromwich Albion .
1883-84 season the club decided to enter the FA Cup for the first time (the competition itself had been founded 11 years earlier).
1885 the threat of a rival football association, the British FA , forced the Football Association to legalise professionalism, Stoke subsequently turned professional in August of that year.
1885-86 the club were defeated again in the FA Cup after a replay defeat to Crewe Alexandra .
1886-87 season the club's first victory in the competition was 10-0 win over Caernarfon Wanderers at the Victoria Ground.
1888 the club joined the Football League upon its formation in , making them the second oldest club in the Football League.
1888-89 and 1889-90 Stoke struggled in their first two seasons in the league, finishing bottom on both occasions. The club failed to secure re-election to the league at the end of its second season, instead being replaced by Sunderland .
1890-91 Stoke started in the Football Alliance, they finished the season as champions.
1891-92 the Football League was expanded to include fourteen clubs , which ensured Stoke were re-elected to the league, where they remained for the rest of the decade.
1897 Stoke appointed Horace Austerberry, who in 1899 became the first manager to lead the club to the semi-final of the FA Cup.
1900 Stoke suffered financial problems.
1908 lost the club's Football League status.The club moved to the Birmingham & District League after its demotion.
1909 the club opted to field two teams, one in the Birmingham & District League and the other in the Southern League (West Division) ;
1909 – 1915 Stoke continued to participate in both leagues.
1915 the Potters' application for election back into the Football League was approved.
Stoke entered the Lancashire Primary and Secondary leagues during the First World War .
1919 the club became owners of the Victoria Ground.
1921-22 season Stoke achieved promotion from the Second Division under the stewardship of Arthur Shallcross, although this was followed by relegation in the 1922-23 season .
Unable to prevent the club's bad form, Shallcross resigned in March 1923. Tom Mather was appointed manager later in 1923, although Stoke were unable to mount another promotion challenge.
1925-26 season they were instead relegated from the Second Division four years late.
1925 Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status.
1928 the club's name was changed for the final time to Stoke City Football Club.
The 1930s saw the début of the club's most celebrated player, Stanley Matthews .
1932-33 season Stoke achieved promotion from the Second Division as champions.
1934 the club's average attendance had risen to over 23,000, which allowed the club manager, Tom Mather, more transfer funds.
1935-36 season the club finished fourth in the Football League First Division , nine points adrift of champions Sunderland.
This was followed by two successive mid-table finishes, in1936-37 and 1937-38 .
February 1937 the club recorded its record league win, 10-3, over West Bromwich Albion in , in which Steele scored five goals.
1938-39 season Matthews opted to stay with Stoke and helped the club to finish in seventh place in the.
1946-47 season Stoke mounted a serious title challenge: the club needed a win in their final game of the season to win the First Division title, but a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United gave the title to Liverpool .
1947-48 and 1948-49 Stoke finished 15th and 11th respectively.
The 1950s did not start well for the club; having avoided relegation in the 1950-51 and 1951-52 seasons, Stoke succumbed in 1952-53 , finishing second from bottom.
1954-55 season Frank Taylor, consolidated the club's position in the Second Division but was unable to mount a sustained challenge for promotion.
1959-60 season a 17th place finish in the Second Division.
1960 Stoke were struggling to attract supporters to the Victoria Ground, with the average attendance dropping below 10,000 for the first time in 40 years.
1960-61 Stoke finished 18th in the Second Division.
1961-62 the return of Matthews helped Stoke to rise to eighth position.Promotion was achieved in the next season, when Stoke finished as champions.
1963-64 their first season back in the First Division, Waddington guided Stoke to a mid-table finish.
1964 Matthews remained influential, as he helped the club to the Football League Cup final, although this ended in defeat to Leicester over two leg.
1970-71 and 1971-72 seasons the club progressed to the semi-final stage in both. However, on both occasions Stoke lost to Arsenal in a replay .
4 March 1972 the club won its first significant trophy in the League Cup Final. Stoke beat favourites Chelsea 2-1 in the final at Wembley Stadium before a crowd of 97,852 spectators.
1972-73 Stoke qualified for the UEFA Cup as a result of their League Cup triumph.
1973-74 season Stoke qualified for the UEFA Cup, due to their fifth place finish in the First Division.
1974-75 competition , Stoke were again knocked out at the first stage.
March 1977 George Eastham, who had previously been Waddington's assistant, was appointed as manager.
February 1978 Alan Durban, arriving from Shrewsbury Town, was selected as the club's new manager .
1978-79 Durban achieved promotion to the First Division in his first full season, with a third place finish.
1981 Durban left for Sunderland, after consolidating the club's position in the First Division.
1981 Richie Barker, Durban's successor, was appointed manager.
1982-83 season Richie Barker signed Mickey Thomas from Brighton and Hove Albion and Mark Chamberlain from Port Vale.
1983-84 Barker was sacked in his second season.
1984-85 season they last played at the top level in the , when they were relegated with a total of 17 points, a record low unsurpassed for 21 years.
1985-86 season Mick Mills was appointed player-manager, following Asprey's departure in April 1985 due to ill health. His first task was to consolidate following the club's relegation in the previous season, which he achieved with a mid-table finish in the Second Division.
1986-87 the team reached fourth place, his second season in charge, including a 7-2 win over Leeds United, but the team's form tailed off towards the end of the season, culminating in an eighth place finish.
1989-90 Stoke was relegated to the third tier of English football after finishing bottom of the Second Division.
1990-91 season the start in the Third Division marked the first time Stoke had played at this level in 63 years. Ball kept his job for the start of this campaign but departed in February 1991 in the midst of an indifferent season that saw Stoke finish 15th.
May 1991 Ball's successor, Lou Macari , was appointed, prior to the start of the 1991-92 season. The improvement was immediate, as Stoke narrowly missed out on promotion in his first season in charge, finishing fourth in the Third Division.
1992-93 season promotion was achieved from the third tier, now known as Division Two, with Stoke finishing as league champions.
1992 and 2000 the club have won the Associate Members Cup -a competition for clubs in the two lower divisions of The Football League.
Macari left in October 1993 to take over as manager of Scottish side Celtic , and Stein also departed in a £1.5m move to Chelsea.
1995-96 season started poorly, but the signing of striker Mike Sheron turned around the club's campaign.
1996-97 season saw Mark Stein return from Chelsea on loan , partnering Sheron in attack. The season started well, with Stoke in fourth place at Christmas , but a poor second half of the season saw the club drop to an eventual 12th place.
1997-98 season saw Stoke move to its new ground, the 28,000 all-seater Britannia Stadium.
1999-2000 season Stoke won the Associate Members' Cup (known as the Auto Windscreens Trophy at the time for sponsorship reasons) with a 2-1 win over Bristol City in April 2000 before a crowd of 75,057 at Wembley .
2000-01 season they reached the play-offs again with a fifth place finish, but this time Walsall halted Stoke's progress at the semi-final stage.
2002-03 season Steve Cotterill was drafted in as Thordarson's replacement.
2002 Stoke City players celebrating victory in the Division Two play-off final.
2003-04 the club's position in the league was consolidated.
Boskamp left at the end of the 2005-06 season, amidst a takeover by former chairman Peter Coates .
23 May 2006 Coates completed his takeover of Stoke City, marking the end of Gunnar Gislason's chairmanship of the club.
2007-08 season Stoke played in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football .
Stoke City fans celebrate following promotion to the Premier League on 4 May 2008.