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Stoke City FC were formed in 1863 by former Charterhouse pupils working as apprentices at the North Staffordshire Railway Works.

This makes them the second oldest League club still in existence (after Notts County).

The club were originally called Stoke Ramblers, but "Ramblers" was dropped from the name around 1871, and they were known simply as Stoke FC.

Move to the Victoria Ground

In 1878, they moved to the Victoria Ground, which was to be their home for the next 119 years.

They entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1883, and two years later, turned professional.

They were founder members of the Football League in 1888.

Alliance Champions

Stoke finished bottom in both of their first two seasons, and after losing their place to Sunderland in 1890, they joined the Alliance.

They finished as Alliance champions in 1891, and were voted back into the Football League for the 1891-92 season.

Back in the League

However, their return to the league failed to bring about a change in fortunes. They had to seek re-election at the end of the season and between 1895 and 1898 they had to contest test matches to avoid relegation.

After relegation in 1907, and a mid table finish in the Second Division in 1908, the club went into liquidation and resigned from the league.

A new limited company was then formed to purchase the assets of Stoke FC.

The new club applied to rejoin the League but they were rejected in favour of Tottenham.

Stoke in the Southern League

Stoke now joined the Southern League, and played in that league until 1915, when they were elected back into the Football League for a third time.

However, with all professional football suspended for the duration of the war, they would have to wait until 1919 before they played their first fixture.

Name change to Stoke City

Stoke were promoted to Division One in 1922 but lasted only one season in the top flight.

In 1925 they became Stoke City FC, and in 1926 they dropped into Division Three (North) before bouncing back as champions in 1927.

In 1933, with a team featuring the young Stanley Matthews, they won the Second Division to return to Division One.

The Matthews Years

By the end of the decade the Matthews-inspired Stoke City were widely expected to challenge for honours.

In 1946-47, when football resumed after World War II, they came within one win of clinching the championship.

The disappointment of losing out on the title was compounded when Matthews left to join Blackpool.

In 1953, Stoke were relegated to Division Two, and they were still there in 1961 when manager Tony Waddington persuaded Matthews, now 46, to rejoin the club.

35,974 fans were there to watch his homecoming and in 1963, Stoke won the Second Division championship in their centenary season.

In 1965, having been knighted for his services to football, Stanley Matthews played his last game for Stoke City FC.

He retired at the remarkable age of 50.

League Cup Winners

Stoke's next big signing was Gordon Banks. The England goalkeeper signed from Leicester City in 1966 and became the mainstay of the Stoke City side in the early Seventies.

In 1972 they won their first major honour, beating Chelsea 2-1 to capture the League Cup.

Highs and Lows

The next few years saw Stoke achieve creditable fifth place finishes in 1974 and 1975 but in 1977 they were relegated.

They were back in the First Division in 1979, but were relegated to Division Two in 1985 and then in 1990 they dropped into Division Three.

In 1993 they won the new Division Two (previously Division Three) title and reached the promotion play-offs in 1996.

Move to the Brittania Stadium

In 1997, Stoke City FC moved from the Victoria Ground, their home for the last 119 years, to the new 28 000 seater Britannia Stadium.

Relegated again in 1998, Stoke came through the play-offs to return to Division One (now renamed The Championship) in 2002.

Back in the Top Flight

The 2007-08 season saw them make the long awaited return to the top flight via a second place finish in the Championship. Despite predictions of a swift return to the lower leagues, they quickly established themselves as a Premier League club.

In 2011, Stoke City reached the FA Cup for the first time in their long history. However they lost 1-0 to Manchester City in the Wembley showpiece.

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