Stoke City F.C. Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stoke Ramblers

There is some dispute to the actual year of the club's foundation, with 1863 or 1868 both being claimed by various historians, but what is known is that their birth name was Stoke Ramblers, and they were founded by former pupils of Charterhouse School. The Ramblers suffix was dropped in 1878, and the club was simply Stoke F.C., until City was added in 1925.

Answer: 1888

The Football League was founded by twelve clubs in 1888. Stoke F.C. were one of those teams, and they finished in last place with just 12 points from their 22 matches. The following season they finished bottom again and failed to be re-elected to the league; fortunately, after one season in the Football Alliance, they regained their place in the Football League.

Answer: Victoria Ground

Victoria Ground was Stoke City's home from 1878 until 1997. In March, 1937, a record crowd of 51,380 attended a game against Arsenal. By the time of the final game there, against West Bromwich Albion, safety measures had reduced the capacity to 25,000.

Answer: The Potters

Stoke, and the surrounding district, is known as "The Potteries" due to the local ceramic industry. "The Potters" was an obvious nickname acquired by the football team.

Answer: Stanley Matthews

Stanley Matthews was born in the Potteries, and made his Stoke City debut in 1932 aged 17. After a 15-year stint, which was interrupted by the Second World War, he moved to Blackpool in 1947, and helped them win the FA Cup final against Bolton in 1953, in what has become known as the "Matthews Final".

He returned to Stoke in 1961, and played his final league game for them in 1965 at the age of 50.

Answer: Red & White Stripes

Stoke City have worn shirts of red and white vertical stripes for over 100 years. Apart from the occasional dalliance with red shorts, they have worn white shorts almost continuously since 1908.

Answer: Chelsea

Stoke City's route to Wembley included a fourth round tie with Manchester United which went to two replays. The semi-final with West Ham ended level after two legs and also took two replays to sort out. Stoke were underdogs against Chelsea in the final on March 4th, 1972, but goals from Terry Conroy and George Eastham helped them to a 2-1 victory in front of 97,852 fans.

Answer: Britannia

The stadium is officially called the Stoke Stadium, but has always had corporate monikers. The Britannia opened in August, 1997, for a League Cup tie against Rochdale. Bookmakers Bet365 acquired the sponsorship rights in 2016. In March, 2018, a then-record crowd of 30,022 attended the Premier League game against Everton.

Answer: Tony Pulis

Tony Pulis had an earlier stint as manager of Stoke City between 2002 and 2005 before being sacked. After a single season with Plymouth Argyle, he was reappointed by Stoke in 2006. In season 2007/08, he led them to second place in the Championship, thus securing promotion to the Premier League.

He defied expectations by keeping them there for the next five years before leaving the club "by mutual consent" in 2013.

Answer: Manchester City

Stoke City eliminated Cardiff City, Wolves, Brighton, West Ham and Bolton to reach their first FA Cup final. Their opponents on May 14th, 2001, were Manchester City, who began the match as strong favourites. Stoke managed to keep their opponents at bay until the 74th minute, when Yaya Toure scored the only goal of the game. Stoke's consolation was a place in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League, where they reached the round of 32 before losing to Valencia of Spain.