Amongst them was Henry Almond who was a keen sportsman and it is believed that he introduced football to the local workers although there is no record that matches took place.

[1] However, in 1868 it was reported in The Field newspaper that Stoke Ramblers had been formed with Almond as its captain and the club was to play under association football rules.

Both sides were made up of local railway employees with Stoke Ramblers being captained by Henry Almond who played a major role in creating the club.

[1] The local press began to cover matches more fully by the 1871–72 season, while some sides were still fielding anything from eleven to fifteen players, there was far less variation in the overall rules.

[1] There was a strong local bias in Stoke's fixture list during the first half of the 1871–72 campaign as they achieved victories over Sandbach, Burton-on-Trent, Congleton and Rugeley.

[1] Stoke also played Notts County, Derby Town, Ashbourne, Shropshire Victoria, Burton-on-Trent, Tutbury, Whitchurch and Great Lever but the results of these matches went unrecorded.

Stoke played their first senior match against village side Mow Cop and won by an incredible scoreline of 26–0, a club record.

[1] No Matches recorded Stoke suffered their first cup exit in 1880–81 losing 2–0 away at West Bromwich Albion.