[1] Born in Kettering, Ritchie is Stoke City's top marksman of all-time having scored 176 goals in 351 games during two spells at the club, from June 1962 to November 1966, and from July 1969 to May 1975.

[1] At the end of that conversation Waddington rang around several colleagues to ask about John Ritchie, and he learned of a big strong striker who had scored 40 goals for non-league Kettering Town.

Ritchie actually took a pay drop to join Stoke as he had been working in a local shoe factory and playing part-time.

[1] In his first season at Stoke Ritchie only made sporadic appearances while Dennis Viollet and Jackie Mudie held sway in the first team.

Ritchie's time at Hillsborough was not that great as after two good seasons he had a poor 1968–69 campaign and new Wednesday manager Danny Williams decided that he was past his best and Waddington took the chance to rectify his error and bought him back for £28,000.

[1] Ritchie returned as Jimmy Greenhoff arrived, and the pair struck a productive partnership which the local media described as 'telepathic'.

[1] Ritchie top scored in 1970–71, 1971–72 and 1973–74 as he helped Stoke reach two FA Cup semi finals in 1971 and 1972, losing both times to Arsenal.

[3] His son David was on the books at Stoke in the late 1989 but never made an appearance being sold to Stockport County for £10,000 in March 1990.

He was one of a dying breed of direct and fast centre forwards in the mould of a Freddie Steele, Tommy Lawton and Nat Lofthouse, Ritchie used his burly frame to good effect, shrugging off defenders with ease.

On the enthusiastic recommendation of a talent scout, he was signed by Tony Waddington for Stoke City, moving up to Staffordshire from Northamptonshire in May 1962.