With the euphoria of winning promotion over, Waddington knew that his side had to be strengthened to have any hope of surviving in the First Division and he broke the club's record transfer for Peter Dobing.
Stoke stayed up easily in 1963–64 and also reached the 1964 Football League Cup Final losing a 2 legged affair to Leicester City.
Stoke then had several mid-table seasons before Waddington brought in World Cup winners George Eastham and Gordon Banks to the club in 1966–67.
But another raid in the transfer market saw Stoke fortunes turn around dramatically, as Waddington brought in Jimmy Greenhoff and re-signed John Ritchie this combined with local players Alan Bloor, Denis Smith, Alan Dodd, Mike Pejic and Jackie Marsh plus the emergence of Terry Conroy, John Mahoney saw Stoke enjoy their best period in their history.
[1] But disaster struck in January 1976 as winds of hurricane force battered Stoke-on-Trent and the Victoria Ground was badly damaged.
The roof of the Butler street stand collapsed and Stoke had to play a league match against Middlesbrough at nearby Vale Park whilst repair work was carried out.
To pay for the repairs the club had to sell their best players, such as Jimmy Greenhoff to Manchester United, Alan Hudson to Arsenal and Mike Pejic to Everton.