-VICTORIA GROUND
HERO'S-
!!!FIND OUT ABOUT OUR GREATEST EVER STARS!!!
Below follows a list of Greats that have played at the Victoria Ground over the years, some I
had the privalage to watch them play, others however were before my time, looking down this
list however, it is clear that Stoke City have had some of the greatest players this counrty has
ever produced pull on their famous red and white shirts.. Imagine the damage this lot could of
done if they'd all played at the same time and in the same era for stoke City!!!.... then pinch
yourself and wake up...
GORDON BANKS:
Gordon Banks is considered by many people as the greatest goalkeeper
ever, Gordon Banks joined Stoke City in the summer of 1967, from
Leicester City, aged 29 years, for a mere £52,000. He made 293 League
outings for Leicester City, and played for them against Stoke City in the
1964 League Cup final, and in two losing FA Cup finals. He won the first of
his 73 full England caps in April 1963 (against Scotland) having already
played twice for the Under-23 side. A year before joining Stoke City he
gained a World Cup winners' medal when England defeated West Germany
at Wembley. He made 37 appearances for England while with Leicester. He made a further 36
appearances for England while with Stoke City making him Stoke's most-capped player at full
international level. He was awarded the OBE in 1970. He played a total of 246 senior games for
Stoke, gaining a League Cup winners' tankard in 1972, when he was also named both Footballer of the
Year and Sportsman of the Year. On October 22, 1972, Banks was involved in a road accident, when
his Ford Granada was involved in a head-on collision with a van. The accident cost him his sight in his
right eye and forced him into an early retirement from League football in this country, If it hadn't of
happened who knows how long he could of gone on and played for when you look at other
goalkeepers like Peter Shilton.
ALAN "BLUTO" BLOOR:
As a schoolboy he represented Stoke-on-Trent Schoolboys, going onto win
England youth caps. He signed professional forms on his 17th birthday with
Stoke City, but manager Tony Waddington made him bide his time before
making his first team appearance in 1961-62, going on to establish himself in
the first team squad in 1965. Over the next 12 seasons, mainly partnered by
Denis Smith, he was an inspiring figure in Stoke's defence. He eventually
made a total of 484 first team appearances for the club, scoring 19 goals. He
was a member of Stoke's 1972 League Cup and 1973 Watney Cup winning
teams.
NEIL FRANKLIN:
One of the finest defenders ever to pull on the No 5 shirt for Stoke City and
England. Born in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent, he starred for one of the club's
nursery sides, Stoke Old Boys, before turning professional in January, 1939.
During the war he made 186 appearances for The Potters as well as
representing England. After the war he was regarded as the country's best
centre-half, and went on to make 142 League and 20 FA Cup appearances
for Stoke as well as adding 27 full caps to the 10 he gained during wartime
and Victory internationals. In 1950, after turning down an invitation to go to
the World Cup finals with England, Franklin decided to play in South America by signing for
Colombian-based club, Sante Fe of Bogota. Sadly Franklin never played for Stoke again, and soon
after his return was transferred to Hull City in February 1951. After leaving Hull he had brief spells with
Crewe Alexandra, Stockport County and Mansfield Town. He also tried his hand at management
finally leaving football after managing Colchester United, to run a pub in Sandon. Sadly he died on
February 9, 1996.
FRANK BOWYER
He joined Stoke City in June, 1937, soon after leaving school. Unfortunately
World War Two disrupted his career, and it was not until February 1948, at the
age of 26, that he finally played in the Football League and FA Cup
competitions. He went on to make 436 senior appearances, netting 149 goals,
to become one of the top marksmen in Stoke's history, finishing only three
goals short of Freddie Steele's record of 140 League goals for the club. After 23
years with Stoke, Bowyer finally left the club in 1960 and played briefly for
Macclesfield Town before retiring two years later. Sadly though he passed
away.Considered by many to be one of Stoke's greatest ever players
DENIS SMITH:
Born in Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, he joined Stoke City as an apprentice in 1965,
before turning professional in September, 1966, making his first team debut in
September, 1968. He quickly became a permanent fixture in the side, teaming
up with Alan Bloor in the centre of the Stoke defence, and went on to make 493
appearances for the club, over a 17 year period, scoring 41 goals. Smith was
another member of the League Cup winning side in 1972. After ending his
footballing career in 1982, he moved on to become manager of York City. He
then had spells in charge at Sunderland, Bristol City, Oxford United and West
Bromich Albion, before returning to Oxford United last season
FREDDIE STEELE:
Born in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Freddie Steele was signed for Stoke City in
1931, by manager Tom Mather. Nicknamed 'Nobby' he made his senior debut in
December, 1934. He went on to score 220 goals for Stoke City in a total of 346
first-team appearances including wartime. He won a total of six England caps.
He left the Victoria Ground in 1949 to become player/manager of Mansfield
Town. He later joined Port Vale as player/manager and led them to the Third
Division North championship and FA Cup semi-finals in 1953-54. He then spent
a short time in South Africa. He died on April 23, 1976. I am also pretty sure my
own Grandfather, an ex Vlae player also played against Freddy and regards him
as one of the all time greats.
FRANKIE SOO:
Signed by manager Frank Taylor in January, 1933, Frankie Soo became the first
player of Chinese descent ever to appear in the Football League. He made 185
competitive appearances, for the club, scoring 17 goals, also making 81 wartime
appearances scoring a further 17 goals, and winning eight wartime caps for
England. In 1945 Soo moved to Leicester City for £4,600. He ended his playing
career with Chelmsford City in 1950, and after retirement he went into coaching.
He died in his home town of Liverpool in January, 1991.
PETER SHILTON MBE, OBE
Peter Shilton, rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, joined Stoke
City in November 1974 from Leicester City for a fee of £300,000. He made 120
appearances for the Potters before being transferred to Nottingham Forest for
£270,000 in September, 1977. 'Shilts' became the first footballer in history to appear in
1,000 Football League games, playing professional football for an amazing 31
years. He made 125 appearances for England at full international level, and was
captain of his country on 15 occasions. Broke 1000 league appearences whilst
playing for Leyton Orient.
JOHN RITCHIE
Stoke City's top marksman of all-time, he scored a total of 176 goals in 343
first-team games for the Potters during two spells with the club, June, 1962, to
November, 1966 and July, 1969, to May, 1975. John was brought to the Victoria
ground by manager Tony Waddington, who had never seen him play, for just
£2,500. During his first spell with the club he scored 30 goals in 47 senior appearances
before being sold to Sheffield Wednesday in November, 1955, for £70,000. In
August, 1969, Ritchie returned to the Victoria Ground, Stoke paying just
£25,000 for the 'fans favourite striker'. Ritchie was another member of the League Cup
winning side in 1972. Ritchie's football career was brought to an end by a double
leg fracture and after retiring from football, he concentrated on his pottery
business based in Stoke.
MICK PEJIC:
Mick was another local lad who made it through the junior ranks at the Victoria
Ground, and signed professional forms on his 18th birthday. He quickly
established himself in the first team, making eight appearances for England
Under-23 and winning four caps with the England senior squad. Pejic was also a
member of the League Cup winning side in 1972. He went on to make a total of
336 competitive appearances for Stoke, scoring just eight times, before being
transferred to Everton for £135,000 in February 1977. He later moved on to
Aston Villa in September, 1979, but a groin injury forced him into an early
retirement in 1980, after making a total of 360 League appearances. Returned
as a coach under Lou Macari and played a part in Stoke reaching the first divison play offs in 1996 behind
the scenes.
TERRY CONROY:
He joined the Potters from the Irish club, Glentoran for £10,000 in March 1967.
He went on to make 333 Cup and League appearances for Stoke, scoring 66
goals. A brilliant dribbler, who had pace, stamina and a fierce shot in either foot,
he won a League Cup winners medal in 1972 when he starred in Stoke's 2-1
victory over Chelsea. Capped by The Republic of Ireland 26 times, he left the
Victoria Ground for the Hong Kong club Bulova on a free transfer in 1979 having
spent 12 years with the Potters. He returned to England in 1980 to play for
Crewe Alexandra, scoring five goals in 37 League appearances before hanging
up his boots to concentrate on his business. Currently doing PA work down at
the Brit.
GEORGE EASTHAM:
Started his league football with Irish league club, Ards, before moving to
Newcastle United in 1956, where he made 124 League appearances, scoring 29
goals. In October, 1960, he joined Arsenal for £47,500, going on to score 40
goals in his 207 first team appearances for The Gunners. On August 18, 1966,
Tony Waddington brought him to the Victoria Ground for £35,000. He went on to
make 239 appearances, scoring five goals for the Potters, his most memorable
strike being the winner in the 1972 League Cup final against Chelsea, when at
the age of 35 years 161 days, he became the oldest player to receive a winners'
medal. In 1971 he went to South Africa, playing on loan with Cape Town Spurs
and later as player-manager of Hellenic. Back with Stoke, after retiring as a player, be became assistant to
manager Waddington, and when Waddington was dismissed in March 1977, Eastham became Stoke's new
manager. He held the position for barely a year, before Alan Durban took over the reins in February 1978.
He was awarded the MBE in 1973.
JIMMY GREENHOFF:
Born in Barnsley, Greenhoff played for Barnsley Schools and Yorkshire Schools
before going to Leeds United as an apprentice. He went on to play in 94 League
games scoring 21 goals from 1961 (apprentice) until August, 1968. He was then
transferred to Birmingham City for £70,000 and spent a season a St Andrew's,
scoring 15 goals in 36 senior outings. In August 1969, Tony Waddington brought
him to Stoke for £100,000, and he immediately made an impact on the
Potteries. He was a key member of the 1972 League Cup winning side and in
his seven year stay at Stoke City he scored 101 goals in 338 first-team
appearances. In November, 1976, he left Stoke City to join Manchester United
for £120,000, he went on to score 36 goals in 122 outings for United. In 1980 he joined Crewe Alexandra,
and later had a brief spell as their manager. Afterwards he went to Canada to play for Toronto Blizzard and
rounded off his career with two seasons at Port Vale (1981-83) and a season as player-manager of
Rochdale, returning as coach at Vale Park. Greenhoff finished his playing career with a League record of
146 goals in 571 appearances. He now lives locally in Alsager. Also scored what my dad considers to of
been the greatest ever goal scored by a Stoke city player, a volley vs Birmingham City...
ALAN HUDSON:
'Huddy' had two spells at Stoke — the first from January, 1974, to December,
1976, and the second from January, 1984, to September, 1985. He made a total
of 170 League and Cup games for the Potters, scoring nine goals. Born in
Chelsea, London, Hudson started his career as an apprentice at Stamford
Bridge, turning professional in June, 1968. He scored 14 goals in 189 League
and Cup games for Chelsea, helping them win the European Cup-winners' Cup
in 1971. He joined Stoke for £240,000 in 1973. He later joined Arsenal for
£200,000 after picking up an FA Cup losers' medal with the Gunners in 1978 and having
a brief spell with Seattle Sounders and Hercules Alicante in Spain. In August,
1983, he returned to Stamford Bridge, and six months later he was back at
Stoke who paid £22,500 as part of a deal which saw Mickey Thomas go to the Londoners. Hudson
remained with the Potters for the rest of his playing career, retiring from competitive football through a knee
injury soon after the 1985-86 season had kicked-off. He was capped twice by England at senior level and 10
times by the Under-21s. He scored 19 goals in a total of 324 League games for his three English clubs. My
dad once had a very big arguement in a bar with Mr. Hudson, then again didn't everyone?
GEOFF HURST:
Born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Hurst played for Halstead Chelmsford City as a
teenager before joining West Ham United's apprentice staff in 1958. He turned
professional at Upton Park in April 1959 and played for them until August 1972
when he moved to The Victoria Ground. During his time with the Hammers he
became a legend scoring 252 in a total of 502 senior appearances. While he
was with West Ham Hurst also scored 24 goals in 49 international appearances
for England, including the famous hat-trick in the 1966 World Cup against West
Germany at Wembley. He also won four under-23 caps and played six times for
the Football League side. He was a FA Cup and European Cup-winners' Cup
winner with the Hammer in 1964 and 1965 respectively and played in the 1966 League Cup final defeat
against West Brom.
When he left the Hammers for Stoke City, the fee was £75,000, which proved to be money well spent by
manager Tony Waddington as Hurst went on to score 37 goals in 128 games for the Potters up to August
1975 when he was transferred to West Bromwich Albion for £20,000. He was 34 years old when he signed
for the Baggies and spent barely a season there before briefly playing for Cork Celtic, and Seattle Sounders
(NASL).
He came back to England as player-manager of Telford United and had a spell as coach in charge of
England's under-21 side, later acting as assistant manager of the full England squad (under his former boss
at West Ham, Ron Greenwood). In the late 1970s he was made coach at Chelsea and managed them from
1979 to 1981 before going over to coach in Kuwait.
PETER FOX
Peter holds the record for the most appearances as a goalkeeper for Stoke City.
He spent more than 15 years at Stoke, from March, 1978, to July, 1993, and in
that time made 477 first-team appearances. He joined Stoke City for £15,000
from Barnsley, and after a loan spell with Linfield (1992) he left the Potters for
Exeter City on a free transfer in July, 1993, taking over as player-manager at St
James' Park in the summer of 1995. He passed the magic 650 appearance
mark in 1996, the year he retired as a player. Was replaced as manager of
Exeter by ex Stoke defender Noel Blake last season.
LARUS SIGURDSSON
Born Akureyri, Iceland (4.6.73).
Ht 6.0 Wt 13.11.
Debut 1994.
Previous clubs: none-English.
He may not look it, but he's incredibly strong and that's something you soon
find out in training. Great man-to-man defender who has plenty of speed to call
on. Everyone gets on with 'Larry' - though we're convinced he's talking about
us when he rattles on in Icelandic with his brother Kris. Very proud of his
country and has the flag tattooed on his arm. On September 17 Brian Little returned to Stoke City to
lure away Larus Sigurdsson in a £350,000 move to West Bromwich Albion. In his later days at Stoke
quiet a few people thought that Siggi's atitude slipped a bit and this left a bit of a sor taste in Stoke
Supporters mouths.. but at the end of the day, when at his best Siggi was indeed one of the best.
MIKE SHERON
Mike was signed in a swap deal from Norwich with saw donkey Keith Scott
go in the other direction. I alwasy remember Mike's home debut against
Crystal Palace, he was denied in the first half by two superb Nigel Martyn
save and grabbed a last minute consilation with a thunderous 30 yarder as
Stoke lost 2-1. From the on Mike Sheron was on fire. Shezza as he was
known to the Boothen End formed a deadly strike force with Simon Sturridge
that very nearly fired Stoke in to the Premiership in 1996. Along the way
Mike broke a long standing Stoke City record for scoring in consecutive
games. The following season Mike again started the season like a man possessed, banging in 19 goals
before Christmas. Then after the new year things were never to be the same again.. Mike had attracted
intrest from QPR and the transfer soeculation affected his game and scoring ratio.. However he did pop
up in the second to last last game of the season to score a brace against Port Vale to win the last ever
Potteries Derby at the Victoria Ground before heading of to QPR for 2.5 million pounds in the summer.
Up on his return with QPR the next season Mike didn't get the best of receptions from the North
Stand. Most notably he scored a hat trick of goals against Arsenal and England Goal keeper David
Seaman in the league Cup.
KEVIN KEEN:
Kevin Keen Joined Stoke City from Wolverhampton Wanders in 1994,
seeing as the solution to Stoke's lack of numbers in Midfield. He duely
popped up with a goal on his debut against former club Wolverhampton
Wanders.. Keeno was a class player for Stoke City, however injuries
played a major part in getting in the way of his Stoke Carear. During the
crap of the "Brian Little" era at Stoke Kevin was a guiding light and was
nominated player of the season, before being released by little only to resign
again under Megson, howver injuries crippled his return and he was again
released at the end of the 1999/2000 season.. On his day Kevin could rip
defences appart and was always appreciated by Stoke City fans for all his hard work.
GRAHAM KAVANAGH
Born Dublin (2.12.73).
Ht 5.10 Wt 12.06.
Debut 1996.
Previous clubs: Middlesbrough, Hartlepool (loan).
Wants to play at a higher level and a lot of people are tipping him for that.
Great scoring record in the last two seasons and we may have been guilty of
relying on him too heavily for goals. Graham will go down in history as the
last ever Stoke Player to score a goal at the Victoria Ground when he
chipped WBA keeper Alan Miller in the Vic's final ever league game. When
Kav is on form nobody can stop him. He needs to get some sort of consistancy going though and if he
can do that he will indeed go on to be a legend at Stoke City.. Still playing for Stoke to this day and
scored at Wembley and made the winning gola in the 1999/2000 Auto Windscreen Shield Final.
MARK STEIN:
Mark Stein is probably the biggest and last much loved hero that the
Victoria Ground had.. Signed by Lou Macari from Oxford for
£100,000 in 1991 Stein went on to partner Wayne Biggins up front in
the Stoke in the side that won the 1992 Autoglass Trophey at
Wembley, with Stein scoring the winning goal. The following season
Stein returned even better , scoring 30 odd goals that won the 2nd
Division Title for Stoke. The following season his scoring continued at a
simaler ratio in division 1 and he went on to smash two goals passed
Manchester United Goal Keeper Peter Schemicheal as Stoke beat
Man United at the Victoria Ground in the Coca Cola cup at the Vic.
Eventually though Stein was sold off to Chelsea for 1.6 million where he went on to break and still hold
the record for a Premiership player scoring in consecutive games. He returned to Stoke on loan in
November 1996 for 3 months and partnered Mike Sheron, Stein chipped in with 4 goals before
returning to Chelsea. He then moved on to Bournmouth on a free transfer and has since been released.
NIGEL GLEGHORN:
(seen here in the colours of Burnley following his release from Stoke)
I have not been around to see such players like Alan Hudson, Terry
Conroy or Stanley Matthews so I haven't seen any Stoke City hero's
when they were at the top, but for me Nigel Gleghorn was one of my all
time Hero's when he was at Stoke. Signed from Birmingham City by Lou
Macari in 1992 "Foghorn" was initially a left sided midfielder and he
chipped in with his fair number of goals in our championship season
including the second in the 2 -1 win at Vale Park that virtually secured us
the second division Championship to divison 1 in 1993. Gleggy continued
to be a first teamer at Stoke in Division One until in the 1995/1996 season
Lou Macari decided to switch him to central midfield. Now if I had thought Gleggy had looked good
on the left wing before, nothing would prepare me for what I saw when he was switched to the middle
of the Park, he was f##king outstanding! as he continued to score his goalls from midfield and act as
play maker to Sheron and Sturridge up front. Gleghorn was skipper when Stoke just missed out on the
Premiership in 1996, he was then released on a free transfer.. A BIG mistake by Stoke City I feel.. Still
to this day we have yet to find anyone to replace Nigel in midfield and have suffered for it over the last
few seasons.
VINCE OVERSON:
Signed by Lou Macari from Birmingham for £55,000 Vince was almost as
good a bargin as the Stein deal.. Vince was made captain and was a natural
leader and also a huge, powerful Centre half, He was Captain at Wembley
when Stoke City won the Autoglass Trophy in 1992 and a year later he lifted
the Second Division Championship with Stoke. With Stoke back in the 1st
Divison Vince formed a solid partnership with Ian Cranson (see below) in the
centre of defence, the two of them were like a pair f rocks when they were
together, again something that Stoke have missed in previous seasons.. Sadly
Vince's Stoke carear was bought to an end on the 22nd of November 1995
when he suffered an injury in the 1 0 home win against eventual champions
Sunderland. Vince was to never play for Stoke again and was released at the
end of the season and ended up joining Burnley along with former Birmingham and Stoke team mate
Nigel Gleghorn.
IAN CRANSON:
Ian Cranson was Vince Overson's Central defensive partner for many
years at Stoke.. As I said the two of them when together were like a pair
of rocks and both of them were natural leaders at the back. Ian joined
from Sheffield Wednesday for £450,000, a record amount of money for
Stoke to pay out for a player at the time. Ian, in a way was a natural
replacement for Steve Bould as it turned out. Ian could probably be seen
as a more technical player than Overson, and alot more skillful, but
unfortunatly injuries also ended his Stoke City carear as it had done to
Vince Overson the year before. Ian Cranson will always be remembered
as one of the all time greats at Stoke and the club paid Cranny back by giving him a Testimonial against
Everton, one of the last ever games to be played at the Vic where a good crowd turned out to see
Stoke lose 2-0 against the Premiership team. Ian is now Youth Team coach at the Britannia Stadium,
but will always be remembed for being such a man mountain at the back for Stoke City over the years,
at the end of the day he could of been fully capable of playing in the Premiership. We still miss you out
on the pitch Ian!!
STEVE BOULD:
Another hero and a local one at that.. He made 211 appearances for Stoke
after coming through the Youth Ranks before finally joining Arsenal in 1988
where he went on to become an England International and win a vast range of
Domestic and European Honours. Partnered Tony Adams for many years at
Arsenal and was a big part in the Famous Arsenal back four. He started his
Stoke Carear off at right back until some one noticed what he had to offer as a
centre half and he was duly switched there. After a brief loan spell in the lower
divisions Steve returned to Stoke and imediatly developed in to a world class
player. Everton were intrested in him at the time but eventually Steve was to
move on to North London where he joined up with the Gunners. We have
failed in several attempts to re sign Steve in the past, possibly even as player
manager. At the start of last season Steve Joined Sunderland where it now looks he will finish his long
footballing carear.
LEE DIXON:
Lee Dixon was signed by Stoke City from Bury and quickly went on to
establsih himself as a quality right back along with other players such as Steve
Bould (above) Eventually this concluded in Lee joining up at Arsenal where
he, like Steve Bould went on to win major Domestic and European honours
and become a full England International. Just a qucik mention on something I
found rather strange, If anyone ever had the game Striker on the Super
Nintendo it said that Lee Dixon was a black man??!! don't ask?! .......Lee
was solid on his day and at Arsenal he was part of the legendary defence that
comprised of Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Adams and Bould.. A great player
who is still at Arsenal and played a major Role in them securing their recent League and Cup double .
JOHN "UNSUNG HERO" BUTLER:
Okay, just to clear up.. The unsung hero part is a bit of a private joke that
anyone who has seen the 1993 "We are the Champions" Video will all
know about... John Butler was signed from Wigan Athletic for £100,000
and turned out to be a natural replacement for Lee Dixon.. As it happens
I will alsways remember John Butler as he scored in the first ever Stoke
match I went at the Victoria Ground. He played a major role in our 1992
Autoglass wembley win and us lifting the second divison championship the
following season.. John just seemed to get better with age but overall I
think that his age was what stopped him going on to greater things.. In
1994 he was going on 33 and still doing well in the Stoke City first team but at the end of the season he
was given a free transfer and eventually returned to his former club Wigan Athletic. John will probably
be remembered for two things at Stoke.. His brialliant solo run down the right wing at Vale Park that
set up Mark Stein for his opening goal during our 2 0 win there in 1992/ 1993 Championship season..
and also "The Oatcake" Fanzines constant piss take out of his hair style.. still, no one's perfect, are
they.. A Great player!.
PETER BEAGRIE
One of the main problems at Stoke in recent seasons as being that we have
not had any quality wingers within the team, However this was not the case
in years gone by... Peter Beagrie was a very rare bread indeed.. A left
winger.. For me left wingers are like gold dust in football, when you find a
decent one you know you have found a gem. Just look at the situation the
current England team are in at the moment with out any natural left sided
midfield players... Peter Beagrie, with his trademark somersault goal
celebrations will always be remembered for his time at Stoke, most notably a
goal against Bournmouth when he picked the ball up in his own penalty area,
ran the length of the pitch and scored in front of the Boothen End, one of the gretest ever goals the
Victoria Ground ever saw..
MARK CHAMBERLAIN
Mark was signed from local rivals Port Valle and went on to play for
England. I am too young to really remember seeing Mark play, but from
what I have seen on video footage he was explosive in his day.. An all out
attacking right winger Mark had blistering pace, skill, touch and shot. He ,
like Peter Beagrie could pull teams appart single handedly.. The right wing at
Stoke is a treasured one, due to the history of Sir Stanley Matthews, but
Mark Chamberlain was more thank good enough to pull on a Stoke number
7 shirt, go out on the pitch with pride and cause total havoc to the
opposition. As I said before, it has been wingers like Mark that Stoke have
lacked over the last few years.