‘A club so rich in history deserves own museum’
BRICK Kiln Lane in Etruria may just seem like a normal residential street leading to a little industrial estate, though dominated by the roar from the D-road which closely skirts past it. However, it is central to the history of English football.
Towards the end of the 1880s, recently established football clubs had quickly realised that once their FA Cup campaigns had concluded, interest from supporters tended to wane, and so a group of them began talks around the formation of a league in order to combat this.
And in the summer of 1888, the Football League was launched, and Stoke – whose secretary Harry Lockett had been central to the talks on behalf of the club – were one of 12 founder members.
The formation of the Football League is arguably the most important single development in the history of the game.
And the Football League established their first offices here in The Potteries at Parkers Terrace along Brick Kiln Lane.
Harry Lockett resigned from his position at Stoke to become the league’s first secretary, a post he held until 1902.
Many younger football supporters prefer to live the game in the here and now. However, I think it’s safe to say that all would respect the game’s heritage, and there are some great examples around the country of what can be achieved with a little thought and creativity.
Monkwearmouth Railway Station in Sunderland was closed many years ago. However, it has been repurposed as The Fans Museum, a celebration of what it means to be a football supporter, and it is chock full of memorabilia – much from Sunderland obviously, but not exclusively – going back years.
It really is a magnificent little place.
Up the road in Manchester is the National Football Museum which arrived at the Ian Simpson designed Urbis building via Preston North End’s Deepdale.
The National Football Museum is housed over four floors, contains the most important football collections in the country, and attracts more than 500,000 visitors a year.
And of course, clubs themselves have their own dedicated museums, and not just the big boys but also clubs that could be considered peers of Stoke City, old rivals Wolves being one.
But not Stoke City. And you have to ask why this is the case.
Stoke City are one of English football’s oldest clubs. The Potters may be light on silverware, but they are rich on history, and as such, could be the subject of a well curated and deeply engaging attraction.
The Stoke City story contains some of
English football’s most important chapters and milestones.
Formed in 1863, The Potters are the second oldest club in English football’s top four divisions, and were central to the formation of the Football League, becoming a founder member.
The club introduced the world of football to Sir Stanley Matthews – the Wizard of the Dribble – the only footballer to be knighted while still playing, the first winner of the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year, the first winner of the Ballon d’or, and the oldest player – at 50 years old – to appear in the English top flight. As Pelé put it, Sir Stan “taught us the way football should be played”.
And Sir Stan was part of the Stoke City team that faced Manchester City at Maine Road in an FA Cup quarter-final in 1934. A crowd of 84,569 descended on Moss Side – including an estimated 25,000 from The Potteries – still the highest domestic attendance at an English club ground. Manchester City won 1-0, ‘typical bloody Stoke’ as my old man would’ve put it.
And then there was the boy named Frank Soo, signed by The Potters from Prescot Cables and who became the first player of Chinese origin to play in the Football League.
It is broadly agreed throughout the world of football that the greatest goalkeeper of all-time was Gordon Banks.
And Banksy perhaps enjoyed the best years of his career – certainly from a
club perspective – at Stoke, eventually becoming club president.
Gordon was a Potter when he made what many consider to be the greatest save ever while on England duty at the 1970 World Cup, denying Pelé a certain goal, the Brazilian legend remarking: “They won’t remember me for winning the World Cup. It will be for that save”.
And those are just the eye-catching stories. I could go on…
When you weigh all of this up, you can only conclude that Stoke City could – and should – have a well curated museum of its own. It would contain multitudes.
It has been acknowledged that the bet365 Stadium needs to be more of a destination, and a lot of work has already been done towards this end with the opening of Ricardo’s and the plans for the new fan zone.
But what next? Why not a Stoke City Museum and Hall of Fame with annual induction ceremonies?
It would be a welcome addition to the bet365 Stadium and the footballing landscape, and it might even help us get the Watney Cup back!