Stoke City F.C. is an English association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The club was formed in 1863 as Stoke Ramblers F.C., and played their first competitive match in November 1883, when they entered the First Round of the 1883–84 FA Cup. In 1888 they joined the inaugural Football League thus becoming founding members. The club was renamed Stoke City F.C. in 1925, and they moved to Britannia Stadium in 1997. Since playing their first competitive match, more than 1000 players have made a competitive first-team appearance for the club, many of whom have played 100 matches+ (including substitute appearances); those players are listed here.
Despite a lack of success Stoke have had a number of famous players over the years such as Stanley Matthews, Gordon Banks, Jimmy Greenhoff and Denis Smith. Stoke City's record appearance-maker is Eric Skeels who made 596 appearances between 1959 and 1976. Stoke's top senior goalscorer is John Ritchie with 176 goals.
Statistics correct as of match played 15 February 2025
Pre-1960s | Post-1960s | ||
---|---|---|---|
GK | Goalkeeper | ||
FB | Full back | DF | Defender |
HB | Half back | MF | Midfielder |
FW | Forward | ||
U | Utility player 1 |
Name | Nationality | Position | Stoke City career | Starts | Subs | Total | Goals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Appearances | |||||||
Eric Skeels | ![]() | DF | 1959–1976 | 579 | 18 | 597 | 7 |
John McCue | ![]() | DF | 1946–1960 | 542 | 0 | 542 | 2 |
Bob McGrory | ![]() | FB | 1921–1935 | 511 | 0 | 511 | 0 |
Denis Smith | ![]() | DF | 1968–1982 | 492 | 1 | 493 | 42 |
Alan Bloor | ![]() | DF | 1961–1977 | 478 | 4 | 482 | 19 |
Peter Fox | ![]() | GK | 1978–1993 | 477 | 0 | 477 | 0 |
Tony Allen | ![]() | DF | 1957–1970 | 470 | 3 | 473 | 4 |
Ryan Shawcross | ![]() | DF | 2007–2021 | 444 | 9 | 453 | 25 |
Jackie Marsh | ![]() | DF | 1967–1979 | 435 | 9 | 444 | 3 |
Frank Bowyer | ![]() | FW | 1937–1960 | 436 | 0 | 436 | 149 |
Frank Mountford | ![]() | U | 1946–1957 | 425 | 0 | 425 | 24 |
Alan Dodd | ![]() | DF | 1972–1982 | 409 | 8 | 417 | 4 |
John Sellars | ![]() | HB | 1946–1958 | 413 | 0 | 413 | 15 |
Harry Davies | ![]() | FW | 1922–1937 | 411 | 0 | 411 | 101 |
Harry Sellars | ![]() | HB | 1923–1935 | 395 | 0 | 395 | 19 |
Peter Dobing | ![]() | FW | 1963–1973 | 372 | 5 | 377 | 95 |
Stanley Matthews | ![]() | MF | 1932–1947 1961–1965 | 355 | 0 | 355 | 62 |
Billy Spencer | ![]() | FB | 1926–1936 | 354 | 0 | 354 | 0 |
John Ritchie | ![]() | FW | 1962–1975 | 340 | 11 | 351 | 176 |
Harry Oscroft | ![]() | FW | 1950–1959 | 349 | 0 | 349 | 107 |
Jimmy Greenhoff | ![]() | FW | 1969–1976 | 346 | 0 | 346 | 103 |
Mike Pejic | ![]() | DF | 1968–1976 | 344 | 0 | 344 | 9 |
Bill Asprey | ![]() | FB | 1954–1965 | 341 | 0 | 341 | 26 |
Glenn Whelan | ![]() | MF | 2008–2017 | 287 | 51 | 338 | 8 |
John Mahoney | ![]() | MF | 1967–1977 | 322 | 15 | 337 | 28 |
Terry Conroy | ![]() | FW | 1967–1979 | 304 | 31 | 335 | 67 |
Lee Sandford | ![]() | DF | 1989–1996 | 321 | 3 | 324 | 13 |
John Butler | ![]() | DF | 1988–1995 | 314 | 5 | 319 | 9 |
Bobby Liddle | ![]() | MF | 1928–1938 | 316 | 0 | 316 | 64 |
Arthur Turner | ![]() | DF | 1930–1939 | 312 | 0 | 312 | 17 |
Johnny King | ![]() | FW | 1953–1961 | 311 | 0 | 311 | 113 |
Ken Thomson | ![]() | DF | 1952–1960 | 302 | 0 | 302 | 7 |
Brendan O'Callaghan | ![]() | FW | 1977–1984 | 284 | 10 | 294 | 47 |
Harry Burrows | ![]() | FW | 1965–1974 | 276 | 9 | 285 | 77 |
Ian Cranson | ![]() | MF | 1989–1996 | 277 | 4 | 281 | 12 |
Bobby Archibald | ![]() | FW | 1925–1931 | 276 | 0 | 276 | 40 |
Alec Milne | ![]() | FB | 1912–1926 | 276 | 0 | 276 | 0 |
Carl Beeston | ![]() | MF | 1985–1997 | 258 | 13 | 271 | 17 |
Jonathan Walters | ![]() | FW | 2010–2017 | 224 | 47 | 271 | 62 |
George Berry | ![]() | DF | 1982–1990 | 261 | 8 | 269 | 30 |
Tom Holford | ![]() | MF | 1898–1908 | 269 | 0 | 269 | 33 |
Clive Clarke | ![]() | DF | 1999–2005 | 242 | 22 | 264 | 10 |
Peter Crouch | ![]() | FW | 2011–2019 | 163 | 98 | 261 | 62 |
Don Ratcliffe | ![]() | MF | 1954–1963 | 260 | 0 | 260 | 19 |
James Bradley | ![]() | FB | 1898–1915 | 256 | 0 | 256 | 6 |
Tommy Clare | ![]() | FB | 1883–1897 | 252 | 0 | 252 | 6 |
Freddie Steele | ![]() | FW | 1933–1949 | 251 | 0 | 251 | 159 |
Gordon Banks | ![]() | GK | 1967–1972 | 250 | 0 | 250 | 0 |
Bill Robertson | ![]() | GK | 1952–1960 | 250 | 0 | 250 | 0 |
Jock Kirton | ![]() | MF | 1936–1952 | 249 | 0 | 249 | 2 |
Graham Kavanagh | ![]() | MF | 1996–2001 | 235 | 10 | 245 | 45 |
George Eastham | ![]() | MF | 1966–1973 | 227 | 13 | 240 | 5 |
Lárus Sigurðsson | ![]() | DF | 1994–1999 | 225 | 3 | 228 | 7 |
Joe Schofield | ![]() | FW | 1891–1899 | 227 | 0 | 227 | 93 |
George Baddeley | ![]() | HB | 1901–1908 | 225 | 0 | 225 | 19 |
Tommy Sale | ![]() | FW | 1930–1946 | 222 | 0 | 222 | 103 |
Joe Allen | ![]() | MF | 2016–2022 | 211 | 10 | 221 | 20 |
Billy Tempest | ![]() | MF | 1912–1924 | 217 | 0 | 217 | 31 |
Wayne Thomas | ![]() | DF | 2000–2005 | 215 | 2 | 217 | 8 |
Dennis Herod | ![]() | GK | 1946–1953 | 215 | 0 | 215 | 1 |
Vince Overson | ![]() | DF | 1991–1996 | 212 | 3 | 215 | 7 |
Davy Brodie | ![]() | HB | 1889–1897 | 213 | 0 | 213 | 3 |
Steve Bould | ![]() | DF | 1980–1988 | 207 | 4 | 211 | 7 |
James O'Connor | ![]() | MF | 1996–2003 | 209 | 2 | 211 | 22 |
Ray Wallace | ![]() | DF | 1994–1999 | 182 | 29 | 211 | 16 |
Rory Delap | ![]() | MF | 2006–2013 | 188 | 20 | 208 | 8 |
Ricardo Fuller | ![]() | FW | 2006–2012 | 137 | 71 | 208 | 50 |
Nigel Gleghorn | ![]() | FW | 1992–1996 | 204 | 4 | 208 | 31 |
Dennis Viollet | ![]() | FW | 1962–1967 | 206 | 1 | 207 | 66 |
Erik Pieters | ![]() | DF | 2013–2019 | 199 | 7 | 206 | 3 |
Kevin Keen | ![]() | MF | 1994–2000 | 169 | 34 | 203 | 12 |
Len Armitage | ![]() | HB | 1924–1932 | 200 | 0 | 200 | 19 |
Bob Dixon | ![]() | GK | 1922–1928 | 200 | 0 | 200 | 0 |
Sam Baddeley | ![]() | DF | 1908–1915 | 199 | 0 | 199 | 9 |
Arthur Tutin | ![]() | HB | 1933–1939 | 198 | 0 | 198 | 3 |
Norman Wilkinson | ![]() | GK | 1935–1951 | 198 | 0 | 198 | 0 |
Walter Bussey | ![]() | FW | 1925–1932 | 197 | 0 | 197 | 50 |
Bobby Cairns | ![]() | MF | 1954–1961 | 196 | 0 | 196 | 11 |
Freddie Johnson | ![]() | FW | 1895–1903 | 196 | 0 | 196 | 20 |
Calvin Palmer | ![]() | MF | 1963–1967 | 196 | 0 | 196 | 27 |
Charlie Burgess | ![]() | FB | 1901–1907 | 195 | 0 | 195 | 0 |
Billy Mould | ![]() | DF | 1937–1951 | 194 | 0 | 194 | 0 |
Andy Wilkinson | ![]() | DF | 2001–2015 | 152 | 42 | 194 | 0 |
Joe Johnson | ![]() | FW | 1931–1937 | 193 | 0 | 193 | 57 |
John Farmer | ![]() | GK | 1966–1974 | 192 | 1 | 193 | 0 |
Alexander Ormston | ![]() | MF | 1937–1951 | 192 | 0 | 192 | 30 |
Carl Saunders | ![]() | FW | 1982–1990 | 151 | 40 | 191 | 30 |
John Malkin | ![]() | DF | 1947–1956 | 190 | 0 | 190 | 27 |
George Turner | ![]() | DF | 1908–1914 | 189 | 0 | 189 | 17 |
Peter Thorne | ![]() | FW | 1997–2001 | 173 | 16 | 189 | 80 |
Robert Huth | ![]() | DF | 2009–2015 | 183 | 5 | 188 | 18 |
Ernest Mullineux | ![]() | DF | 1907–1914 | 189 | 0 | 187 | 0 |
Steve Simonsen | ![]() | GK | 2004–2010 | 180 | 7 | 187 | 0 |
Jack Eccles | ![]() | FB | 1890–1900 | 186 | 0 | 186 | 1 |
Carl Muggleton | ![]() | GK | 1993–2001 | 185 | 1 | 186 | 0 |
Mamady Sidibe | ![]() | FW | 2005–2013 | 164 | 22 | 186 | 26 |
Geoff Cameron | ![]() | MF | 2012–2018 | 167 | 19 | 186 | 2 |
Frank Soo | ![]() | FW | 1933–1945 | 185 | 0 | 185 | 10 |
Darel Russell | ![]() | MF | 2003–2008 | 176 | 6 | 182 | 16 |
Wayne Biggins | ![]() | FW | 1989–1994 | 168 | 13 | 181 | 63 |
Mike Bernard | ![]() | DF | 1965–1972 | 169 | 12 | 181 | 11 |
Phil Heath | ![]() | MF | 1983–1988 | 166 | 13 | 179 | 19 |
Charlie Adam | ![]() | MF | 2012–2019 | 107 | 72 | 179 | 21 |
Marc Wilson | ![]() | DF | 2010–2016 | 159 | 19 | 178 | 1 |
Matthew Etherington | ![]() | MF | 2009–2014 | 153 | 24 | 177 | 16 |
Frank Baker | ![]() | FW | 1936–1949 | 174 | 0 | 174 | 33 |
William Maxwell | ![]() | FW | 1895–1900 | 173 | 0 | 173 | 85 |
Arthur Watkin | ![]() | FW | 1913–1925 | 172 | 0 | 172 | 74 |
Asmir Begović | ![]() | GK | 2010–2015 | 170 | 2 | 172 | 1 |
Norman Lewis | ![]() | GK | 1929–1935 | 170 | 0 | 170 | 0 |
Jack Butland | ![]() | GK | 2013–2020 | 168 | 1 | 169 | 0 |
Jordan Thompson | ![]() | MF | 2020– | 113 | 55 | 168 | 4 |
Charlie Wilson | ![]() | FW | 1925–1930 | 167 | 0 | 167 | 120 |
George Clarke | ![]() | HB | 1919–1923 | 165 | 0 | 165 | 4 |
Graham Shaw | ![]() | FW | 1985–1995 | 124 | 41 | 165 | 29 |
Garth Crooks | ![]() | FW | 1976–1980 | 154 | 10 | 164 | 52 |
Tyrese Campbell | ![]() | FW | 2018–2024 | 98 | 66 | 164 | 36 |
Neil Franklin | ![]() | DF | 1946–1950 | 162 | 0 | 162 | 0 |
Alan Hudson | ![]() | MF | 1974–1985 | 161 | 1 | 162 | 9 |
Tom Williamson | ![]() | HB | 1926–1930 | 162 | 0 | 162 | 15 |
Bjarni Guðjónsson | ![]() | MF | 2000–2003 | 143 | 18 | 161 | 16 |
Brynjar Gunnarsson | ![]() | MF | 2000–2004 | 155 | 6 | 161 | 20 |
Dean Whitehead | ![]() | MF | 2009–2013 | 117 | 43 | 160 | 5 |
Leigh Richmond Roose | ![]() | GK | 1901–1907 | 159 | 0 | 159 | 0 |
George Mountford | ![]() | FW | 1946–1950 | 158 | 0 | 158 | 29 |
Mame Biram Diouf | ![]() | FW | 2014–2020 | 99 | 58 | 157 | 25 |
Peter Hampton | ![]() | DF | 1980–1984 | 152 | 4 | 156 | 4 |
Bobby Howitt | ![]() | HB | 1958–1963 | 150 | 0 | 150 | 16 |
Alf Smith | ![]() | FW | 1903–1915 | 150 | 0 | 150 | 72 |
Jimmy O'Neill | ![]() | GK | 1960–1964 | 149 | 0 | 149 | 0 |
Sean Haslegrave | ![]() | MF | 1970–1976 | 136 | 10 | 146 | 8 |
Marko Arnautović | ![]() | FW | 2013–2017 | 129 | 16 | 145 | 26 |
Sammy McIlroy | ![]() | MF | 1982–1985 | 143 | 1 | 144 | 14 |
Bill Rowley | ![]() | GK | 1887–1896 | 144 | 0 | 144 | 0 |
Cliff Carr | ![]() | DF | 1987–1991 | 134 | 9 | 143 | 1 |
Sam Clucas | ![]() | MF | 2018–2023 | 117 | 26 | 143 | 19 |
Paul Richardson | ![]() | MF | 1977–1981 | 137 | 5 | 142 | 11 |
Paul Bracewell | ![]() | MF | 1979–1983 | 135 | 6 | 141 | 6 |
William Smith | ![]() | FW | 1909–1913 | 141 | 0 | 141 | 62 |
Paul Ware | ![]() | MF | 1987–1994 | 115 | 26 | 141 | 14 |
Jacob Brown | ![]() | FW | 2020–2023 | 106 | 35 | 141 | 30 |
Jimmy Robertson | ![]() | MF | 1972–1977 | 121 | 19 | 140 | 14 |
Mart Watkins | ![]() | FW | 1900–1908 | 139 | 0 | 139 | 52 |
Ben Wilmot | ![]() | DF | 2021– | 128 | 10 | 138 | 7 |
Andy Griffin | ![]() | DF | 1996–2010 | 126 | 11 | 137 | 5 |
Steve Parkin | ![]() | DF | 1983–1989 | 128 | 9 | 137 | 5 |
Bruno Martins Indi | ![]() | DF | 2016–2021 | 131 | 6 | 137 | 2 |
Arthur Beachill | ![]() | FB | 1926–1933 | 136 | 0 | 136 | 0 |
Davy Christie | ![]() | HB | 1889–1894 | 136 | 0 | 136 | 3 |
Karl Henry | ![]() | MF | 2000–2006 | 75 | 61 | 136 | 1 |
William Dickson | ![]() | FW | 1892–1896 | 135 | 0 | 135 | 48 |
Tony Ford | ![]() | MF | 1986–1989 | 135 | 0 | 135 | 14 |
Albert Sturgess | ![]() | FB | 1902–1908 | 135 | 0 | 135 | 4 |
Steve Foley | ![]() | MF | 1992–1994 | 134 | 0 | 134 | 13 |
Geoff Salmons | ![]() | MF | 1974–1977 | 131 | 3 | 134 | 16 |
Mark Stein | ![]() | FW | 1992–1997 | 134 | 0 | 134 | 72 |
Alf Wood | ![]() | HB | 1895–1901 | 134 | 0 | 134 | 10 |
Charlie Scrimshaw | ![]() | FB | 1929–1938 | 132 | 0 | 132 | 0 |
Alf Underwood | ![]() | FB | 1887–1893 | 131 | 0 | 131 | 0 |
Kenwyne Jones | ![]() | FW | 2004–2005 2010–2014 | 93 | 37 | 130 | 31 |
Ron Andrew | ![]() | DF | 1957–1963 | 129 | 0 | 129 | 2 |
Joe Jones | ![]() | DF | 1911–1920 | 129 | 0 | 129 | 12 |
Kyle Lightbourne | ![]() | FW | 1998–2001 | 100 | 29 | 129 | 25 |
Thomas Sørensen | ![]() | GK | 2008–2015 | 128 | 1 | 129 | 0 |
Mike Doyle | ![]() | DF | 1978–1981 | 128 | 0 | 128 | 6 |
Danny Higginbotham | ![]() | DF | 2006–2013 | 125 | 3 | 128 | 14 |
Tom Robertson | ![]() | DF | 1894–1900 | 128 | 0 | 128 | 3 |
Neville Coleman | ![]() | FW | 1953–1958 | 126 | 0 | 126 | 52 |
Geoff Hurst | ![]() | FW | 1972–1975 | 123 | 5 | 126 | 37 |
William Robertson | ![]() | DF | 1929–1933 | 126 | 0 | 126 | 3 |
Liam Lawrence | ![]() | MF | 2006–2010 | 108 | 17 | 125 | 24 |
Keith Bebbington | ![]() | FW | 1962–1966 | 123 | 1 | 124 | 22 |
Mark Chamberlain | ![]() | MF | 1982–1985 | 122 | 2 | 124 | 18 |
Tom Brittleton | ![]() | FB | 1920–1925 | 123 | 0 | 123 | 5 |
Paul Dyson | ![]() | DF | 1983–1986 | 123 | 0 | 123 | 5 |
Sam Higginson | ![]() | U | 1899–1904 | 123 | 0 | 123 | 23 |
Ian Painter | ![]() | FW | 1982–1986 | 114 | 9 | 123 | 24 |
Josh Tymon | ![]() | DF | 2017–2023 | 99 | 23 | 122 | 4 |
Arthur Griffiths | ![]() | FW | 1905–1912 | 121 | 0 | 121 | 51 |
Peter Shilton | ![]() | GK | 1974–1977 | 121 | 0 | 121 | 0 |
Paul Maguire | ![]() | MF | 1980–1984 | 105 | 15 | 120 | 25 |
Mickey Thomas | ![]() | MF | 1983–1991 | 113 | 7 | 120 | 22 |
Steven Nzonzi | ![]() | MF | 2012–2015 | 117 | 3 | 120 | 7 |
Harry Brigham | ![]() | FB | 1936–1946 | 119 | 0 | 119 | 0 |
Martin Carruthers | ![]() | FW | 1993–1996 | 80 | 39 | 119 | 20 |
Adrian Heath | ![]() | MF | 1979–1982 | 115 | 3 | 118 | 17 |
Nick Powell | ![]() | MF | 2019–2023 | 90 | 28 | 118 | 28 |
Jimmy Broad | ![]() | FW | 1921–1923 | 116 | 0 | 116 | 67 |
Jimmy McIlroy | ![]() | MF | 1963–1965 | 114 | 2 | 116 | 19 |
Alan Martin | ![]() | U | 1951–1955 | 115 | 0 | 115 | 6 |
Nicky Mohan | ![]() | DF | 1999–2001 | 115 | 0 | 115 | 7 |
Dave Brammer | ![]() | MF | 2005–2007 | 96 | 16 | 112 | 3 |
Roger Jones | ![]() | GK | 1977–1980 | 112 | 0 | 112 | 0 |
Gerry Bridgwood | ![]() | MF | 1960–1968 | 106 | 5 | 111 | 8 |
George Kinnell | ![]() | DF | 1963–1966 | 109 | 2 | 111 | 8 |
Toddy Orlygsson | ![]() | MF | 1993–1995 | 107 | 4 | 111 | 19 |
Willie Stevenson | ![]() | MF | 1967–1973 | 98 | 13 | 111 | 7 |
James McClean | ![]() | MF | 2018–2021 | 92 | 19 | 111 | 12 |
Dickie Smith | ![]() | HB | 1919–1922 | 110 | 0 | 110 | 2 |
George Bourne | ![]() | DF | 1952–1956 | 109 | 0 | 109 | 1 |
Ross Fielding | ![]() | MF | 1902–1908 | 109 | 0 | 109 | 12 |
Dennis Wilshaw | ![]() | FW | 1957–1961 | 109 | 0 | 109 | 50 |
Richard Forsyth | ![]() | MF | 1996–1999 | 102 | 6 | 108 | 18 |
Chris Maskery | ![]() | MF | 1982–1987 | 96 | 12 | 108 | 5 |
Lee Chapman | ![]() | FW | 1978–1982 | 103 | 4 | 107 | 38 |
Danny Batth | ![]() | DF | 2019–2022 | 101 | 6 | 107 | 6 |
Salif Diao | ![]() | MF | 2006–2012 | 82 | 24 | 106 | 1 |
Syd Peppitt | ![]() | MF | 1936–1950 | 106 | 0 | 106 | 29 |
Tommy Smith | ![]() | DF | 2019–2022 | 99 | 7 | 106 | 3 |
Ray Evans | ![]() | DF | 1979–1982 | 105 | 0 | 105 | 2 |
Chris Hemming | ![]() | MF | 1984–1989 | 96 | 9 | 105 | 2 |
Nicky Morgan | ![]() | FW | 1986–1990 | 88 | 16 | 104 | 26 |
Keith Bertschin | ![]() | FW | 1984–1987 | 93 | 10 | 103 | 33 |
Chris Iwelumo | ![]() | FW | 2000–2004 | 52 | 51 | 103 | 22 |
Tom Ince | ![]() | MF | 2018–2022 | 80 | 23 | 103 | 14 |
Andy Cooke | ![]() | FW | 2000–2003 | 78 | 24 | 102 | 23 |
Michael Duberry | ![]() | DF | 2004–2007 | 102 | 0 | 102 | 1 |
Dave Kevan | ![]() | MF | 1990–1993 | 96 | 6 | 102 | 2 |
Amos Baddeley | ![]() | FW | 1907–1912 | 101 | 0 | 101 | 56 |
Alex Elder | ![]() | DF | 1967–1972 | 95 | 6 | 101 | 1 |
Willie Naughton | ![]() | FW | 1890–1895 | 101 | 0 | 101 | 25 |
Mark Prudhoe | ![]() | GK | 1993–1997 | 100 | 1 | 101 | 0 |
Roy Vernon | ![]() | FW | 1965–1970 | 97 | 3 | 100 | 24 |
Gavin Ward | ![]() | GK | 1999–2002 | 100 | 0 | 100 | 0 |