ABSTRACT
Previous research by Cooke and James (2017) has demonstrated that a thriving Association football culture developed in ‘The Potteries’, a collection of six towns that amalgamated as a federation in 1910 under the title of Stoke-on-Trent, during the Victorian era. Whilst informal football activities were taking place during The Wakes and other religious holidays, at fetes, fairs and in schools throughout the region during the mid-nineteenth century, there was a protracted period of time before there was a widespread emergence of formal association football clubs. Stoke Ramblers (Stoke City) were formed in 1868 but it was not until the mid-1870s that a second wave of clubs began to be established. It was the introduction and acceptance of the Thursday and Saturday Half-Holiday in ‘The Potteries’ between 1874 and 1875 that facilitated an explosion in football activity throughout the region, with a dramatic increase in the number of new clubs that were established and the amount of fixtures that were contested. This chapter explores the emergence of the game in the mid-nineteenth century and the subsequent expansion of formal Association football activities during the mid-1870s, identifying and examining the second wave of clubs and players that populated ‘The Potteries’ during this period.
