hat-trick. He also set a formative record for the club in the League Cup scoring ten goals which has only been beaten twice. Ritchie's goals helped Stoke reach their first ever cup final, the 1964 Football League Cup. Stoke played two legs against Leicester City and lost 4–3. He twice scored four in a match, against Sheffield Wednesday in April 1965 and Northampton Town in February 1966 a feat not to be matched until 2000. Ritchie scored thirty goals in his first full season as a professional and 29 the following season and was a firm terrace favourite. It came as a huge shock then when in November 1966 he was sold to Sheffield Wednesday for £80,000. It was even more surprising as Stoke had sold reserve forward John Woodward to Aston Villa for £30,000. Tony Waddington later admitted that selling Ritchie was a mistake. Ritchie's time at Hillsborough was not that great as after two good seasons he had a poor 1968–69 campaign and new Wednesday manager Danny Williams decided that he was past his best and Waddington took the chance to rectify his error and bought him back for £28,000. Ritchie returned as Jimmy Greenhoff arrived, and the pair struck a productive partnership which the local media described as 'telepathic'. Ritchie top scored in 1970–71, 1971–72 and 1973–74 as he helped Stoke reach two FA Cup semi finals in 1971 and 1972, losing both times to Arsenal. Stoke did reach the 1972 Football League Cup Final and beat Chelsea 2–1 to claim their first major trophy. Ritchie continued to play for Stoke until he broke his leg in September 1974 ending his career. He scored a club record 176 goals in 351 appearances for Stoke. After football The 6 foot 2 hitman ended his career after a double leg fracture in 1975. After retiring from football, he concentrated on his pottery business based in Stoke. John Ritchie died on 23 February 2007 at the age of 65. His son David was on the books at Stoke in the late 1989 but never made an appearance being sold to Stockport County for £10,000 in March 1990. Style of play Standing 6 ft 2 in tall and weighing 12 st 4 lbs, Ritchie was christened 'Big' John Ritchie by Stoke supporters. He was one of a dying breed of direct and fast centre forwards in the mould of a Freddie