 As of the end of the 2018–19 season, the club has spent 62 seasons in the top tier of the English football league system, 42 in the second and 8 in the third.Stoke were formed as Stoke Ramblers F.C.in 1863 they soon dropped the 'Ramblers' name and simply became known as Stoke F.C., and they played in friendlies against local and national sides as well as competing in the Staffordshire Senior Cup which was a prestigious competition at the time.