Editing Staffordshire (section)

==Sport==
The modern county of Staffordshire currently has three professional football clubs – [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] and [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]], both from Stoke-on-Trent, and [[Burton Albion F.C.|Burton Albion]], who play in [[Burton upon Trent]].

Stoke City, one of the oldest professional football clubs in existence, were founded in 1863 and played at the [[Victoria Ground]] for 119 years from 1878 until their relocation to the Britannia Stadium (now named the [[Bet365 Stadium]]) in 1997. They were among the 12 founder members of the [[Football League]] in 1888.<ref>[http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/History/0,,10310~401090,00.html Stoke City | History | 1863–1888 in the Beginning] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314083430/http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/History/0,,10310~401090,00.html |date=14 March 2012 }}. Stokecityfc.com. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref> By the late 1930s, they were established [[Football League First Division|First Division]] members and boasted arguably the finest footballer in England at the time in right-winger [[Stanley Matthews]], who had two spells with the club between 1930 and his retirement in 1965 at the age of 50.<ref>[http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/History/0,,10310~401166,00.html Stoke City | History | 1930–1939 Stan's The Man] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206154756/http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/History/0,,10310~401166,00.html |date=6 February 2012 }}. Stokecityfc.com. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref> In 1972, the club finally won a major trophy when they lifted the [[Football League Cup]],<ref>[http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/History/0,,10310~401596,00.html Stoke City | History | 1970–1979 Waddo Believe It (Part Two)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807060312/http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/History/0,,10310~401596,00.html |date=7 August 2011 }}. Stokecityfc.com. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref> but after relegation from the First Division in 1985 they would not experience top flight football for 23 years.<ref>[http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/History/0,,10310~401601,00.html Stoke City | History | 1980–1989 Five Managers, Five Chairmen] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314083655/http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/History/0,,10310~401601,00.html |date=14 March 2012 }}. Stokecityfc.com. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref> After spending some two decades bouncing between the second and third tiers of the English league, they finally reclaimed their top flight status in 2008 by securing promotion to the [[Premier League]].<ref>[http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/History/0,,10310~401616,00.html Stoke City | History | 2000–2009 The Decade of Success] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314083810/http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/History/0,,10310~401616,00.html |date=14 March 2012 }}. Stokecityfc.com. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref> Stoke City reached their first [[FA Cup]] final in [[2011 FA Cup Final|2011]], but lost 1–0 to [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]].<ref>[http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/FACompetitions/TheFACup/Archive Archive] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704110339/http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/More/History |date=4 July 2012 }}. TheFA.com. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref>

Port Vale, who like Stoke City play in Stoke-on-Trent, were formed in 1876 and became members of the Football League in 1892. After more than 70 years at various stadiums around the city, the club moved to its present home, [[Vale Park]], in 1950. In early 1936, they had eliminated First Division champions [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]] from the FA Cup. Another FA Cup success came in February 1988 when they eliminated seven-time winners [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] from the [[1987-88 FA Cup|competition]]. Promotion to the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] for the first time since the 1960s was secured in 1989, and Vale would spend nine of the next 11 years at this level. However, the club has been less successful since the turn of the 21st century, and suffered relegation to [[Football League Two|League Two]] – the fourth tier of the English league – in 2008. The club has seen an upturn in its fortunes as the club was promoted to League One in the 2012–13 season. In the [[2016–17 EFL League One|2016–17]] season Port Vale were relegated back to League Two.<ref>[http://www.port-vale.co.uk/page/History Club | History | A Brief Club History] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609225203/http://www.port-vale.co.uk/page/History |date=9 June 2012 }}. Port Vale. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref>

[[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]], [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] and [[Walsall F.C.|Walsall]] are also notable clubs based in the historic county boundaries.

The county's other professional football team is [[Burton Albion F.C.|Burton Albion]], based in [[Burton upon Trent]], who currently play in [[EFL League One|League One]].

The county has a number of non-league football clubs, including [[Tamworth F.C.|Tamworth]],<ref>[http://www.thelambs.co.uk/ Tamworth F.C] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415231843/http://www.thelambs.co.uk/ |date=15 April 2014 }}. Tamworth FC. Retrieved 24 September 2014.</ref> [[Stafford Rangers F.C.|Stafford Rangers]],<ref>[http://www.staffordrangersfc.co.uk/ Stafford Rangers FC] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705042613/http://www.staffordrangersfc.co.uk/ |date=5 July 2011 }}. Stafford Rangers FC. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref> [[Hednesford Town F.C.|Hednesford Town]],<ref>[http://www.hednesfordfc.co.uk/ Hednesford Town FC – Hednesford Town Football Club Latest News] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628050110/http://www.hednesfordfc.co.uk/ |date=28 June 2011 }}. Hednesfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref> [[Chasetown F.C.|Chasetown]] and [[Leek Town F.C.|Leek Town]].<ref>Wilson, Ed. (21 August 2011) [http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/leektown/ Leek Town – a Charter Standard club] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628174811/http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/leektown |date=28 June 2011 }}. Pitchero.com.  Retrieved 25 August 2011</ref>

In [[cricket]], Staffordshire is one of the nineteen [[Minor counties of English and Welsh cricket]]. It is represented in Minor counties cricket by [[Staffordshire County Cricket Club]] who have played in the [[Minor Counties Championship]] since 1895, a competition which it has won outright eleven times, making it the most successful Minor counties team. Famous international cricketers produced by the county include [[Sydney Barnes]], [[Bob Taylor (cricketer)|Bob Taylor]] and [[Dominic Cork]], all of whom went on to represent [[England cricket team|England]].