League In the summer of 1895 the club had become a
Limited liability company and long serving goalkeeper
Bill Rowley was given the position of secretary-manager. One of Rowley's best pieces of business was to bring
William Maxwell to the club from
Dundee. Maxwell went on to score 75 goals in 156 matches in six seasons with Stoke. Before the start of the season, there was a mini-exodus of players to
Southampton St. Mary's such as
Jack Farrell,
Samuel Meston,
Willie Naughton and trainer Bill Dawson. Some players would later return to Stoke after their spell on the south coast. One of Stoke's most bizarre transfer deals took place in February 1896 when they signed
Allan Maxwell from
Darwen. Instead of requesting a transfer fee Darwen wanted a set of
wrought iron gates to be supplied by Stoke. On the pitch Stoke finished their highest position yet of sixth place, picking up 30 points in the process. No league draw was forthcoming for Stoke their only draw came in the FA Cup against Burnley.
FA Cup For the second season running Stoke were knocked out of the FA Cup by
Wolverhampton Wanderers this time 3–0 in the third round. Prior to this Stoke were in free scoring form beating
Tottenham Hotspur 5–0 and
Burnley 7–1. ==Final league table==