# List of Cardiff City F.C. players

Cardiff City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club was founded in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C., by members of a local cricket club, and joined the Cardiff & District League the following year. In 1907, they joined the South Wales Amateur League and changed their name to Cardiff City, later entering the English football pyramid by joining the Southern Football League in 1910. They were elected into the Football League ten years later, where they remain to this day. As of the end of the 2017–18 season, the club has won 3 division titles in the Football League, won promotion on 13 occasions and been relegated 12 times.
All players who have featured in 100 or more first-team matches in all competitions for the club since they joined the English football pyramid in 1910, either as a member of the starting eleven or as a substitute, are listed below. Billy Hardy is the current holder of appearance records in both league matches and all competitions having made 590 appearances in a 20-year spell at the club between 1911 and 1932. Phil Dwyer has made the most appearances for the club in the Football League era, having made 575 appearances between 1972 and 1985. Only nine players have made more than 400 appearances for the club, three of which, Dwyer, Fred Keenor and Ron Stitfall were born and raised in Cardiff. The most recent player to reach 400 appearances for the club is Peter Whittingham.
The all-time goalscoring record is held by Len Davies, who had a twelve-year spell at Cardiff between 1919 and 1931, scoring 179 times. Seven other players have scored 100 goals or more for the club. Robert Earnshaw is the most recent player to reach the mark and also holds the club record for goals in a single season, scoring 35 during 2002–03. Midfielder Aron Gunnarsson holds the record for the most international caps won during his spell at the club having represented Iceland 60 times.

## Key

* The list is ordered by alphabetical order of surname.
* Appearances as a substitute are included. This feature of the game was introduced in the Football League at the start of the 1965–66 season.
* Statistics are correct as of the match played on 4 May 2024.
Positions key :
| Pre-1960s | Pre-1960s | 1960s– | 1960s– |
| GK | Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper |
| FB | Full back | DF | Defender |
| HB | Half back | MF | Midfielder |
| FW | Forward | Forward | Forward |

### Nationality

    Unless otherwise noted, the nationality of a player is determined by the country/countries which he has played for, or if said person has not played international football, his country of birth.

### Position

    Playing positions are listed according to the tactical formations that were employed at the time. Thus the change in the names of defence and midfield positions reflects the tactical evolution that occurred from the 1960s onwards.

### Club career

    Club career is defined as the first and last calendar years in which the player appeared for the club in any of the competitions listed below.

### Total appearances and Total goals

    Total appearances and goals comprise those in the Southern Football League, Football League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Welsh Cup, Football League Trophy, Football League Third Division South Cup and FA Charity Shield as well as European matches in the European Cup Winners Cup. Wartime fixtures are not included. Due to the unavailability of complete statistics, seasons prior to 1910 in the amateur Welsh leagues are not included.
* Trevor Ford was the club's top scorer during the 1954–55 season
* Willie Boland made over 200 appearances for the club between 1999 and 2006
* Joe Ledley, made over 250 appearances for the club between 2004 and 2010
* Statue of Fred Keenor, who made over 500 appearances and captained the 1927 FA Cup Final winning side, at the Cardiff City Stadium.
* Kevin McNaughton made over 290 appearances for the club between 2006 and 2015
* Michael Chopra who had three separate spells with the Bluebirds
* Jimmy Gill, one of seven players to have scored over 100 goals for the club
* David Marshall made 278 appearances for the club, the second most by any goalkeeper, behind only Tom Farquharson
* Peter Whittingham, the most recent player to reach 400 appearances for the club
Key :
| Symbol | Meaning |
| ‡ | Player still at the club |
| † | Player represented his country at international level during his time at the club |
| * | Club record |

## List

| Player | Nationality | Position | Club career | Appearances | Goals |
| Gareth Abraham | Wales | DF | 1987–1993 | 117 | 2 |
| Neil Alexander | Scotland † | GK | 2001–2007 | 234 | 0 |
| Ivor Allchurch | Wales † | FW | 1962–1965 | 126 | 47 |
| Willie Anderson | England | MF | 1973–1977 | 154 | 12 |
| Brian Attley | Wales | DF | 1973–1979 | 100 | 0 |
| Lee Baddeley | Wales | DF | 1990–1997 | 172 | 1 |
| Leandro Bacuna | Curaçao* | MF | 2019–2022 | 115 | 4 |
| Billy Baker | Wales † | HB | 1938–1955 | 325 | 7 |
| Colin Baker | Wales † | HB | 1953–1966 | 361 | 20 |
| Sol Bamba | Ivory Coast | DF | 2016–2021 | 118 | 10 |
| Chris Barker | England | FB | 2002–2007 | 180 | 0 |
| Kevin Bartlett | England | FW | 1986–1989 | 116 | 34 |
| Billy Bassett | Wales | DF | 1934–1938 | 175 | 2 |
| George Beare | England | FW | 1914–1921 | 112 | 21 |
| Gary Bell | England | FB | 1966–1974 | 292 | 14 |
| Joe Bennett | England | FB | 2016–2021 | 177 | 5 |
| Gary Bennett | England | DF | 1981–1984 | 106 | 13 |
| Ronnie Bird | England | FW | 1966–1971 | 145 | 35 |
| Tony Bird | Wales | FW | 1992–1996 | 110 | 22 |
| Ray Bishop | Wales | FW | 1977–1981 | 127 | 31 |
| George Blackburn | England | HB | 1926–1931 | 132 | 2 |
| Doug Blair | England | FW | 1947–1954 | 224 | 30 |
| Jimmy Blair | Scotland † | FB | 1920–1926 | 219 | 0 |
| Darcy Blake | Wales † | DF | 2005–2012 | 118 | 0 |
| Nathan Blake | Wales | FW | 1990–1994 | 179 | 41 |
| Willie Boland | Republic of Ireland | MF | 1999–2006 | 243 | 4 |
| Mark Bonner | England | MF | 1998–2004 | 170 | 3 |
| Jay Bothroyd | England † | FW | 2008–2011 | 133 | 45 |
| Jason Bowen | Wales | MF | 1998–2004 | 161 | 37 |
| Terry Boyle | Wales | DF | 1986–1989 | 169 | 10 |
| Derek Brazil | Republic of Ireland | DF | 1992–1996 | 153 | 1 |
| Charlie Brittain | England | DF | 1913–1922 | 180 | 0 |
| John Buchanan | Scotland | MF | 1974–1981 | 286 | 67 |
| Chris Burke | Scotland | MF | 2009–2011 | 121 | 16 |
| Alan Campbell | Scotland | HB | 1976–1980 | 203 | 2 |
| David Carver | England | FB | 1966–1973 | 269 | 2 |
| Clive Charles | England | DF | 1974–1977 | 103 | 5 |
| Michael Chopra | England | FW | 2006–2007, 2008–2009 & 2009–2011 | 162 | 65 |
| Brian Clark | England | FW | 1967–1972 & 1975–1976 | 268 | 108 |
| Joe Clennell | England | FW | 1921–1924 | 142 | 45 |
| Graham Coldrick | Wales | FB | 1963–1970 | 126 | 4 |
| Rubin Colwill‡ | Wales* | MF | 2020– | 106 | 9 |
| Matthew Connolly | England | DF | 2012–2020 | 146 | 7 |
| Alan Curtis | Wales † | MF | 1986–1989 | 163 | 15 |
| Carl Dale | Wales | FW | 1991–1998 | 269 | 103 |
| Fred Davies | England | GK | 1968–1970 | 122 | 0 |
| Len Davies | Wales † | FW | 1919–1931 | 372 | 179* |
| Phil Dwyer | Wales † | DF | 1972–1985 | 575 | 51 |
| Robert Earnshaw | Wales † | FW | 1997–2004, 2011–2013 | 227 | 109 |
| Jeff Eckhardt | England | MF | 1996–2001 | 164 | 17 |
| Bruno Ecuele Manga | Gabon † | DF | 2014–2019 | 159 | 6 |
| George Edwards | Wales † | FW | 1948–1955 | 222 | 46 |
| George Emmerson | England | FW | 1930–1933 | 136 | 21 |
| Herbie Evans | Wales † | HB | 1920–1926 | 119 | 2 |
| Neil Etheridge | Philippines* | GK | 2017–2020 | 102 | 0 |
| Jack Evans | Wales † | FW | 1910–1926 | 424 | 68 |
| Tony Evans | England | FW | 1975–1978 | 152 | 60 |
| Tom Farquharson | Ireland † | GK | 1922–1935 | 518 | 0 |
| Greg Farrell | Scotland | FW | 1964–1967 | 121 | 12 |
| Bobby Ferguson | England | FB | 1965–1968 | 118 | 1 |
| Hughie Ferguson | Scotland | FW | 1925–1929 | 139 | 92 |
| Mike Ford | England | FB | 1984–1987 & 1998–2000 | 248 | 16 |
| Trevor Ford | Wales † | FW | 1953–1956 | 110 | 59 |
| Leo Fortune-West | England | FW | 2000–2003 | 113 | 28 |
| Jason Fowler | England | MF | 1996–2001 | 169 | 20 |
| Danny Gabbidon | Wales † | DF | 2000–2005 2014–2015 | 221 | 10 |
| Jack Galbraith | Scotland | HB | 1931–1935 | 161 | 2 |
| Roger Gibbins | England | MF | 1982–1985 & 1988–1993 | 345 | 33 |
| Ian Gibson | Scotland | MF | 1970–1972 | 120 | 18 |
| David Giles | Wales | MF | 1974–1978 & 1985–1987 | 151 | 12 |
| Jimmy Gill | England | FW | 1920–1925 | 220 | 101 |
| Jimmy Gilligan | England | FW | 1987–1989 | 131 | 49 |
| Cliff Godfrey | England | HB | 1935–1938 | 116 | 1 |
| Wilf Grant | England | FW | 1949–1954 | 168 | 73 |
| Arthur Granville | Wales | FB | 1934–1938 | 112 | 8 |
| Steve Grapes | England | MF | 1976–1982 | 182 | 7 |
| Cohen Griffith | Guyana | MF | 1989–1995 | 299 | 54 |
| Billy Grimshaw | England | FW | 1919–1923 | 160 | 30 |
| Aron Gunnarsson | Iceland † | MF | 2011–2019 | 286 | 25 |
| Jon Hallworth | England | GK | 1997–2001 | 147 | 0 |
| Roger Hansbury | England | GK | 1989–1992 | 123 | 0 |
| Billy Hardy | England | DF | 1911–1932 | 590* | 10 |
| Alan Harrington | Wales † | FB | 1952–1966 | 405 | 7 |
| Brian Harris | England | HB | 1966–1971 | 202 | 1 |
| Francis Harris | England | HB | 1928–1933 | 146 | 13 |
| Kidder Harvey | England | DF | 1912–1920 | 124 | 8 |
| Ron Healey | Republic of Ireland † | GK | 1974–1982 | 266 | 0 |
| Gerry Hitchens | England | FW | 1955–1957 | 108 | 57 |
| Junior Hoilett | Canada † | MF | 2016–2021 | 183 | 24 |
| Barrie Hole | Wales † | HB | 1959–1966 | 264 | 20 |
| Ken Hollyman | Wales | HB | 1946–1953 | 213 | 11 |
| Ron Howells | Wales † | GK | 1950–1957 | 172 | 0 |
| Mark Hudson | England | DF | 2009–2014 | 165 | 11 |
| Bill Irwin | Northern Ireland | GK | 1971–1978 | 231 | 0 |
| Lee Jarman | Wales | DF | 1993–1999 | 111 | 2 |
| Jack Jennings | England | DF | 1925–1929 | 106 | 0 |
| Dilwyn John | Wales | GK | 1961–1967 | 109 | 0 |
| Roger Johnson | England | DF | 2006–2009 | 136 | 14 |
| Barrie Jones | Wales † | FW | 1967–1970 | 137 | 25 |
| Linden Jones | Wales | FB | 1978–1983 | 170 | 3 |
| Leslie Jones | Wales † | FW | 1929–1934 | 161 | 38 |
| Phil Joslin | England | GK | 1948–1951 | 122 | 0 |
| Graham Kavanagh | Republic of Ireland † | MF | 2001–2005 | 165 | 31 |
| Fred Keenor | Wales † | DF | 1912–1930 | 507 | 23 |
| Mark Kelly | England | MF | 1987–1990 | 143 | 5 |
| Peter King | England | FW | 1960–1974 | 477 | 111 |
| Jack Kneeshaw | England | GK | 1912–1924 | 163 | 0 |
| Albert Larmour | Northern Ireland | DF | 1972–1979 | 202 | 1 |
| Leslie Lea | England | FW | 1967–1970 | 100 | 16 |
| Joe Ledley | Wales † | MF | 2004–2010 | 256 | 30 |
| Andy Legg | Wales † | FB | 1998–2003 | 209 | 12 |
| Arthur Lever | Wales | FB | 1946–1950 | 171 | 9 |
| Bernie Lewis | Wales | FW | 1963–1967 | 117 | 14 |
| John Lewis | Wales | MF | 1978–1983 | 167 | 11 |
| Doug Livermore | England | MF | 1975–1977 | 118 | 6 |
| Glenn Loovens | Netherlands | DF | 2005–2008 | 115 | 3 |
| Danny Malloy | Scotland | DF | 1955–1961 | 262 | 2 |
| David Marshall | Scotland † | GK | 2009–2016 | 278 | 0 |
| Joe Mason | Republic of Ireland | FW | 2011–2016 | 109 | 25 |
| Jimmy McCambridge | Ireland † | FW | 1930–1933 | 108 | 55 |
| George McLachlan | Scotland | FW | 1925–1929 | 167 | 26 |
| Kevin McNaughton | Scotland † | FB | 2006–2015 | 292 | 2 |
| Stephen McPhail | Republic of Ireland | MF | 2006–2013 | 222 | 3 |
| Tarki Micallef | Wales | MF | 1978–1983 & 1984–1986 | 151 | 16 |
| Craig Middleton | England | MF | 1996–2000 | 142 | 11 |
| Paul Millar | Northern Ireland | MF | 1991–1995 | 157 | 22 |
| Alec Milne | Scotland | FB | 1957–1965 | 198 | 2 |
| Stan Montgomery | England | DF | 1948–1955 | 257 | 4 |
| Graham Moore | Wales † | MF | 1957–1961 | 101 | 33 |
| Sean Morrison | England | DF | 2014–2022 | 295 | 33 |
| Jimmy Mullen | England | DF | 1981–1986 | 160 | 12 |
| Don Murray | Scotland | DF | 1962–1975 | 532 | 9 |
| Curtis Nelson | England | DF | 2019–2023 | 127 | 3 |
| Jimmy Nelson | Scotland † | FB | 1921–1930 | 295 | 4 |
| George Nicholson | England | HB | 1936–1939 | 118 | 0 |
| Perry Ng‡ | England | DF | 2021– | 146 | 8 |
| Craig Noone | England | MF | 2012–2017 | 170 | 19 |
| Kevin Nugent | England | FW | 1997–2002 | 118 | 37 |
| Cliff Nugent | England | FW | 1951–1958 | 132 | 24 |
| Wayne O'Sullivan | Republic of Ireland | MF | 1997–1999 | 100 | 5 |
| Marlon Pack | England | MF | 2019–2022 | 109 | 5 |
| Paul Parry | Wales † | MF | 2004–2009 | 214 | 27 |
| Callum Paterson | Scotland † | MF | 2017–2020 | 106 | 21 |
| Lee Peltier | England | DF | 2015–2020 | 163 | 0 |
| Jason Perry | Wales † | DF | 1987–1997 | 361 | 5 |
| Freddie Pethard | Scotland | FB | 1969–1979 | 213 | 1 |
| Leighton Phillips | Wales † | DF | 1967–1974 | 233 | 16 |
| Chris Pike | Wales | FW | 1986 & 1989–1993 | 197 | 84 |
| Anthony Pilkington | Republic of Ireland † | MF | 2014–2019 | 111 | 23 |
| Nick Platnauer | England | FB | 1986–1989 | 153 | 9 |
| Keith Pontin | Wales † | DF | 1976–1983 | 237 | 5 |
| Reg Pugh | Wales | FW | 1934–1938 | 191 | 29 |
| Darren Purse | England | DF | 2005–2009 | 124 | 12 |
| Gavin Rae | Scotland † | MF | 2007–2011 | 153 | 8 |
| Joe Ralls‡ | England | MF | 2011– | 386 | 35 |
| Paul Ramsey | England | MF | 1991–1993 & 1994 | 107 | 10 |
| Gil Reece | Wales † | MF | 1972–1976 | 131 | 34 |
| Billy Rees | Wales † | FW | 1946–1949 | 108 | 36 |
| Nick Richardson | England | MF | 1992–1995 | 142 | 17 |
| William Roberts | England | FB | 1928–1933 | 146 | 1 |
| Ian Rodgerson | England | MF | 1988–1991 & 1995–1997 | 200 | 8 |
| Peter Rodrigues | Wales † | FB | 1961–1965 | 112 | 2 |
| Billy Ronson | England | MF | 1979–1981 | 103 | 4 |
| Charles Rutter | England | FB | 1949–1958 | 133 | 0 |
| Peter Sayer | Wales † | MF | 1974–1978 | 114 | 20 |
| Damon Searle | Wales | FB | 1990–1996 | 297 | 5 |
| Alf Sherwood | Wales † | FB | 1946–1956 | 381 | 15 |
| Derek Showers | Wales † | FW | 1970–1977 | 113 | 17 |
| Bert Smith | Ireland † | DF | 1919–1923 | 169 | 5 |
| Alex Smithies | England | GK | 2018–2022 | 100 | 0 |
| Fred Stansfield | Wales † | DF | 1946–1949 | 113 | 1 |
| Phil Stant | England | FW | 1993–1995 | 106 | 55 |
| Gary Stevens | England | FW | 1978–1982 | 175 | 51 |
| Nigel Stevenson | England | MF | 1985–1986 & 1987–1989 | 101 | 3 |
| Ron Stitfall | Wales † | FB | 1947–1964 | 452 | 8 |
| Derrick Sullivan | Wales † | HB | 1947–1961 | 309 | 21 |
| Mel Sutton | England | MF | 1967–1972 | 181 | 7 |
| Les Talbot | England | FW | 1936–1939 | 116 | 25 |
| Derek Tapscott | Wales † | FW | 1958–1965 | 234 | 102 |
| Andrew Taylor | England | FB | 2011–2014 | 115 | 2 |
| Billy Thirlaway | England | MF | 1927–1929 | 125 | 23 |
| Rod Thomas | Wales † | FB | 1977–1981 | 114 | 0 |
| Steven Thompson | Scotland | FW | 2006–2008 | 106 | 17 |
| Peter Thorne | England | FW | 2001–2005 | 143 | 51 |
| Mike Tiddy | England | FW | 1950–1955 | 162 | 26 |
| David Tong | England | MF | 1982–1985 | 142 | 5 |
| John Toshack | Wales † | FW | 1965–1970 | 208 | 100 |
| Ben Turner | England | DF | 2011–2016 | 121 | 4 |
| Nigel Vaughan | Wales † | MF | 1983–1987 | 182 | 53 |
| Will Vaulks | Wales | MF | 2019–2022 | 117 | 11 |
| Graham Vearncombe | Wales † | GK | 1952–1963 | 241 | 0 |
| Harry Wake | Wales | HB | 1923–1931 | 179 | 10 |
| Brian Walsh | England | MF | 1955–1961 | 240 | 41 |
| George Walton | England | FW | 1936–1938 | 103 | 19 |
| Tom Watson | Ireland † | DF | 1925–1929 | 102 | 0 |
| George West | Wales | FW | 1913–1921 | 107 | 40 |
| Rhys Weston | Wales † | FB | 2000–2006 | 213 | 2 |
| Paul Wheeler | Wales | MF | 1985–1989 | 130 | 15 |
| Peter Whittingham | England | MF | 2007–2017 | 457 | 96 |
| Gareth Williams | England | MF | 1961–1967 | 209 | 16 |
| Glyn Williams | Wales † | FB | 1946–1952 | 160 | 1 |
| Roley Williams | Wales | FW | 1949–1956 | 144 | 19 |
| Bob Wilson | England | GK | 1964–1970 | 151 | 0 |
| Paul Wimbleton | England | MF | 1986–1989 | 155 | 27 |
| Ryan Wintle‡ | England | MF | 2021– | 117 | 5 |
| Bobby Woodruff | England | MF | 1969–1974 | 197 | 32 |
| Scott Young | Wales | DF | 1993–2004 | 333 | 26 |
| Kenneth Zohore | Denmark | FW | 2016–2019 | 101 | 24 |