# List of Burnley F.C. players

Burnley Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Burnley, Lancashire. Founded on 18 May 1882, the club was one of the first to become professional (in 1883), putting pressure on the Football Association (FA) to permit payments to players. In 1885, the FA legalised professionalism, so the team entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1885–86, and were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888–89. Burnley have played in all four professional divisions of English football from 1888 to the present day. The team have been champions of England twice, in 1920–21 and 1959–60, have won the FA Cup once, in 1913–14, and have won the FA Charity Shield twice, in 1960 and 1973. Burnley are one of only five teams to have won all four professional divisions of English football, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Portsmouth. They were the second to achieve this by winning the Fourth Division in the 1991–92 season.
Jerry Dawson holds the record for the greatest number of appearances for Burnley. Between 1907 and 1929, the goalkeeper played 569 times for the club. George Beel scored 188 goals during his Burnley career and is the club's record goalscorer. Seven players who have made at least 100 appearances for Burnley went on to manage the team: Jimmy Adamson, Frank Casper (also as caretaker manager), Steve Davis (as caretaker manager), Adrian Heath (as player-manager), Brian Laws, Brian Miller, and Harry Potts. Potts became the club's longest serving manager with 728 competitive matches. During his playing career, Adamson won the Footballer of the Year award in 1962—the only time a Burnley player has won this award. Northern Irishman Willie Irvine is the only player in the club's history to be crowned top goal scorer of the first tier (in 1965–66). When Bob Kelly moved from Burnley to Sunderland for £6,500 in 1925 (equivalent to £470,000 in 2025), he broke the world transfer record.
All players who have played 100 or more first-team matches for the club, either as a member of the starting eleven or as a substitute, are listed below. Each player's details include the duration of his career with Burnley, his typical playing position while with the club, and the number of matches played and goals scored in all senior competitive matches.

## Key

* Statistics are correct as of the match played on 19 May 2024.
* Players are initially arranged 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.
* Total appearances and goals comprise those in the Football League, including test matches and play-offs, Premier League, FA Cup, Football League Cup, Charity Shield, European Cup, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, UEFA Europa League, Texaco Cup, Watney Cup, Anglo-Scottish Cup, Football League Group Cup, and Associate Members' Cup / Football League Trophy. Wartime fixtures and expunged matches are not included.
| Symbol | Meaning |
| ‡ | Player still at the club |
| * | Player represented his country at senior international level during his time at the club |
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 |

## List of players

List of Burnley F.C. players with at least 100 appearances :
| Player | Nationality | Position | Club career | Appearances | Goals |
| Ted Adams | England | GK | 1936–1943 | 118 | 0 |
| Jimmy Adamson | England | HB/MF | 1947–1964 | 486 | 18 |
| Jock Aird | Scotland* | FB | 1948–1955 | 143 | 0 |
| Ade Akinbiyi | Nigeria | FW | 2005–2006, 2007–2009 | 122 | 31 |
| Graham Alexander | Scotland* | DF/MF | 2007–2011 | 177 | 24 |
| Joe Anderson | Scotland | FW | 1920–1923 | 126 | 72 |
| John Angus | England* | FB/DF | 1955–1972 | 521 | 4 |
| Scott Arfield | Canada* | MF | 2013–2018 | 193 | 22 |
| Gordon Armstrong | England | MF | 1998–2003 | 113 | 4 |
| Reg Attwell | England | HB | 1946–1954 | 269 | 11 |
| Tom Bamford | England | FB | 1909–1920 | 157 | 0 |
| Ashley Barnes‡ | England | FW | 2014–2023, 2025– | 293 | 54 |
| Fred Barron | England | HB | 1898–1911 | 423 | 14 |
| Alf Basnett | England | HB | 1919–1926 | 157 | 5 |
| George Beel | England | FW | 1923–1932 | 337 | 188 |
| Arthur Bell | England | FW | 1902–1909 | 104 | 29 |
| Arthur Bellamy | England | MF/FW | 1959–1972 | 250 | 29 |
| Marlon Beresford | England | GK | 1992–1998, 2002–2003 | 350 | 0 |
| Adam Blacklaw | Scotland* | GK | 1954–1967 | 383 | 0 |
| Robbie Blake | England | MF | 2002–2005, 2007–2010 | 282 | 72 |
| Billy Bowes | Scotland | FW | 1891–1901 | 295 | 84 |
| George Boyd | Scotland | MF/FW | 2014–2017 | 123 | 12 |
| Tommy Boyle | England* | FB/HB | 1911–1923 | 236 | 43 |
| Graham Branch | England | DF/MF | 1998–2007 | 299 | 18 |
| Chris Brass | England | DF | 1993–2001 | 160 | 1 |
| George Bray | England | HB | 1937–1952 | 259 | 9 |
| Ian Brennan | England | DF | 1970–1980 | 212 | 14 |
| Lee Briscoe | England | DF/MF | 2000–2003 | 119 | 7 |
| Ian Britton | Scotland | MF | 1986–1989 | 130 | 10 |
| Bob Brocklebank | England | FW | 1936–1945 | 128 | 38 |
| James Brown | Scotland | HB | 1927–1935 | 241 | 5 |
| Josh Brownhill‡ | England | MF | 2020– | 167 | 14 |
| Jack Bruton | England* | HB/FW | 1925–1929 | 176 | 44 |
| Steven Caldwell | Scotland* | DF | 2007–2010 | 119 | 5 |
| Mo Camara | Guinea | DF/MF | 2003–2005 | 104 | 1 |
| Clarke Carlisle | England | DF | 2007–2012 | 152 | 9 |
| Frank Casper | England | FW | 1967–1976 | 275 | 89 |
| Albert Cheesebrough | England | FW | 1952–1959 | 158 | 40 |
| Jackie Chew | England | HB/FW | 1946–1954 | 248 | 41 |
| Ralph Coates | England* | MF/FW | 1963–1971 | 261 | 32 |
| Doug Collins | England | MF | 1968–1976 | 217 | 19 |
| Paul Comstive | England | MF | 1987–1989 | 103 | 23 |
| John Connelly | England* | FW | 1956–1964 | 265 | 104 |
| Mike Conroy | Scotland | FW | 1991–1993 | 101 | 41 |
| Paul Cook | England | MF | 1999–2003 | 169 | 15 |
| Andy Cooke | England | FW | 1995–2000 | 202 | 61 |
| Jack Cork | England* | DF/MF | 2010–2011, 2017–2024 | 267 | 11 |
| Ian Cox | Trinidad and Tobago* | DF | 2000–2003 | 131 | 5 |
| Jonathan Cretney | England | HB | 1905–1911 | 177 | 10 |
| Benny Cross | England | FW | 1920–1928 | 255 | 61 |
| Tommy Cummings | England | FB/DF | 1947–1963 | 479 | 3 |
| Steve Davis | England | DF | 1987–1991 | 181 | 12 |
| Steve Davis | England | DF | 1989–1990, 1991–1995, 1998–2003 | 388 | 47 |
| Jerry Dawson | England* | GK | 1907–1929 | 569 | 0 |
| Ray Deakin | England | DF | 1985–1991 | 247 | 6 |
| John Deary | England | MF | 1989–1995 | 275 | 27 |
| Joe Devine | Scotland | HB/FW | 1925–1930 | 121 | 29 |
| Arthur Dixon | England | FB | 1900–1907 | 183 | 8 |
| Martin Dobson | England* | MF | 1967–1974, 1979–1984 | 497 | 76 |
| Mick Docherty | England | DF | 1967–1976 | 174 | 1 |
| Michael Duff | Northern Ireland* | DF | 2004–2016 | 383 | 8 |
| Chris Eagles | England | MF/FW | 2008–2011 | 143 | 25 |
| David Edgar | Canada* | DF | 2009–2014 | 114 | 4 |
| Alex Elder | Northern Ireland* | DF | 1959–1967 | 330 | 17 |
| Roger Eli | England | FW | 1989–1994 | 132 | 31 |
| Wade Elliott | England | MF | 2005–2011 | 282 | 23 |
| David Eyres | England | MF | 1993–1997 | 215 | 55 |
| Andy Farrell | England | MF | 1987–1994 | 331 | 23 |
| Paul Fletcher | England | FW | 1971–1980 | 352 | 86 |
| Brian Flynn | Wales* | MF | 1972–1977, 1982–1984 | 250 | 27 |
| Alex Forrest | Scotland | HB | 1927–1933 | 116 | 4 |
| John Francis | England | FW | 1990–1992, 1993–1996 | 226 | 46 |
| Bert Freeman | England* | FW | 1911–1921 | 189 | 115 |
| Steve Gardner | England | DF | 1987–1990 | 115 | 0 |
| Lee Grant | England | GK | 2005–2006, 2010–2013 | 127 | 0 |
| Tony Grant | England | MF | 2001–2005 | 166 | 3 |
| Billy Gray | England | FW | 1953–1957 | 130 | 32 |
| Billy Green | England | GK | 1903–1908 | 153 | 0 |
| Neil Grewcock | England | MF/FW | 1984–1991 | 242 | 32 |
| Joey Guðjónsson | Iceland* | MF | 2007–2010 | 109 | 7 |
| Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson | Iceland* | MF/FW | 2016–2024 | 228 | 15 |
| George Halley | Scotland | FB/HB | 1913–1922 | 153 | 5 |
| Billy Hamilton | Northern Ireland* | FW | 1979–1984 | 251 | 77 |
| Peter Hampton | England | DF | 1984–1987 | 134 | 2 |
| Ted Hancock | England | HB/FW | 1933–1936 | 123 | 31 |
| Ray Hankin | England | FW | 1973–1976 | 139 | 47 |
| Roger Hansbury | England | GK | 1983–1985 | 103 | 0 |
| Jon Harley | England | DF | 2005–2008 | 126 | 3 |
| Gordon Harris | England* | MF | 1958–1968 | 313 | 81 |
| Gerry Harrison | England | MF | 1994–1998, 2000 | 146 | 3 |
| Jack Hays | England | HB/FW | 1939–1951 | 154 | 13 |
| Adrian Heath | England | MF/FW | 1992–1995, 1996–1997 | 148 | 35 |
| Tom Heaton | England* | GK | 2013–2019 | 200 | 0 |
| Jeff Hendrick | Republic of Ireland* | MF | 2016–2020 | 139 | 10 |
| Jack Hill | England* | FB | 1923–1928 | 198 | 13 |
| Jimmy Hill | Scotland | HB/FW | 1889–1897 | 162 | 42 |
| Jack Hillman | England* | GK | 1890–1895, 1898–1902 | 188 | 0 |
| Kevin Hird | England | DF/MF | 1984–1986 | 100 | 30 |
| Teddy Hodgson | England | FW | 1911–1919 | 137 | 62 |
| Bill Holden | England | FW | 1950–1955 | 199 | 78 |
| David Holt | England | DF | 1980–1983 | 110 | 4 |
| Ron Hornby | England | HB/FW | 1934–1949 | 135 | 19 |
| Ashley Hoskin | England | MF/FW | 1985–1989 | 105 | 13 |
| Jamie Hoyland | England | MF | 1994–1998 | 105 | 4 |
| Tommy Hutchison | Scotland | MF | 1983–1985 | 114 | 5 |
| Micah Hyde | Jamaica* | MF | 2004–2007 | 114 | 2 |
| Billy Ingham | England | MF | 1969–1980 | 266 | 31 |
| Danny Ings | England | FW | 2011–2015 | 130 | 43 |
| Willie Irvine | Northern Ireland* | FW | 1960–1968 | 148 | 97 |
| Joe Jakub | Scotland | DF/MF | 1973–1980, 1989–1993 | 255 | 9 |
| Leighton James | Wales* | MF/FW | 1970–1975, 1978–1980, 1986–1989 | 399 | 81 |
| Brian Jensen | Denmark | GK | 2003–2013 | 310 | 0 |
| David Jones | England | MF | 2013–2016 | 131 | 3 |
| Michael Keane | England* | DF | 2014–2017 | 108 | 7 |
| Bob Kelly | England* | FW | 1913–1925 | 299 | 97 |
| Steve Kindon | England | MF/FW | 1967–1972, 1977–1979 | 225 | 58 |
| Sandy Lang | Scotland | FB | 1885–1895 | 134 | 3 |
| Les Latcham | England | DF/MF | 1960–1971 | 184 | 12 |
| Brian Laws | England | DF | 1979–1983 | 160 | 15 |
| Dick Lindley | England | FW | 1908–1920 | 152 | 46 |
| Glen Little | England | MF/FW | 1996–2004 | 283 | 36 |
| Archie Livingstone | Scotland | HB | 1893–1900 | 181 | 3 |
| Andy Lochhead | Scotland | FW | 1958–1968 | 266 | 128 |
| Matthew Lowton | England | DF | 2015–2023 | 203 | 3 |
| Doug MacFarlane | England | FW | 1903–1908 | 125 | 34 |
| Phil Malley | England | MF | 1984–1988 | 113 | 6 |
| Dean Marney | England | MF | 2010–2018 | 221 | 10 |
| Harry Mather | England | FB | 1938–1955 | 329 | 0 |
| Chris McCann | Republic of Ireland | DF/MF | 2005–2013 | 268 | 31 |
| Andy McCluggage | Ireland* | FB | 1925–1931 | 213 | 24 |
| Colin McDonald | England* | GK | 1948–1950, 1951–1961 | 201 | 0 |
| John McGreal | England | DF | 2004–2007 | 106 | 1 |
| Jimmy McIlroy | Northern Ireland* | MF/FW | 1950–1963 | 497 | 131 |
| Tom McLintock | Scotland | FB | 1893–1903 | 254 | 15 |
| Dwight McNeil | England | MF/FW | 2018–2022 | 147 | 7 |
| Ian Measham | England | DF | 1988–1993 | 230 | 2 |
| Ben Mee | England | DF | 2011–2012, 2012–2022 | 376 | 12 |
| David Merrington | England | DF | 1962–1971 | 126 | 2 |
| Brian Miller | England* | DF/MF | 1954–1967 | 455 | 37 |
| Hugh Moffat | England | HB | 1904–1910 | 214 | 13 |
| Mark Monington | England | DF | 1989–1994 | 101 | 6 |
| Willie Morgan | Scotland* | MF/FW | 1961–1968, 1975–1976 | 232 | 22 |
| Jonathan Morley | England | HB/FW | 1908–1912 | 108 | 17 |
| Tony Morley | England | MF/FW | 1976–1979, 1988 | 107 | 7 |
| Billy Morris | Wales* | FW | 1939–1952 | 230 | 53 |
| Tommy Morrison | Ireland* | FW | 1894–1895, 1897–1902, 1906–1907 | 195 | 28 |
| Eddie Mosscrop | England* | FW | 1912–1922 | 198 | 20 |
| John Mullin | England | MF | 1992–1995, 1998, 1999–2001 | 113 | 11 |
| Joe Neenan | England | GK | 1985–1987 | 104 | 0 |
| Billy Nesbitt | England | HB/FW | 1911–1923 | 192 | 20 |
| Doug Newlands | Scotland | HB/FW | 1955–1959 | 104 | 23 |
| Keith Newton | England | DF | 1972–1978 | 253 | 7 |
| Tom Nicol | Scotland | FB/FW | 1891–1896 | 149 | 44 |
| Peter Noble | England | FW | 1973–1980 | 301 | 80 |
| Kurt Nogan | Wales | FW | 1995–1997 | 108 | 42 |
| Geoff Nulty | England | MF | 1968–1974 | 153 | 24 |
| James O'Connor | Republic of Ireland | MF | 2004–2008 | 149 | 11 |
| Brian O'Neil | England | MF | 1961–1970 | 282 | 25 |
| Vince Overson | England | DF | 1979–1986, 1996–1998 | 264 | 7 |
| Louis Page | England* | FW | 1925–1932 | 259 | 115 |
| George Parkin | England | HB | 1924–1929 | 128 | 2 |
| Gary Parkinson | England | DF | 1994–1997 | 163 | 5 |
| Martin Paterson | Northern Ireland* | FW | 2008–2013 | 151 | 37 |
| Andy Payton | England | FW | 1998–2003 | 176 | 81 |
| Chris Pearce | Wales | GK | 1987–1992 | 236 | 0 |
| John Pender | Republic of Ireland | DF | 1990–1995 | 222 | 11 |
| Mike Phelan | England | DF/MF | 1980–1985 | 214 | 13 |
| Brian Pilkington | England* | MF/FW | 1951–1961 | 340 | 77 |
| Walter Place | England | HB | 1886, 1890–1900 | 129 | 9 |
| Walter Place | England | FW | 1893–1900 | 187 | 36 |
| Ray Pointer | England* | FW | 1957–1965 | 270 | 132 |
| Nick Pope | England* | GK | 2016–2022 | 155 | 0 |
| Harry Potts | England | FW | 1937–1950 | 181 | 50 |
| Adrian Randall | England | MF | 1991–1995 | 144 | 10 |
| Jerry Reynolds | Scotland | FB | 1895–1900 | 124 | 0 |
| Gilbert Richmond | England | FB | 1932–1939 | 193 | 2 |
| Alick Robinson | England | HB | 1933–1945 | 221 | 9 |
| Jimmy Robson | England | FW | 1956–1965 | 242 | 100 |
| Billy Rodaway | England | DF | 1971–1981, 1986–1987 | 303 | 3 |
| Jay Rodriguez | England | FW | 2007–2012, 2019–2025 | 310 | 76 |
| Harry Ross | Scotland | FB | 1899–1904 | 111 | 2 |
| Derek Scott | England | DF | 1975–1985 | 358 | 29 |
| Bobby Seith | Scotland | FB/HB | 1949–1960 | 238 | 6 |
| Jason Shackell | England | DF | 2012–2015 | 136 | 4 |
| Les Shannon | England | HB/FW | 1949–1959 | 281 | 44 |
| Frank Sinclair | Jamaica | DF | 2004–2007 | 102 | 1 |
| Len Smelt | England | FB | 1919–1926 | 248 | 0 |
| Albert Smith | England | FW | 1905–1908 | 107 | 21 |
| Cecil Smith | Wales | FW | 1932–1936 | 119 | 53 |
| Dave Smith | Scotland | FB/DF | 1950–1961 | 108 | 1 |
| Dick Smith | England | FW | 1904–1910 | 185 | 75 |
| Fred Smith | England | FB/DF | 1959–1970 | 107 | 1 |
| Malcolm Smith | England | FW | 1976–1980 | 102 | 20 |
| Paul Smith | England | DF/MF | 1994–2001 | 128 | 5 |
| George Sommerville | Scotland | GK | 1926–1932 | 124 | 0 |
| Junior Stanislas | England | MF | 2011–2014 | 101 | 8 |
| John Steel | Scotland | HB | 1925–1931 | 152 | 5 |
| Trevor Steven | England | MF | 1981–1983 | 102 | 16 |
| Alan Stevenson | England | GK | 1972–1983 | 543 | 0 |
| Jimmy Strong | England | GK | 1946–1954 | 285 | 0 |
| John Talbut | England | FB/DF | 1957–1966 | 160 | 1 |
| James Tarkowski | England* | DF | 2016–2022 | 219 | 7 |
| Charlie Taylor | England | DF | 2017–2024 | 220 | 1 |
| David Taylor | Scotland | FB | 1911–1924 | 250 | 5 |
| Gareth Taylor | Wales* | FW | 2001–2003 | 106 | 37 |
| Joe Taylor | England | FB | 1893–1907 | 352 | 14 |
| Steve Taylor | England | FW | 1980–1983, 1987–1989 | 180 | 52 |
| Dave Thomas | England | MF/FW | 1967–1972 | 179 | 23 |
| Mitchell Thomas | England | DF | 1999–2002 | 112 | 0 |
| Ian Thomas-Moore | England | FW | 2000–2005 | 216 | 50 |
| Steven Thompson | Scotland | FW | 2008–2011 | 100 | 18 |
| Harry Thomson | Scotland* | GK | 1959–1969 | 141 | 0 |
| Jim Thomson | Scotland | DF | 1968–1981 | 364 | 6 |
| Sammy Todd | Northern Ireland* | DF | 1962–1970 | 128 | 2 |
| Kieran Trippier | England | DF | 2011–2015 | 185 | 7 |
| Chris Vinnicombe | England | DF | 1994–1998 | 114 | 4 |
| Sam Vokes | Wales* | FW | 2011–2019 | 267 | 64 |
| Colin Waldron | England | DF | 1967–1976 | 356 | 18 |
| Ross Wallace | Scotland | MF | 2010–2015 | 165 | 14 |
| Stephen Ward | Republic of Ireland* | DF/MF | 2014–2019 | 113 | 4 |
| George Waterfield | England* | FB | 1923–1935 | 394 | 5 |
| Billy Watson | England* | HB | 1909–1925 | 380 | 20 |
| Walter Weaver | England | FW | 1919–1924 | 116 | 18 |
| Paul Weller | England | MF | 1993–2004 | 288 | 13 |
| Dean West | England | DF | 1999–2004 | 178 | 6 |
| Ashley Westwood | England | MF | 2017–2023 | 181 | 7 |
| Winston White | England | MF | 1988–1991 | 128 | 21 |
| Mark Winstanley | England | DF | 1994–1999 | 182 | 5 |
| Doug Winton | Scotland | FB | 1947–1959 | 198 | 1 |
| Chris Wood | New Zealand* | FW | 2017–2022 | 165 | 53 |
| Arthur Woodruff | England | FB | 1936–1952 | 292 | 0 |
| Kevin Young | England | MF | 1979–1984 | 156 | 12 |