# List of Bristol Rovers F.C. players

The following article is a list of footballers past and present who have played for Bristol Rovers Football Club.
In the club's early history the appearance record was held by goalkeeper Arthur Cartlidge, who played in 258 Southern League games between 1901 and 1909. His record stood until it was broken by another goalkeeper, Jesse Whatley, who played 14 times in the Southern League and a further 372 in The Football League, making a total of 386 overall. Following the Second World War the Bristol Rovers board introduced a no-buy/no-sell policy, which remained in force until the abolition of the maximum wage in football in 1961; as a result some players in that era had a high number of appearances for the club. Eight of the top nine most-used players played during this time, each making over 400 appearances. These eight were Bobby Jones (421 appearances), Alfie Biggs (424), Ray Warren (450), Harold Jarman (452), George Petherbridge (457), Geoff Bradford (462), Jack Pitt (466), and Harry Bamford (486). The club's all-time leading appearance maker, Stuart Taylor, played in 546 League games between 1965 and 1980. The club's highest scorer by a wide margin is Geoff Bradford, who scored 242 times in The Football League, exceeding the next-highest scorer Alfie Biggs by 64 goals.

## Players

The list of players below includes all team members who have played in at least 100 professional league games for Bristol Rovers, which includes games played in the Southern League (1899–1920), Football League (1920–2014 and 2015–) and Football Conference (2014–15), and also includes substitute appearances.
Statistics are correct as of match played 15 March 2024
Position key: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
    † Current Bristol Rovers player, as at 4 July 2024
    ‡ Capped at full international level
Table of players, including nationality, playing position and club statistics :
| Player | Nationality | Pos | Club career | Apps | Goals | Ref |
| Junior Agogo | Ghana ‡ | FW | 2003–2006 | 126 | 41 | |
| Peter Aitken | Wales | MF | 1972–1980 | 234 | 3 | |
| Ian Alexander | Scotland | DF | 1986–1994 | 291 | 6 | |
| Byron Anthony | Wales | DF | 2006–2012 | 163 | 7 | |
| Ben Appleby | England | MF | 1903–1908 | 180 | 9 | |
| Lee Archer | England | MF | 1991–1997 | 126 | 13 | |
| Harry Armitage | England | DF | 1922–1926 | 122 | 0 | |
| Vitālijs Astafjevs | Latvia ‡ | MF | 2000–2003 | 110 | 16 | |
| Harry Bamford | England | DF | 1946–1958 | 486 | 5 | |
| Bruce Bannister | England | FW | 1971–1977 | 206 | 80 | |
| Mike Barrett | England | MF | 1979–1984 | 128 | 18 | |
| Phil Bater | Wales | DF | 1974–1981 1983–1986 | 310 | 3 | |
| Peter Beadle | England | FW | 1995–1998 | 109 | 39 | |
| Bert Bennett | England | DF | 1911–1915 | 101 | 0 | |
| Fred Bennett | England | DF | 1925–1930 | 129 | 2 | |
| Alfie Biggs | England | FW | 1953–1961 1962–1968 | 424 | 178 | |
| Geoff Bradford | England ‡ | FW | 1949–1964 | 462 | 242 | |
| James Brogan | Scotland | FW | 1910–1915 | 106 | 24 | |
| John Brown | England | FW | 1963–1968 | 156 | 32 | |
| Lee Brown | England | DF | 2011–2018 | 285 | 21 | |
| Marcus Browning | Wales ‡ | MF | 1989–1997 | 174 | 11 | |
| Bryan Bush | England | MF/FW | 1947–1955 | 113 | 19 | |
| Stuart Campbell | Scotland | MF | 2004–2011 | 291 | 3 | |
| Chris Carruthers | England | DF | 2005 (loan) 2005–2008 | 100 | 1 | |
| Arthur Cartlidge | England | GK | 1901–1909 | 258 | 0 | |
| Trevor Challis | England | DF | 1998–2003 | 146 | 1 | |
| Justin Channing | England | MF | 1992–1996 | 130 | 10 | |
| Billy Clark | Scotland | FW | 1904–1908 | 133 | 35 | |
| Billy Clark | England | DF | 1987–1997 | 248 | 12 | |
| James Clarke | England | DF | 2015–2019 | 112 | 2 | |
| Ollie Clarke | England | MF | 2011–2020 | 235 | 20 | |
| Danny Coles | England | DF | 2007–2011 | 102 | 3 | |
| Andy Collett | England | GK | 1994–1999 | 107 | 0 | |
| Aaron Collins | Wales | FW | 2021–2024 | 117 | 35 | |
| Fred Corbett | England | FW | 1901–1903 1904–1905 1908–1911 | 139 | 52 | |
| Ellis Crompton | England | FW | 1913–1921 | 150 | 36 | |
| Jamie Cureton | England | FW | 1996–2000 | 174 | 72 | |
| Joe Davis | England | DF | 1960–1967 | 211 | 4 | |
| Graham Day | England | DF | 1973–1979 | 130 | 1 | |
| Craig Disley | England | MF | 2004–2009 | 203 | 25 | |
| Ronnie Dix | England ‡ | FW | 1928–1932 | 100 | 33 | |
| Alec Donald | Scotland | DF | 1932–1936 | 136 | 0 | |
| Hughie Dunn | Scotland | DF | 1901–1906 | 155 | 1 | |
| Jim Eadie | Scotland | GK | 1973–1977 | 183 | 0 | |
| Nathan Ellington | England | FW | 1999–2002 | 116 | 35 | |
| Steve Elliott | England | DF | 2004–2010 | 218 | 17 | |
| Antony Evans | England | MF | 2021–2024 | 121 | 21 | |
| Gordon Fearnley | England | FW | 1970–1977 | 120 | 21 | |
| Sam Finley | England | MF | 2021–2024 | 104 | 5 | |
| Steve Foster | England | DF | 1997–2002 | 197 | 7 | |
| Geoff Fox | England | DF | 1947–1955 | 276 | 2 | |
| Rory Gaffney | Republic of Ireland | FW | 2015–2016 (loan) 2016–2018 | 100 | 21 | |
| Ray Graydon | England | MF | 1965–1971 | 133 | 33 | |
| Arthur Griffiths | England | DF | 1897–1904 | 105 | 1 | |
| Andy Gurney | England | DF | 1992–1997 | 108 | 9 | |
| Lewis Haldane | Wales | MF/FW | 2002–2010 | 147 | 15 | |
| Denzil Hale | England | MF/FW | 1952–1959 | 120 | 12 | |
| Bernard Hall | England | GK | 1959–1967 | 163 | 0 | |
| Ian Hamilton | England | FW | 1958–1968 | 149 | 60 | |
| Ellis Harrison | Wales | MF/FW | 2011–2018 | 185 | 44 | |
| David Harvie | Scotland | DF | 1910–1920 | 219 | 1 | |
| Jimmy Haydon | England | DF | 1921–1931 | 290 | 5 | |
| Doug Hillard | England | DF | 1957–1968 | 318 | 12 | |
| Craig Hinton | England | DF | 2004–2009 | 153 | 3 | |
| Len Hodges | England | FW | 1946–1950 | 118 | 20 | |
| Ian Holloway | England | MF | 1981–1985 1987–1991 1996–1999 | 397 | 42 | |
| Peter Hooper | Kenya ‡ | FW | 1953–1962 | 297 | 101 | |
| Bert Hoyle | England | GK | 1950–1953 | 104 | 0 | |
| Jeff Hughes | Northern Ireland ‡ | MF | 2008–2011 | 129 | 28 | |
| Harold Jarman | England | MF | 1959–1973 | 452 | 127 | |
| Bobby Jones | England | FW | 1956–1966 1967–1973 | 421 | 101 | |
| Glyn Jones | Wales | DF | 1962–1966 | 153 | 0 | |
| Vaughan Jones | Wales | DF | 1976–1982 1984 (loan) 1985–1993 | 381 | 12 | |
| Wayne Jones | Wales ‡ | MF | 1966–1972 | 224 | 28 | |
| Jo Kuffour | Ghana | FW | 2008–2012 | 130 | 32 | |
| Vic Lambden | England | FW | 1945–1955 | 268 | 117 | |
| Rickie Lambert | England ‡ | FW | 2006–2009 | 128 | 51 | |
| Daniel Leadbitter | England | DF | 2014–2019 | 115 | 1 | |
| Aaron Lescott | England | DF | 2004 (loan) 2004–2010 | 207 | 5 | |
| Chris Lines | England | MF | 2004–2011 2015 (loan) 2015–2019 | 314 | 30 | |
| Tom Lockyer | Wales ‡ | DF | 2012–2019 | 255 | 6 | |
| James Lofthouse | England | FW | 1923–1926 | 105 | 15 | |
| Gary Mabbutt | England ‡ | DF | 1977–1982 | 131 | 10 | |
| Ray Mabbutt | England | MF | 1956–1969 | 395 | 27 | |
| Nigel Martyn | England ‡ | GK | 1987–1989 | 101 | 0 | |
| Wally McArthur | England | MF | 1933–1950 | 261 | 14 | |
| Aidan McCaffrey | England | DF | 1980–1985 | 184 | 11 | |
| Mark McChrystal | Northern Ireland | DF | 2013–2017 | 114 | 0 | |
| Jock McLean | Scotland | MF | 1933–1938 | 134 | 1 | |
| George McNestry | England | FW | 1932–1935 | 113 | 42 | |
| David Mehew | England | MF | 1985–1994 | 222 | 63 | |
| Barrie Meyer | England | FW | 1953–1958 | 139 | 60 | |
| Steve Mildenhall | England | GK | 2013 (loan) 2013–2017 | 127 | 0 | |
| Paul Miller | England | FW | 1994–1997 | 127 | 29 | |
| Jerry Morgan | England | FW | 1920–1925 | 114 | 25 | |
| Jimmy Morgan | England | FW | 1946–1952 | 104 | 24 | |
| Alex Munro | Scotland | DF/MF/FW | 1962–1971 | 169 | 11 | |
| Joe Nicholls | England | GK | 1936–1939 | 112 | 0 | |
| Matt O'Mahoney | Ireland ‡ | DF | 1936–1939 | 101 | 6 | |
| Terry Oldfield | England | MF/FW | 1958–1966 | 132 | 11 | |
| Billy Palmer | England | FW | 1912–1913 1919–1922 | 102 | 14 | |
| Tom Parkes | England | DF | 2012 (loan) 2012–2016 | 175 | 7 | |
| Brian Parkin | England | GK | 1989–1996 1999–2000 | 246 | 0 | |
| Tim Parkin | England | DF | 1981–1986 | 206 | 12 | |
| Lindsay Parsons | England | DF | 1963–1977 | 360 | 0 | |
| Gary Penrice | England | MF/FW | 1983–1989 1997–2002 | 257 | 60 | |
| Billy Peplow | England | FW | 1908–1915 | 216 | 42 | |
| George Petherbridge | England | FW | 1945–1962 | 457 | 85 | |
| Steve Phillips | England | GK | 2006–2010 | 136 | 0 | |
| Bill Pickering | England | DF | 1931–1937 | 215 | 1 | |
| Jack Pitt | England | MF | 1946–1960 | 466 | 16 | |
| Tony Pounder | England | MF | 1990–1994 | 113 | 10 | |
| Frankie Prince | Wales | MF | 1967–1980 | 362 | 22 | |
| David Pritchard | England | DF | 1994–2001 | 163 | 1 | |
| Dick Pudan | England | DF | 1902–1907 | 116 | 0 | |
| Tony Pulis | Wales | DF/MF | 1975–1981 1982–1984 | 130 | 5 | |
| Phil Purnell | England | MF | 1985–1992 | 153 | 22 | |
| David Pyle | England | DF | 1955–1962 | 139 | 0 | |
| Howard Radford | Wales | GK | 1951–1962 | 245 | 0 | |
| Paul Randall | England | FW | 1977–1978 1981–1986 | 277 | 107 | wiki |
| Andy Reece | England | MF | 1987–1993 | 239 | 17 | |
| Eliot Richards | Wales | MF/FW | 2009–2014 | 120 | 15 | |
| Phil Roberts | Wales ‡ | DF/MF | 1968–1973 | 175 | 6 | |
| Thomas Roberts | England | MF/FW | 1925–1930 | 120 | 6 | |
| Peter Roney | Scotland | GK | 1909–1915 | 178 | 1 | |
| Bill Roost | England | FW | 1948–1957 | 178 | 49 | |
| Peter Sampson | England | MF | 1948–1961 | 340 | 4 | |
| Carl Saunders | England | FW | 1990–1993 | 142 | 42 | |
| Liam Sercombe | England | MF | 2017–2020 | 103 | 13 | |
| Bill Shaw | Scotland | MF | 1909–1912 | 103 | 6 | |
| Dick Sheppard | England | GK | 1969–1975 | 151 | 0 | |
| Stephen Sims | England | DF | 1919–1922 1926–1927 | 111 | 18 | |
| Stuart Sinclair | England | MF | 2014–2019 | 142 | 7 | |
| Justin Skinner | England | MF | 1991–1998 | 187 | 11 | |
| Neil Slatter | Wales ‡ | DF | 1980–1985 | 148 | 4 | |
| Jack Smart | England | MF | 1905–1910 | 105 | 3 | |
| Michael Smith | Northern Ireland ‡ | DF | 2011–2014 | 101 | 1 | |
| David Staniforth | England | FW | 1974–1979 | 153 | 32 | |
| Tom Stanton | Scotland | DF/MF | 1968–1976 | 172 | 7 | |
| Archie Stephens | England | FW | 1981–1985 | 127 | 40 | |
| Kenny Stephens | England | MF | 1970–1977 | 223 | 11 | |
| Worrell Sterling | England | MF | 1993–1996 | 119 | 6 | |
| Marcus Stewart | England | FW | 1991–1996 | 171 | 57 | |
| David Stone | England | DF | 1960–1968 | 148 | 6 | |
| Norman Sykes | England | MF | 1952–1964 | 214 | 5 | |
| Nick Tanner | England | DF | 1985–1988 | 107 | 3 | |
| Connor Taylor † | England | DF | 2021–22 (loan) 2023– | 108 | 4 | |
| Matty Taylor | England | FW | 2014–2017 | 118 | 61 | |
| Stuart Taylor | England | DF | 1965–1980 | 546 | 28 | |
| Martin Thomas | Wales ‡ | GK | 1977–1983 | 162 | 0 | |
| Andy Thomson | England | DF | 1999–2002 | 127 | 6 | |
| Andy Tillson | England | DF | 1992–2000 | 253 | 11 | |
| Geoff Twentyman | England | DF | 1986–1993 | 252 | 6 | |
| Bobbie Walker | England | MF | 1912–1915 | 107 | 12 | |
| Richard Walker | England | FW | 2004–2009 | 143 | 46 | |
| Joe Walter | England | MF | 1919–1922 1928–1929 | 124 | 9 | |
| Alan Warboys | England | FW | 1973–1977 | 144 | 53 | |
| Dai Ward | Wales ‡ | FW | 1954–1961 | 175 | 90 | |
| Ray Warren | England | MF | 1936–1956 | 450 | 28 | |
| Barry Watkins | Wales | DF/FW | 1945–1957 | 115 | 7 | |
| Josser Watling | England | DF/FW | 1947–1963 | 323 | 19 | |
| Arthur Weare | Wales | GK | 1945–1951 | 141 | 0 | |
| Jesse Whatley | England | GK | 1919–1930 | 386 | 0 | |
| Ernie Whatmore | England | FW | 1923–1928 | 134 | 40 | |
| Devon White | England | FW | 1987–1992 | 202 | 52 | |
| Steve White | England | FW | 1977–1979 1983–1986 | 150 | 44 | |
| Brian Williams | England | DF | 1981–1985 | 163 | 20 | |
| David Williams | Wales ‡ | MF | 1975–1985 | 352 | 66 | |
| Geraint Williams | Wales ‡ | MF | 1980–1985 | 141 | 8 | |
| Louis Williams | England | MF | 1909–1912 | 106 | 1 | |
| Steve Yates | England | DF | 1986–1993 | 197 | 0 | |

## Footnotes

* $^a$ Unless otherwise stated, all international caps are taken from Byrne & Jay (2003).
* $^b$ A player's nationality is defined as the country they have represented at the international level if they have done so; otherwise it is their country of birth.
* $^c$ Playing positions are taken from Byrne & Jay (2003) unless otherwise stated.
* $^d$ Number of league appearances for Bristol Rovers
* $^e$ Number of league goals scored for Bristol Rovers
* $^f$ Unless otherwise stated, player statistics are taken from Byrne & Jay (2003).
* $^g$ Matt O'Mahoney was a dual Irish international, having played for both the FAI and IFA national teams.