List of Northampton Town F.C. players

This is a list of notable footballers who have played for Northampton Town. The aim is for this list to include all players that have played 100 or more senior matches for the club. Other players who are deemed to have played an important role for the club can be included, but the reason for their notability should be included in the 'Notes' column.

For a list of all Northampton Town players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Northampton Town F.C. players. For the current Northampton Town first-team squad, see the Players section of the club's main article.

Players are listed according to the year of their first team debut for the club, and then by order of surname. The 1909 FA Charity Shield match is included in the statistics, however wartime matches are excluded.

Notable players

• Statistics correct as of 16 November 2024.

  This and the † indicate that they are a club record holder
  This indicates that they played their full career at Northampton Town.
  Italics This indicates they received international honours while not at the club.
(n/a) = Information not available
Players in bold are still playing for the club.

Name	Nat.	Position[1]	Period	League		Total		International honours	Caps	Notes
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
James Frost		Outside forward	1900–1907	189	22	205	22
Ralph Howe		Wing-half	1901–1906	155	2	169	2
Herbert Neal		Wing-half	1901–1907	153	8	164	8
Herbert Chapman		Inside forward	1901, 1904, 1907–1909	67	23	80	39			†[2]
Peter Durber		Full-back	1902–1906	112	0	117	0
Bill Perkins		Goalkeeper	1903–1906	101	0	109	0
George Cooch		Goalkeeper	1905–1909	125	0	133[3]	0
Edwin Freeman		Outside forward	1905–1920	341	19	364[3]	21
Dave McCartney		Centre-half	1907–1910	106	8	113[3]	9
Frank McDiarmid		Outside forward	1907–1911	138	18	149[3]	19
Fred Lessons		Centre-forward	1907–1915	234	75	249[3]	79			†[4]
Lloyd Davies		Full-back	1907–1920	311	3	330[3]	3	Wales	16	†[5]
Albert Lewis		Inside forward	1908–1913	164	85	179[3]	90
Jock Manning		Wing-half	1908–1920	264	8	283[3]	8
Fanny Walden		Outside forward	1909–1913, 1926–1927	128	27	137	29	England	2	†[6]
Thomas Thorpe		Goalkeeper	1909–1914	254	2	270	2
Bobby Hughes		Outside forward	1909–1915	112	23	116	23
Fred Clipston		Full-back	1910–1920	174	6	185	6
Harry King		Centre-forward	1911–1914	99	68	105	70
Walter Tull		Wing-half	1911–1915	105	9	108	9			†[7]
William Lockett		Centre-forward	1914–1926	262	100	282	109	England Schools
Billy Pease		Outside forward	1919–1925	278	46	299	52	England	1
Charles Smith		Goalkeeper	1919–1925	190	0	198	1
Bob Hewison		Utility	1920–1925	99	8	108	9			†[8]
Willie Watson		Full-back	1920–1929	326	4	352	5
Billy Williams		Wing-half	1921–1926	187	3	203	3	Wales	1
Thomas Jeffs		Full-back	1921–1927	143	0	160	0
Louis Page		Outside forward	1922–1925	122	24	129	26	England	7
Frank Brett		Full-back	1923–1929	254	4	273	4
Ernie Cockle		Centre-forward	1924–1927	97	46	104	46
Ralph Hoten		Inside forward	1924–1930	197	75	213	84			†[9]
Len Hammond		Goalkeeper	1924–1932	301	0	326	0
George Allon		Wing-half	1926–1931	185	7	192	7
Robert Maloney		Centre-half	1926–1931	183	4	194	4
Tommy Wells		Outside forward	1926–1934	277	73	305	84
William Cave		Goalkeeper	1926–1937	93	0	104	0
Tom Smith		Inside forward	1927–1930	112	22	121	22
Ted Bowen		Centre-forward	1927–1931	162	114	172	120			†[10]
George O'Dell		Wing-half	1927–1932	147	10	158	10
Albert Dawes		Centre-forward	1929–1933	164	82	175	94			†[11][12]
Fred Dawes		Full-back	1929–1936	162	1	185	4
Len Riches		Wing-half	1929–1937	136	8	151	9
Frank Davies		Wing-half	1930–1933	144	7	164	13
Tommy Boyle		Inside forward	1930–1935	142	33	151	35
Danny Tolland		Inside forward	1933–1937	138	26	150	30
Billy Thayne		Centre-half	1935–1938	138	0	143	0
Bill Gormlie		Goalkeeper	1935–1938	133	0	143	0
Sid Russell		Full-back	1935–1938	109	0	117	0
Bobby King		Forward	1937–1939, 1947–1949	99	23	102	23
Bill Barron		Full-back	1938–1951	166	4	189	4			†[13]
Gwyn Hughes		Wing-half	1945–1956	226	15	246	19
Tom Smalley		Full-back	1945–1951	200	2	226	2	England	1
Dave Smith		Inside forward	1946–1951	128	31	142	33
Tommy Fowler		Outside forward	1946–1961	521	84	552	88			†[14]
Dave Bowen		Wing-half	1947–1950, 1959–1960	34	1	35	1	Wales	19	†[15]
Bill Coley		Wing-half	1947–1951	104	7	113	7
Jack English		Outside forward	1947–1960	302	135	322	143			†[16]
Jack Ansell		Goalkeeper	1948–1952	131	0	142	0
Ben Collins		Centre-half	1948–1959	213	0	224	0
Maurice Candlin		Half-back	1949–1953	139	1	152	2
Jack Southam		Full-back	1949–1955	145	1	156	2
John Smith		Wing-half	1949–1960	186	9	195	9
Willie O'Donnell		Centre-forward	1951–1954	105	44	109	44
Fred Ramscar		Inside forward	1951–1955	139	55	146	59
Alf Wood		Goalkeeper	1951–1955	139	0	146	0
Tom McLain		Wing-half	1952–1955	96	11	101	11
Ron Patterson		Full-back	1952–1962	300	5	317	5
Maurice Marston		Full-back	1953–1957	149	2	155	2
Ray Yeoman		Wing-half	1953–1959	169	4	176	4
Roly Mills		Wing-half	1954–1964	305	30	324	33	England Youth
Ken Leek		Inside forward	1955–1958, 1964–1965	87	31	93	33	Wales	13	†[17]
Alan Woan		Inside forward	1956–1959	119	68	123	69
Tony Claypole		Full-back	1956–1961	116	1	125	1
Colin Gale		Centre-half	1956–1962	211	0	222	1
Derek Leck		Wing-half	1958–1966	246	45	267	49
Terry Branston		Centre-half	1960–1967	246	2	271	2
Barry Lines		Outside forward	1960–1970	266	48	294	50
Cliff Holton		Inside forward	1961–1962	62	50	68	54			†[18]
Mike Everitt		Full-back	1961–1967	207	15	227	17
Theo Foley		Full-back	1961–1967	204	8	220	11	Republic of Ireland	9	†[19]
John Kurila		Wing-half	1962–1963, 1964–1968	148	4	162	8
Graham Carr		Half-back	1962–1968	85	0	96	0	England Youth		†[20]
Frank Large		Centre-forward	1962–1963 1966–1967 1969–1972	220	88	250	96
Don Martin		Utility	1962–1968, 1976–1978	228	69	252	81	England Youth
Bryan Harvey		Goalkeeper	1963–1967	165	0	181	0
Billy Best		Utility	1963–1968, 1973–1978	243	49	271	56			†[21][22]
Jim Hall		Centre-forward	1963–1967, 1975–1978	124	35	141	39	England Youth		†[23]
Joe Kiernan		Wing-half	1963–1971	308	13	352	14
Graham Moore		Inside forward	1964–1967	53	10	59	12	Wales	21	†[24]
John Mackin		Full-back	1965–1969	101	11	112	13
John Clarke		Centre-half	1965–1975	233	1	262	1	England Youth
Graham Felton		Winger	1966–1976	254	25	286	27	England Youth
Ron Flowers		Midfielder	1967–1969	62	4	67	4	England	49	†[25]
John Roberts		Utility	1967–1969	62	11	67	13	Wales	22	†[26]
John Fairbrother		Forward	1968–1971	140	56	164	62
Ray Fairfax		Full-back	1968–1971	116	2	138	2
Frank Rankmore		Centre-back	1968–1971	103	15	126	19	Wales	1
Phil Neal		Utility	1968–1974	187	28	208	30	England	50
Dixie McNeil		Forward	1969–1972	85	33	102	38
Trevor Gould		Midfielder	1970–1973	105	6	110	6	England Youth		†[27]
John Buchanan		Midfielder	1970–1974, 1981–1983	183	30	209	34
Alan Starling		Goalkeeper	1971–1976	238	1	258	1
Barry Tucker		Full-back	1971–1977, 1982–1984	277	8	302	8
John Gregory		Utility	1972–1977	187	8	203	10	England	6
Paul Stratford		Forward	1972–1978	172	59	188	61			†[28]
Stuart Robertson		Centre-back	1972–1979	254	27	281	29			†[29]
Dave Carlton		Midfielder	1973–1977, 1980–1982	180	7	194	8
Derrick Christie		Winger	1974–1979	138	18	156	21
John Farrington		Winger	1974–1980	232	29	253	31
Steve Phillips		Forward	1975–1977, 1980–1982	126	38	141	43	England Youth		†[30]
Andy McGowan		Midfielder	1975–1978	105	14	111	14	England Youth
Steve Bryant		Midfielder	1976–1979, 1982	107	5	117	5			†[31]
George Reilly		Forward	1976–1980	127	45	144	54
Keith Williams		Midfielder	1976–1981	131	6	142	7			†[32]
Andy Poole		Goalkeeper	1978–1982	141	0	157	0			†[33]
Paul Saunders		Utility	1978–1983	125	5	141	5
Peter Denyer		Midfielder	1979–1983	148	28	170	34
Mark Heeley		Winger	1979–1983	92	5	110	6
Adam Sandy		Midfielder	1979–1983	104	6	113	8
Wakeley Gage		Centre-back	1979–1985	218	17	253	22			†[34][35][36]
Gary Saxby		Midfielder	1980–1983	96	11	114	14
Adrian Burrows		Centre-back	1982–1984	88	4	106	5
Peter Gleasure		Goalkeeper	1983–1991	344	0	412	0			†[37][38]
Steve Brown		Midfielder	1983–1985, 1989–1994	173	22	205	26
Russell Lewis		Centre-back	1983–1986	132	6	155	6	Wales Semi-pro		†[39]
Brian Mundee		Full-back	1983–1986	100	3	118	4	England Youth
Ian Benjamin		Forward	1984–1988	150	59	180	69	England Youth		†[40]
Warren Donald		Midfielder	1984–1990	188	13	220	14	England Schools
Richard Hill		Midfielder	1985–1987	86	46	103	52			†[41][42][43]
Trevor Morley		Forward	1985–1988	107	39	130	45	England Semi-pro		†[44]
Graham Reed		Full-back	1985–1988	112	2	138	2
Phil Chard		Utility	1985–1988, 1989–1994	278	46	331	54			†[45][46]
Eddie McGoldrick		Midfielder	1986–1988	107	9	130	11	Republic of Ireland	15
Dave Gilbert		Winger	1986–1989	120	21	145	27
Russ Wilcox		Centre-back	1986–1990	138	9	162	10	England Semi-pro
Keith McPherson		Centre-back	1986–1990	182	8	216	9			†[47][48]
Paul Wilson		Full-back	1987–1992	141	6	168	7
Steve Berry		Midfielder	1988–1991	102	7	123	10
Trevor Quow		Midfielder	1988–1992	88	2	100	2	England Youth
Tony Adcock		Forward	1988–1989, 1991–1992	107	40	122	46			†[49]
Bobby Barnes		Forward	1989–1992	98	37	118	44	England Youth
Terry Angus		Centre-back	1990–1993	116	6	138	6
Micky Bell		Winger	1990–1994	153	10	178	12
Steve Terry		Centre-back	1990–1994	181	17	211	18			†[50]
Jason Burnham		Full-back	1991–1994	88	2	108	2
Barry Richardson		Goalkeeper	1991–1994	96	0	113	0			†[51]
Lee Colkin		Full-back	1991–1998	99	3	119	4
Darren Harmon		Midfielder	1992–1995	89	12	106	13			†[52]
Ian Sampson		Centre-back	1994–2004	390	26	449	31			†[53][54]
Neil Grayson		Forward	1994–1997	120	31	141	34			†[55]
Ray Warburton		Centre-back	1994–1998	187	12	222	16			†[56]
Andy Woodman		Goalkeeper	1995–1999	163	0	197	0
Dean Peer		Midfielder	1995–2000	128	5	156	7
Roy Hunter		Midfielder	1995–2002	177	17	211	20
Ali Gibb		Winger	1996–2000	129	4	158	4
Sean Parrish		Midfielder	1996–2000	108	12	122	16
Ian Clarkson		Full-back	1996–2000	94	1	119	2			†[58]
James Hunt		Midfielder	1997–2002	174	8	205	10
John Frain		Full-back	1997–2003	213	4	252	8
Carlo Corazzin		Forward	1998–2000	78	30	89	32	Canada	59	†[59][60]
Dave Savage		Midfielder	1998–2001	113	18	124	18	Republic of Ireland	5
Richard Hope		Centre-back	1998–2003	134	7	153	7
Duncan Spedding		Full-back	1998–2003	123	1	143	1
Ian Hendon		Full-back	1999–2000	60	3	66	4	England Under-21		†[61]
Keith Welch		Goalkeeper	1999–2002	117	0	127	0			†[62]
Jamie Forrester		Forward	2000–2003	121	45	136	50	England Youth
Marco Gabbiadini		Forward	2000–2003	120	25	136	30	England 'B'
Chris Hargreaves		Midfielder	2000–2004	151	6	175	11			†[63]
Derek Asamoah		Forward	2001–2004	112	10	132	13	Ghana	4
Paul Trollope		Midfielder	2002–2004	84	8	100	8	Wales	9
Lee Harper		Goalkeeper	2002–2007	156	0	182	0			†[64]
Chris Willmott		Centre-back	2003–2005	81	1	101	1
Josh Low		Winger	2003–2006	102	15	124	19	Wales Under-21		†[65][66]
Martin Smith		Midfielder	2003–2006	104	23	127	29	England Under-21
Luke Chambers		Centre-back	2003–2007	122	1	149	1
Marc Richards		Forward	2003–2005, 2014–2018	176	54	210	63	England Under-20		†[67]
Chris Doig		Centre-back	2003, 2005–2009	129	4	147	5	Scotland Under-21
Scott McGleish		Forward	2004–2007, 2008–2009	120	43	143	56			†[68][69]
Mark Bunn		Goalkeeper	2004–2008	90	0	106	0			†[70]
Ian Taylor		Midfielder	2005–2007	66	8	74	8			†[71]
Andy Kirk		Forward	2005–2008	106	30	123	36	Northern Ireland	11
Jason Crowe		Full-back	2005–2009, 2011–2012	182	14	205	17	England Under-20
Ryan Gilligan		Midfielder	2005–2011	181	20	206	23
Mark Hughes		Centre-back	2006–2009	93	4	106	4
Chris Dunn		Goalkeeper	2006–2011	98	0	110	0
Andy Holt		Utility	2006–2012	191	16	220	17
Danny Jackman		Full-back	2007–2009	82	9	93	9			†[72][73]
Adebayo Akinfenwa		Forward	2007–2010, 2011–2013	168	71	188	74			†[74]
Luke Guttridge		Midfielder	2008–2010, 2012–2013	100	10	112	14
Abdul Osman		Midfielder	2008–2011	104	7	118	7
Michael Jacobs		Winger	2009–2012	87	11	100	15			†[75][76]
John Johnson		Full-back	2009–2013	139	13	151	14
Ben Tozer		Utility	2010–2015	173	6	199	7
Kelvin Langmead		Centre-back	2011–2015	90	11	104	12			†[77]
Chris Hackett		Winger	2012–2016	122	11	138	12
Ivan Toney		Forward	2012–2015	53	11	60	13	England	6	†[78]
Zander Diamond		Centre-back	2014–2017	113	3	125	5	Scotland 'B'		†[79]
Brendan Moloney		Full-back	2014–2018	104	2	115	2	Republic of Ireland Under-21
John-Joe O'Toole		Midfielder	2014–2019	173	33	194	35	Republic of Ireland Under-21		†[80][81]
Ryan Watson		Midfielder	2014, 2015, 2019–2021	80	13	101	17			†[82]
Ricky Holmes		Winger	2015–2016, 2020	58	15	64	17	England 'C'		†[83]
Nicky Adams		Winger	2015–2016, 2019–2021	90	4	107	6	Wales Under-21		†[84]
Adam Smith		Goalkeeper	2015–2017	86	0	94	0			†[85]
David Buchanan		Full-back	2015–2019	162	1	187	1	Northern Ireland Under-21
Sam Hoskins		Winger	2015–	347	82	392	91			†[86][87]
Shaun McWilliams		Midfielder	2016–2024	200	6	229	7
David Cornell		Goalkeeper	2016–2020	92	0	108	0	Wales Under-21
Charlie Goode		Centre-back	2019–2020	53	3	62	4	England 'C'		†[88][89][90]
Fraser Horsfall		Centre-back	2020–2022	85	12	100	12	England 'C'		†[91]
Jack Sowerby		Midfielder	2020–	140	2	153	2
Jon Guthrie		Centre-back	2021–	136	15	147	15			†[92]
Mitch Pinnock		Winger	2021–	151	24	168	25	England 'C'
Aaron McGowan		Full-back	2021–	95	2	103	2
Liam Roberts		Goalkeeper	2021–2022	46	0	49	0			†[93][94]
Louis Appéré		Forward	2022–2024	98	17	106	18

Notes

1. For a full description of positions see football positions.
2. Manager of Northampton from 1907–1912.
3. Northampton Town's only appearance in the Charity Shield is included in the overall total.
4. Manager of Northampton for between 1913–1918.
5. Club record holder for oldest first team player; 42 years old and most international caps while at the club; 12 caps for Wales.
6. Also played first-class cricket for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.
7. Became the first "coloured" infantry officer in the British Army
8. Player-manager of Northampton for between 1920–1925.
9. Joint club record holder with Bert Dawes for most goals in one match; 5 v Crystal Palace (H) won 8–1 Division Three South 1928/29.
10. Club record holder for most league goals in Division Three South; 34 in 1928–29.
11. Joint club record holder with Ralph Hoten for most goals in one match; 5 v Lloyds Bank (H) won 8–1 FA Cup Round One 1932/33.
12. Joint club record holder with Albert Lewis for most hat-tricks; 7.
13. Also played first-class cricket for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.
14. Club record holder for most competitive appearances.
15. Manager of Northampton for two spells between 1959–1967 and 1969–1972.
16. Club record holder for most competitive goals.
17. Member of Wales' 1958 World Cup squad.
18. Club record holder for most goals in a season; 36 in 1961/62 Division Three.
19. Manager of Northampton between 1990–1992.
20. Manager of Northampton between 1985–1990.
21. Inaugural Northampton Town 1975 Player of the Year.
22. Northampton Town 1977 Player of the Year.
23. Northampton Town 1976 Player of the Year.
24. BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 1959.
25. Member of England's 1966 World Cup winning squad and player-manager of Northampton between 1968–1969.
26. Sold to Arsenal for record fee at the time of £30,000.
27. Former Head of Centre of Excellence at Northampton Town.
28. Included the 1974/75 PFA Division Four Team of the Year.
29. Northampton Town 1979 Player of the Year.
30. Included the 1980/81 PFA Division Four Team of the Year.
31. Northampton Town 1978 Player of the Year.
32. Northampton Town 1981 Player of the Year.
33. Northampton Town 1980 Player of the Year.
34. Northampton Town 1982 Player of the Year.
35. Northampton Town 1984 Player of the Year.
36. Northampton Town 1985 Player of the Year.
37. Club record holder for most competitive clean sheets; 112
38. Northampton Town 1988 Player of the Year.
39. Northampton Town 1986 Player of the Year.
40. Northampton Town 1987 Player of the Year.
41. Club record holder for most league goals in Division Four; 33 in 1986–87.
42. Included the 1986/87 PFA Division Four Team of the Year.
43. Caretaker-manager of Northampton in 2003
44. Included the 1986/87 PFA Division Four Team of the Year.
45. Manager of Northampton between 1992–1993
46. Northampton Town 1991 Player of the Year.
47. Included the 1986/87 PFA Division Four Team of the Year.
48. Northampton Town 1990 Player of the Year.
49. Northampton Town 1989 Player of the Year.
50. Northampton Town 1992 Player of the Year.
51. Northampton Town 1993 Player of the Year.
52. Northampton Town 1994 Player of the Year.
53. Manager of Northampton between 2009–2011
54. Northampton Town 2001 Player of the Year.
55. Northampton Town 1995 Player of the Year.
56. Northampton Town 1996 Player of the Year.
57. Northampton Town 1998 Player of the Year.
58. Northampton Town 1997 Player of the Year.
59. 11 International Goals for Canada.
60. Northampton Town 1999 Player of the Year.
61. Included the 1999/2000 PFA Division Three Team of the Year.
62. Northampton Town 2000 Player of the Year.
63. Northampton Town 2002 Player of the Year.
64. Northampton Town 2004 Player of the Year.
65. Club record holder for transfer fee paid; £165,000 from Oldham Athletic in July 2003.
66. Included the 2005/06 PFA League Two Team of the Year.
67. Northampton Town 2015 Player of the Year.
68. Northampton Town 2005 Player of the Year.
69. Northampton Town 2006 Player of the Year.
70. Northampton Town 2007 Player of the Year.
71. Included the 2005/06 PFA League Two Team of the Year.
72. Northampton Town 2008 Player of the Year.
73. Northampton Town 2009 Player of the Year.
74. Northampton Town 2010 Player of the Year.
75. Northampton Town 2011 Player of the Year.
76. Northampton Town 2012 Player of the Year.
77. Northampton Town 2013 Player of the Year.
78. Former club record holder for youngest player; 16 years and 273 days, against Bradford City, November 2012.
79. Northampton Town 2017 Player of the Year.
80. Northampton Town 2016 Player of the Year.
81. Included the 2015/16 PFA League Two Team of the Year.
82. Northampton Town 2021 Player of the Year.
83. Included the 2015/16 PFA League Two Team of the Year.
84. Included the 2019/20 PFA League Two Team of the Year.
85. Included the 2015/16 PFA League Two Team of the Year.
86. Northampton Town 2023 Player of the Year.
87. Included the 2022/23 PFA League Two Team of the Year.
88. Club record holder for transfer fee received; £1 Million+ to Brentford in August 2020.
89. Included the 2019/20 PFA League Two Team of the Year.
90. Northampton Town 2020 Player of the Year.
91. Included the 2021/22 PFA League Two Team of the Year.
92. Included the 2021/22 PFA League Two Team of the Year.
93. Northampton Town 2022 Player of the Year.
94. Included the 2021/22 PFA League Two Team of the Year.

References

• Northampton Town: 1946/47 - 2013/14 at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
• Soccerbase stats (use Search for...on left menu and select 'Players' drop down)

Books

• Beesley, Mark (2005). Northampton Town: A Season in the Sun 1965–66. London: Desert Island Books. ISBN 978-1905328017.
• Grande, Frank (1997). Northampton Town F.C.: The Official Centenary History. London: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1874427674.
• Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Soccerdata. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.