Cardiff City Football Club is a professional
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, 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
Frederick Charles Keenor (31 July 1894 – 19 October 1972) was a Welsh professional footballer. He began his career at his hometown side Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 organised by his former s ...
and
Ron Stitfall were born and raised in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
. The most recent player to reach 400 appearances for the club is
Peter Whittingham
Peter Michael Whittingham (; 8 September 1984 – 18 March 2020) was an English professional footballer. His primary position was as a central midfielder, although he operated as a winger on both the left and right, as well as a second-striker ...
.
The all-time goalscoring record is held by
Len Davies
Leonard Stephen Davies (28 April 1899 – 1945) was a Welsh professional footballer. Born in Cardiff, he trained as a marine engineer before becoming a footballer, making his senior debut for his hometown club Cardiff City in 1919 in the Southe ...
, 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
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
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 7 May 2022.
Trevor Ford (1959).jpg, Trevor Ford
Trevor Ford (1 October 1923 – 29 May 2003) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a centre forward for Swansea Town, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Cardiff City, PSV, Newport County and Romford, as well as for the Wales national ...
was the club's top scorer during the 1954–55 season
Boland, Willie.jpg, Willie Boland made over 200 appearances for the club between 1999 and 2006
Joeledley.jpg, Joe Ledley, made over 250 appearances for the club between 2004 and 2010
Fred Keenor at Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff.jpg, Statue of Fred Keenor
Frederick Charles Keenor (31 July 1894 – 19 October 1972) was a Welsh professional footballer. He began his career at his hometown side Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 organised by his former s ...
, who made over 500 appearances and captained the 1927 FA Cup Final
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Musi ...
winning side, at the Cardiff City Stadium., alt=A statute of a man holding a trophy and lifting his left arm into the air. The statute is in front of a football stadium
Mcnaughton-cropped.jpg, Kevin McNaughton made over 290 appearances for the club between 2006 and 2015
Michael Chopra - 2011.jpg, Michael Chopra
Rocky Michael Chopra (born 23 December 1983) is an English former professional footballer who plays as a striker for West Allotment Celtic.
A product of the Newcastle United youth system, he spent six years at the club without managing to se ...
who had three separate spells with the ''Bluebirds''
James 'Jimmy' Gill.jpg, Jimmy Gill
James J. Gill (9 November 1894 – 1964) was an English professional footballer. He was born in Sheffield.
Gill began his career at hometown side Sheffield Wednesday in 1913. With the club suffering financial difficulties he was sold to Cardi ...
, one of seven players to have scored over 100 goals for the club
David Marshall 2016.jpg, David Marshall made 278 appearances for the club, the second most by any goalkeeper, behind only Tom Farquharson
Thomas Gerard Farquharson (4 December 1899 – 24 December 1970) was an Irish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Dublin, he played youth football for local sides. In his teens, he became a member of the Irish Republica ...
Peter Whittingham.jpg, Peter Whittingham
Peter Michael Whittingham (; 8 September 1984 – 18 March 2020) was an English professional footballer. His primary position was as a central midfielder, although he operated as a winger on both the left and right, as well as a second-striker ...
, the most recent player to reach 400 appearances for the club
List
Notes
References
General
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Specific
{{featured list
Players
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
Players
Association football player non-biographical articles