Luton Town Football Club is an English
football club based since 1905 at
Kenilworth Road
Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, including the second ...
,
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
. The side currently plays in the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
, the second tier of
football in England
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
. Founded in 1885, Luton Town became the first professional team in southern England six years later and joined
The Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
in 1897.
[
] After leaving the League in 1900 due to financial strife, Luton Town competed in the
Southern League until Football League membership was regained 20 years later.
[ After an 89-year period of League membership, the team was ]relegated
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
to the Conference Premier
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...
in 2009 due to a 30-point deduction imposed by the football authorities. Five seasons later, the club won promotion back to The Football League.
Luton Town's first team has competed in numerous nationally contested competitions, and the 50 players judged in 2009 the club's best by Denis O'Donoghue of ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' are listed below. In addition, all players who have appeared 100 times for the club in these competitions are given. Club record holders are also included, regardless of the number of matches they played.
Fred Hawkes holds the record for most league appearances for the club, having played 509 matches between 1901 and 1920.[ The closest to Hawkes's record is Bob Morton, who appeared 495 times between 1948 and 1964.][ Including all senior competitions, Morton leads the chart with 562 compared to Hawkes's 549.][ As of 1 July 2009, the player who has won the most ]international caps
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
while at the club is Mal Donaghy
Malachy Martin Donaghy (born 13 September 1957 in Belfast) is a former Northern Ireland national football team, Northern Ireland international Association football, footballer who played for Luton Town F.C., Luton Town and Manchester United F.C. ...
, who appeared 58 times for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.[
The goalscoring record is held by Gordon Turner, who scored 276 goals between 1949 and 1964.][ Turner's tally of 243 league goals is also a club record.][ Turner's nearest rival is Andy Rennie, whose 147 league goals, 162 in total, were scored between 1925 and 1934.][ Joe Payne holds the Luton Town record for the most goals scored in a season, set in 1936–37, with 55 league goals in 39 ]Third Division South
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...
games and 58 in all competitions. Payne also holds the Football League record for most goals in a match, with 10 during a 12–0 victory over Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
on 13 April 1936.[ Turner holds the club record for most goals in a top-flight season, with 33 league goals and 38 overall during 1957–58.
]
Key
*Players with name in bold currently play for the club.
*Players with this background and text in bold in the "Nationality" column won full international caps
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
for their country while with the club. If no reliable source has yet been found for the exact number of such caps won, the caps column will be empty and a reference will be supplied for the player having been capped during the relevant period.
* ¤ Players with this background and symbol in the "Notes" column are club record holders, and have footnotes detailing their achievements.
* †Players with this background and symbol in the "Club career" column played for Luton for their entire football career.
*Years are the first and last calendar years in which the player appeared in competitive first-team football for the club.
*League appearances and goals comprise those in the Southern Football League
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...
, the United League, the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
and the Conference Premier
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...
.
*Total appearances and goals comprise those in the Southern Football League, United League, Football League (including play-offs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
), Conference Premier, FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
, Football League Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
, Associate Members' Cup/Football League Trophy and several now-defunct competitions including the Anglo-Italian Cup, Texaco Cup
The Texaco Cup, officially known as the International League Board Competition, was an association football competition started in 1970, involving sides from England, Scotland, and Ireland that had not qualified for European competitions.
It wa ...
, Watney Cup
The Watney Mann Invitation Cup (normally referred to as simply the Watney Cup) was a short-lived English football tournament held in the early 1970s.
It was held before the start of the season, and was contested by the teams that had scored th ...
and Full Members' Cup
The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992.
Th ...
.
Notable players
:Appearances and goals are for first-team competitive matches only; wartime matches are excluded. Substitute appearances are included. Statistics are correct up to and including the match played on 5 February 2022.
''The Times'' top 50 (2009)
:Following Luton Town's relegation from The Football League in April 2009, a list of the 50 best Luton Town players of all-time was compiled by ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' journalist Denis O'Donoghue. The players selected by O'Donoghue are given below.
Other Luton Town centurions and record holders
:Players other than those selected by O'Donoghue who either made 100 first-team appearances for Luton Town or hold a club record appear here.
Notes
:a Number of international caps won while at the club sourced to Hayes, ''Completely Top Hatters!'' except where otherwise noted.
:b For a full description of positions see Football Positions Football positions may refer to:
*American football positions
*Association football positions
*Australian rules football positions
*Rugby league positions
*Rugby union positions
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comp ...
.
:c Southern Football League and United League appearances and goals sourced to Collings, ''The Luton Town Story 1885–1985''.
Football League appearances and goals for players whose career ended up to and including 1997 sourced to Bailey, ''The Definitive Luton Town F.C.''. This list excludes games played in the abandoned 1939–40 season.
League appearances and goals for players whose career ended post-1997 sourced t
Soccerbase
:d Other appearances and goals sourced to Bailey, ''The Definitive Luton Town F.C.'' unless the player's career ended post-1997, in which case they are sourced t
Soccerbase
Footnotes
:A. Joe Payne holds the club record for most league goals in a season (55 in 1936–37). He also holds the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
record for most goals in a match – 10 against Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
on 13 April 1936.
:B. Bob Morton holds the records for most Luton Town appearances in both the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
(495) and in all competitions (562).
:C. Gordon Turner holds the records for most Luton Town goals scored in both the league (243) and in all competitions (276).
:D. Tony Read was unusually utilised as both a goalkeeper and as a forward – he is listed here as a goalkeeper as he appeared more often in that position.
:E. Mal Donaghy
Malachy Martin Donaghy (born 13 September 1957 in Belfast) is a former Northern Ireland national football team, Northern Ireland international Association football, footballer who played for Luton Town F.C., Luton Town and Manchester United F.C. ...
holds the club record for most international appearances while with the club, with 58 of his 91 for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
coming while he was at Kenilworth Road
Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, including the second ...
.
:F. With five England caps, Paul Walsh
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
shares the record for most England appearances by a Luton Town player with Bob Hawkes.
:G. Curtis Davies
Curtis Eugene Davies (born 15 March 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Derby County.
Davies began his career at Luton Town, for whom he made his professional debut in 2003. Davies moved to Premie ...
became Luton Town's most expensive sale when he was sold to West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
for £3,000,000 on 31 August 2006.
:H. Fred Hawkes holds the records for most league appearances for Luton Town, with 509.
:I. Bob Hawkes became the first Luton Town player to be capped by any country when he appeared for England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
against Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on 16 February 1907.
:J. While a Luton Town player, the dual Irish international Tom Aherne
Thomas Aherne (26 January 1919 – 30 December 1999), also referred to as Bud Aherne, was an Irish footballer and hurler. He played football for Belfast Celtic and Luton Town and was a dual internationalist, playing for both Ireland teams â ...
made one appearance for the Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team.
...
-controlled all-Ireland team and 13 for the Football Association of Ireland-affiliated Ireland team.
:K. Lars Elstrup became Luton Town's most expensive signing ever when the club paid £850,000 to buy him from Odense Boldklub
Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...
on 17 August 1989.
References
;Bibliography
*
*
*
;Notes
{{Lists of football players in England
Players
Luton Town F.C. players
Luton Town Football Club is an English football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The side currently plays in the Championship, the second tier of football in England. Founded in 1885, Luton Town became the first ...
Association football player non-biographical articles