Football League 100 Legends


The Football League 100 Legends is a list of 100 great association football players who played part or all of their professional career in English Football League and Premier League football. The players were selected in 1998 by a panel of journalists, including veteran reporter Bryon Butler, and the list was intended to reflect the League's history by including players from throughout the preceding 99 seasons. The Football League also announced plans for a gala dinner later in the season at which surviving legends would receive a specially commissioned award.
The list includes 34 players who began their playing careers before the Second World War, 37 who began their careers between the end of the war and 1980, and 29 whose professional careers began after that date. At the time of the list's publication, six of the legends were still active, all playing in the Premier League. As of the 2013–14 season, Ryan Giggs is the most recent player to be put on this list. All 100 of the legends played in The Football League with the exception of Dennis Bergkamp, who did not begin playing in England until after the Premier League replaced the Football League as the highest level of the English football league system in 1992.

Legends

NameFootball League/Premier League clubCareer
Billy BassettWest Bromwich Albion1888–1899
Archie HunterAston Villa1888–1891
John GoodallPreston North End, Derby County, New Brighton Tower, Glossop North End1888–1904
Steve BloomerDerby County, Middlesbrough1892–1915
Billy MeredithNorthwich Victoria, Manchester City, Manchester United1893–1925
Bob CromptonBlackburn Rovers1896–1921
William FoulkeSheffield United, Chelsea, Bradford City1894–1908
Alf CommonSunderland, Sheffield United, Middlesbrough, Arsenal, Preston North End1900–1915
Sam HardyChesterfield, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest1902–1926
Bill McCrackenNewcastle United1904–1924
Viv WoodwardTottenham Hotspur, Chelsea1908–1915
Clem StephensonAston Villa, Huddersfield Town1910–1930
Charles BuchanSunderland, Arsenal1910–1929
Elisha ScottLiverpool1912–1934
David JackPlymouth Argyle, Bolton Wanderers, Arsenal1919–1935
Dixie DeanTranmere Rovers, Everton, Notts County1923–1939
George CamsellDurham City, Middlesbrough1924–1939
Hughie GallacherNewcastle United, Chelsea, Derby County, Notts County, Grimsby Town, Gateshead1925–1939
Harry HibbsBirmingham1925–1939
Alex JamesPreston North End, Arsenal1925–1938
Eddie HapgoodArsenal1927–1939
Cliff BastinExeter City, Arsenal1927–1948
Wilf CoppingLeeds United, Arsenal1930–1939
Stanley MatthewsStoke City, Blackpool1931–1966
Ted DrakeSouthampton, Arsenal1931–1939
Joe MercerEverton, Arsenal1932–1954
Raich CarterSunderland, Derby County, Hull City1932–1953
Peter DohertyBlackpool, Manchester City, Derby County, Huddersfield Town, Doncaster Rovers1933–1954
Frank SwiftManchester City1933–1951
Tommy LawtonBurnley, Everton, Chelsea, Notts County, Brentford, Arsenal1935–1957
Wilf MannionMiddlesbrough, Hull City1936–1956
George HardwickMiddlesbrough, Oldham Athletic1937–1956
Johnny CareyManchester United1937–1954
Stan MortensenBlackpool, Hull City, Southport1938–1958
Neil FranklinStoke City, Hull City, Crewe Alexandra, Stockport County1946–1958
Trevor FordSwansea City, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Cardiff City, Newport County1946–1961
Nat LofthouseBolton Wanderers1946–1961
Tom FinneyPreston North End1946–1960
Alf RamseySouthampton, Tottenham Hotspur1946–1955
Len ShackletonBradford, Newcastle United, Sunderland1946–1958
Jimmy DickinsonPortsmouth1946–1965
Arthur RowleyWest Bromwich Albion, Fulham, Leicester City, Shrewsbury Town1946–1965
Billy LiddellLiverpool1946–1961
Billy WrightWolverhampton Wanderers1946–1959
Jackie MilburnNewcastle United1946–1957
John CharlesLeeds United, Cardiff City1948–1966
Ivor AllchurchSwansea Town, Cardiff City, Newcastle United1948–1968
Danny BlanchflowerBarnsley, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur1948–1964
Bert TrautmannManchester City1949–1964
Jimmy McIlroyBurnley, Stoke City, Oldham Athletic1950–1968
Tommy TaylorBarnsley, Manchester United1950–1958
Cliff JonesSwansea Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham1952–1970
Johnny HaynesFulham1952–1970
Duncan EdwardsManchester United1953–1958
Jimmy ArmfieldBlackpool1954–1971
Terry PaineSouthampton, Hereford United1956–1977
Bobby CharltonManchester United, Preston North End1956–1975
Jimmy GreavesChelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United1957–1971
Denis LawHuddersfield Town, Manchester City, Manchester United1956–1974
Gordon BanksChesterfield, Leicester City, Stoke City1958–1973
Dave MackayTottenham Hotspur, Derby County, Swindon Town1958–1972
Bobby MooreWest Ham United, Fulham1958–1977
Alan MulleryFulham, Tottenham Hotspur1958–1976
Geoff HurstWest Ham United, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion1959–1976
Nobby StilesManchester United, Middlesbrough, Preston North End1959–1974
Johnny GilesManchester United, Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion1959–1977
Billy BremnerLeeds United, Hull City, Doncaster Rovers1959–1982
Frank McLintockLeicester City, Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers1959–1977
Alex YoungEverton, Stockport County1960–1969
Martin PetersWest Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City, Sheffield United1960–1981
Tommy SmithLiverpool, Swansea City1962–1979
Norman HunterLeeds United, Bristol City, Barnsley1962–1983
Pat JenningsWatford, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal1962–1985
Alan BallBlackpool, Everton, Arsenal, Southampton, Bristol Rovers1962–1984
Colin BellBury, Manchester City1963–1979
George BestManchester United, Stockport County, Fulham, Bournemouth1963–1983
Peter ShiltonLeicester City, Stoke City, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, Derby County, Plymouth Argyle, Bolton Wanderers, West Ham United, Leyton Orient1965–1997
Ray ClemenceScunthorpe United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur1965–1988
Malcolm MacdonaldFulham, Luton Town, Newcastle United, Arsenal1968–1979
Kevin KeeganScunthorpe United, Liverpool, Southampton, Newcastle United1968–1984
Trevor FrancisBirmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday1970–1995
Graeme SounessMiddlesbrough, Liverpool1972–1984
Liam BradyArsenal, West Ham United1973–1990
Glenn HoddleTottenham Hotspur, Swindon Town, Chelsea1974–1996
Bryan RobsonWest Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Middlesbrough1974–1997
Alan HansenLiverpool1977–1990
Kenny DalglishLiverpool1977–1990
Gary LinekerLeicester City, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur1978–1993
Ian RushChester City, Liverpool, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Wrexham1978–1999
Ossie ArdilesTottenham Hotspur, Blackburn Rovers, Queens Park Rangers, Swindon Town1978–1990
Neville SouthallBury, Everton, Port Vale, Southend United, Stoke City, Torquay United, Bradford City1980–2000
Paul McGrathManchester United, Aston Villa, Derby County, Sheffield United1981–1998
John BarnesWatford, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Charlton Athletic1981–1999
Tony AdamsArsenal1983–2002
Paul GascoigneNewcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley, Boston United1985–2004
Alan ShearerSouthampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United1987–2006
Ryan GiggsManchester United1990–2014
Eric CantonaLeeds United, Manchester United1991–1997
Peter SchmeichelManchester United, Aston Villa, Manchester City1991–2003
Dennis BergkampArsenal1995–2006