List of Burnley F.C. records and statistics
is an English professional association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Founded on 18 May 1882, the club was one of the first to become professional, putting pressure on The Football Association to allow professionalism. As a result, the club was able to enter the FA Cup for the first time in 1885–86, and it was one of six Lancashire clubs in the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888–89. Burnley have played in one of the four professional levels of English football from 1888 to the present day.
Burnley have been champions of England twice, in 1920–21 and 1959–60, have won the FA Cup once, in 1913–14, and have won the FA Charity Shield twice, in 1960 and 1973. They have been runners-up in the First Division twice, in 1919–20 and 1961–62, and FA Cup runners-up twice, in 1946–47 and 1961–62. Burnley are one of only five teams to have won all four professional divisions of English football, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Portsmouth.
The record for most games played for the club is held by Jerry Dawson, who made 569 appearances between 1907 and 1928. George Beel scored 188 goals during his Burnley career, and is the club's record goalscorer. Jimmy McIlroy made 51 appearances for Northern Ireland and so is the player who has gained the most caps while with the club. The highest transfer fees paid by the club are the £15 million paid to Leeds United and Middlesbrough for Chris Wood and Ben Gibson in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and the highest fee received is the £25 million paid by Everton for Michael Keane in 2017. The highest attendance recorded at Turf Moor was 54,775 for the visit of Huddersfield Town in a third round FA Cup match in 1924.
All records and statistics are correct as of the 2019–20 season.
Honours and achievements
won their first honour in 1883, when the team won the Dr Dean Trophy, a knockout competition between amateur clubs in the Burnley area. The club turned professional by the end of 1883, and were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888. Burnley reached their first major final in 1914, when they reached the FA Cup Final, and beat Liverpool 1–0. Burnley have been champions of England twice, in 1920–21 and 1959–60. The team have also won the Charity Shield twice, in 1960 and 1973. They have competed in one of the four professional levels of English football from 1888 to the present day, and are one of only five teams to have won all four tiers, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Portsmouth. Burnley's honours include the following:League
- Winners : 1920–21, 1959–60
- Runners–up : 1919–20, 1961–62
Third Division/Second Division
Fourth Division
- Winners : 1991–92
Cup
- Winners : 1913–14
- Runners–up : 1946–47, 1961–62
- Winners : 1960, 1973
- Runners–up : 1921
- Runners–up : 1973–74
- Winners : 1978–79
- Runners–up : 1987–88
Regional
- Winners : 1889–90, 1914–15, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1992–93
Club records
Season records
- Most league wins in a season: 26 in 46 matches, Championship, 2013–14 and 2015–16
- Fewest league wins in a season: 4 in 22 matches, Football League, 1889–90
- Most league draws in a season: 17 in 46 matches, Third Division, 1981–82
- Fewest league draws in a season: 3 in 22 matches, Football League, 1888–89 and 1890–91
- Most league defeats in a season: 24 in 38 matches, Premier League, 2009–10
- Fewest league defeats in a season: 2 in 30 matches, Second Division, 1897–98
Points
- Most points in a season:
- *Two points for a win: 62 in 42 matches, Second Division, 1972–73
- *Three points for a win: 93 in 46 matches, Championship, 2013–14 and 2015–16
- Fewest points in a season:
- *Two points for a win: 13 in 22 matches, Football League, 1889–90
- *Three points for a win: 30 in 38 matches, Premier League, 2009–10
Goals
- Most league goals scored in a season: 102 in 42 matches, First Division, 1960–61
- Fewest league goals scored in a season: 28 in 38 matches, Premier League, 2014–15
- Most league goals conceded in a season: 108 in 42 matches, First Division, 1925–26
- Fewest league goals conceded in a season: 24 in 30 matches, Second Division, 1897–98
Clean sheets
- Most clean sheets in a season: 25 in 51 matches, 1946–47
Match records
Firsts
- First match: Burnley 4–0 Burnley Wanderers, friendly, 10 August 1882
- First match at Turf Moor: Burnley 3–6 Rawtenstall, 17 February 1883
- First FA Cup match: Darwen Old Wanderers 11–0 Burnley, first round, 17 October 1885
- First Football League match: Preston North End 5–2 Burnley, 8 September 1888
- First Football League test match: Burnley 2–0 Newton Heath, 19 April 1897
- First Second Division match: Burnley 5–1 Blackpool, 4 September 1897
- First Charity Shield match: Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 Burnley, at White Hart Lane, London, 16 May 1921
- First League Cup match: Cardiff City 0–4 Burnley, second round, 24 October 1960
- First European Cup match: Burnley 2–0 Stade Reims, first round, 16 November 1960
- First Inter-Cities Fairs Cup match: VfB Stuttgart 1–1 Burnley, first round, 20 September 1966
- First Texaco Cup match: Burnley 3–1 Heart of Midlothian, first round, 15 September 1970
- First Watney Cup match: Lincoln City 0–1 Burnley, first round, 29 July 1972
- First Anglo-Scottish Cup match: Blackburn Rovers 1–1 Burnley, group stage, 7 August 1976
- First Third Division match: Burnley 1–1 Newport County, 16 August 1980
- First Football League Group Cup match: Burnley 4–2 Carlisle United, group stage, 15 August 1981
- First Football League Trophy match: Burnley 2–1 Bolton Wanderers, first round, 21 February 1984
- First Fourth Division match: Burnley 3–2 Northampton Town, 17 August 1985
- First Football League play-off match: Torquay United 2–0 Burnley, Fourth Division, 19 May 1991
- First Premier League match: Stoke City 2–0 Burnley, 15 August 2009
- First Europa League match: Aberdeen 1–1 Burnley, second qualifying round, 26 July 2018
Record wins
- Record win: Burnley 15–0 Haydock, Lancashire Cup, second round, 20 January 1890
- Record league win: Burnley 9–0 Darwen, Football League, 9 January 1892
- Record away win: Tananarive 1–14 Burnley, in Madagascar, friendly, 9 May 1954
- Record league away win: Birmingham City 1–7 Burnley, First Division, 10 April 1926
- Record FA Cup win:
- *Burnley 9–0 Crystal Palace, second round, 10 February 1909
- *Burnley 9–0 New Brighton, fourth round, 26 January 1957
- *Penrith 0–9 Burnley, first round, 17 November 1984
- Record League Cup win: Burnley 6–0 Grimsby Town, second round, 10 September 1968
- Record European win: Burnley 5–0 Lausanne-Sport, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup second round, 25 October 1966
Record defeats
- Record defeat: Darwen Old Wanderers 11–0 Burnley, FA Cup first round, 17 October 1885
- Record league defeat:
- *Aston Villa 10–0 Burnley, First Division, 29 August 1925
- *Sheffield United 10–0 Burnley, First Division, 19 January 1929
- Record league home defeat:
- *Burnley 1–7 Blackburn Rovers, Football League, 3 November 1888
- *Burnley 0–6 Hereford United, Fourth Division, 24 January 1987
- *Burnley 0–6 Manchester City, Second Division, 9 March 1999
- Record League Cup defeat: Manchester City 5–0 Burnley, first round, 11 August 1999
- Record European defeat: Hamburger SV 4–1 Burnley, European Cup quarter-final, 15 March 1961
Streaks
- Longest winning streak : 11 matches; 16 November 1912 to 18 January 1913, Second Division and FA Cup
- Longest winning streak at home : 18 matches; 6 September 1920 to 2 April 1921, First Division and FA Cup
- Longest winning streak from home : 7 matches; 12 October 1991 to 1 January 1992, Fourth Division and FA Cup
- Longest unbeaten run : 30 matches; 6 September 1920 to 25 March 1921, First Division
- Longest unbeaten run at home : 34 matches; 1 April 1911 to 4 January 1913, Second Division
- Longest unbeaten run from home : 15 matches; 15 April 1972 to 6 January 1973, Second Division
- Longest drawing streak : 6 matches; 21 February to 28 March 1931, Second Division
- Longest losing streak : 8 matches;
- *9 November 1889 to 22 February 1890, Football League
- *16 March to 2 September 1895, First Division
- *2 January to 25 February 1995, First Division
- Longest streak without a win : 24 matches; 16 April to 17 November 1979, Second Division
- Longest scoring run : 27 matches; 13 February to 30 October 1926, First Division
- Longest non-scoring run : 6 matches;
- *9 August to 7 September 1997, Second Division
- *23 December 2006 to 30 January 2007, Championship
- *21 March to 2 May 2015, Premier League
- Longest streak without conceding a goal : 7 matches; 6 September to 4 October 1980, Third Division
Attendances
- Highest attendance in a match involving Burnley: 100,000; versus Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley in the 1962 FA Cup Final
- Highest home attendance: 54,775; versus Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup third round on 23 February 1924
- Lowest home attendance: 400; versus Barnsley and Gainsborough Trinity in the Second Division on 30 March 1901 and 8 March 1902, respectively
- Highest home attendance in a league match: 52,869; versus Blackpool in the First Division on 11 October 1947
- Highest home attendance in the League Cup: 27,959; versus Manchester United, fourth round, 15 October 1969
- Highest average home attendance: 33,621; in the First Division in 1947–48
- Lowest average home attendance: 1,500; in the Second Division in 1902–03
Managerial records
- First full-time manager: Harry Bradshaw; August 1894 to June 1899
- Longest serving manager : Harry Potts; 728 competitive matches, February 1958 to February 1970 and February 1977 to October 1979
- First manager from outside England: Frank Hill; Scottish, managed the club for 266 competitive matches from October 1948 to August 1954
- Most wins: Harry Potts; 314 competitive matches
- Highest win percentage : Cliff Britton; 49.00%, 49 competitive matches won from 100
- Lowest win percentage : Joe Brown; 22.64%, 12 competitive matches won from 53
Player records
Award winners
- FWA Footballer of the Year
- *Jimmy Adamson – 1961–62
- First tier top goal scorer
- *Willie Irvine – 1965–66
Appearances
- Youngest first-team player: Tommy Lawton; 16 years, 163 days
- Oldest first-team player: Len Smelt; 41 years, 132 days
- Most consecutive league appearances: 203 – Jimmy Strong, 31 August 1946 – 23 March 1951
Most appearances
Name | Nation | Years | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |
1 | 1907–1929 ¤ | 522 | 46 | 569 | ||||
2 | 1972–1983 | 438 | 33 | 36 | 36 | 543 | ||
3 | 1955–1972 ¤ | 45 | 25 | 12 | ||||
4= | 1950–1963 | |||||||
4= | 1967–1974 1979–1984 | 31 | 34 | 22 | ||||
6 | 1947–1964 ¤ | 426 | 52 | 486 | ||||
7 | 1947–1963 | 434 | 38 | 6 | 479 | |||
8 | 1954–1967 ¤ | 379 | 13 | 13 | 455 | |||
9 | 1898–1911 | 400 | 23 | 423 | ||||
10 | 1970–1975 1978–1980 1986–1989 | 17 | 22 |
Goalscorers
- Most goals in a season in all competitions: 37 goals;
- *Jimmy Robson, 1960–61
- *Willie Irvine, 1965–66
- Most league goals in a season: George Beel – 35, First Division, 1927–28
- Most goals in a league match: Louis Page – 6, versus Birmingham City away
- Most consecutive matches scored in: 8 – Ray Pointer and Charlie Austin
- Most seasons as top goalscorer: George Beel – 6, 1923–24, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1931–32
- Most goals on debut: Ian Lawson – 4, versus Chesterfield
- First goal in the FA Cup: Walter Place, versus Astley Bridge away
- First goal in league football: Pat Gallocher, versus Preston North End away
- First hat-trick : William Tait, versus Bolton Wanderers away
- Most hat-tricks: George Beel – 11, between 1923 and 1931
- Fastest hat-trick: Arthur Ogden – 6 minutes, versus Bristol Rovers away
- Fastest hat-trick in the league: Jimmy Ross – 9 minutes, versus Loughborough
- Fastest goal scored: Robbie Painter – 16 seconds, versus Cardiff City
Overall scorers
Name | Nation | Years | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |
1 | 1923–1932 | 179 ' | 188 ' | |||||
2 | 1957–1965 | 118 ' | 132 ' | |||||
3 | 1950–1963 | 116 ' | 131 ' | |||||
4 | 1958–1968 | 101 ' | 128 ' | |||||
5= | 1911–1921 | 103 ' | ||||||
5= | 1925–1932 | 111 ' | ||||||
7 | 1956–1964 | 104 ' | ||||||
8 | 1956–1965 | 100 ' | ||||||
9= | 1960–1968 | |||||||
9= | 1913–1925 |
Internationals
- First capped player: Jack Yates; for England against Ireland on 2 March 1889
- First international goalscorer: Jack Yates; for England against Ireland on 2 March 1889
- Most capped player while at Burnley: Jimmy McIlroy; 51 appearances for Northern Ireland
- Most capped player for England while at Burnley: Bob Kelly; 11 caps
- First player to appear in the World Cup Finals: Jock Aird; for Scotland against Austria in Zürich on 16 June 1954
- First player to appear in the World Cup Finals for England: Colin McDonald; against the Soviet Union in Gothenburg on 8 June 1958
- Most World Cup Finals appearances: Jimmy McIlroy and Billy Hamilton; both five appearances for Northern Ireland in 1958 and 1982, respectively
Transfers
Record transfer fees paid
Record transfer fees received
- When forward Bob Kelly moved from Burnley to Sunderland for £6,550 in 1925, he broke the world transfer record.