Luton Town Football Club is an English football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The side currently plays in the Premier League, the first tier of football in England. Founded in 1885,^[1] Luton Town became the first professional team in southern England six years later and joined The Football League in 1897.^[2][3] 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.^[2][3] After an 89-year period of League membership, the team was relegated to the Conference Premier in 2009 due to a 30-point deduction imposed by the football authorities.^[4][5] Five seasons later, the club won promotion back to The Football League.^[6]

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 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.^[7] The closest to Hawkes's record is Bob Morton, who appeared 495 times between 1948 and 1964.^[8] Including all senior competitions, Morton leads the chart with 562 compared to Hawkes's 549.^[7][8] As of 1 July 2009, the player who has won the most international caps while at the club is Mal Donaghy, who appeared 58 times for Northern Ireland.^[9][10]

The goalscoring record is held by Gordon Turner, who scored 276 goals between 1949 and 1964.^[11] Turner's tally of 243 league goals is also a club record.^[11] Turner's nearest rival is Andy Rennie, whose 147 league goals, 162 in total, were scored between 1925 and 1934.^[11] 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 games and 58 in all competitions.^[12] Payne also holds the Football League record for most goals in a match, with 10 during a 12–0 victory over Bristol Rovers on 13 April 1936.^[13][14] Turner holds the club record for most goals in a top-flight season, with 33 league goals and 38 overall during 1957–58.^[15]

• 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 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 United League, the Football League and the Conference Premier.
• Total appearances and goals comprise those in the Southern Football League, United League, Football League (including play-offs), Conference Premier, FA Cup, Football League Cup, Associate Members' Cup/Football League Trophy and several now-defunct competitions including the Anglo-Italian Cup, Texaco Cup, Watney Cup and Full Members' Cup.

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 journalist Denis O'Donoghue. The players selected by O'Donoghue are given below.^[16]

More information Name, Nationality ...

Name	Nationality	Caps[a]	Position[b]	Club career	League[c] apps	League goals	Total[d] apps	Total goals	Notes
Andy Rennie	Scotland		Forward	1925–1934	307	147	335	162
Joe Payne	England	1	Forward	1934–1938	72	83	77	87	¤[A]
Hugh Billington	England		Forward	1938–1948	87	63	95	70
Bernard Streten	England	1	Goalkeeper	1946–1957	276	0	301	0
Syd Owen	England	3	Defender	1947–1959	388	3	423	3
Bob Morton	England		Midfielder	1948–1964 †	495	48	562	55	¤[B]
Gordon Turner	England		Forward	1949–1964	406	243	450	276	¤[C]
Bert Mitchell	England		Midfielder	1951–1955	106	41	119	43
Ron Baynham	England	3	Goalkeeper	1952–1965	388	0	432	0
Jesse Pye	England		Forward	1952–1954	61	32	65	36
George Cummins	Republic of Ireland	19	Forward	1953–1961	184	21	212	30
Billy Bingham	Northern Ireland	7	Midfielder	1958–1960	97	27	102	33
John O'Rourke	England		Forward	1963–1966	84	64	90	66
Bruce Rioch	Scotland		Midfielder	1964–1969	149	46	167	51
Graham French	England		Midfielder	1965–1973	182	21	202	3
John Moore	Scotland		Defender	1965–1973	274	13	306	14
Tony Read	England		Goalkeeper[D]	1965–1972	203	12	233	12
Alan Slough	England		Midfielder	1965–1973	275	28	312	32
Terry Branston	England		Defender	1967–1971	101	9	118	19
Mike Keen	England		Defender	1968–1972	144	11	160	11
Brian Lewis	England		Forward	1968–1970	45	22	53	25
Malcolm Macdonald	England		Forward	1969–1971	88	49	101	58
John Aston	England		Midfielder	1972–1978	174	31	201	37
John Faulkner	England		Defender	1972–1978	209	6	239	7
Bobby Thomson	England		Defender	1972–1976	110	1	135	2
Alan West	England		Midfielder	1973–1981	285	16	317	17
Steve Buckley	England		Defender	1974–1978	123	9	135	9
Paul Futcher	England		Defender	1974–1978	131	1	142	1
Ron Futcher	England		Forward	1974–1978	120	40	133	43
Ricky Hill	England	3	Midfielder	1975–1989	436	54	507	65
Brian Stein	England	1	Forward	1977–1988 1991–1992	427	130	496	154
Mal Donaghy	Northern Ireland	58	Defender	1978–1988 1989–1990	415	16	488	21	¤[E]
David Moss	England		Midfielder	1978–1985	221	88	245	94
Kirk Stephens	England		Defender	1978–1984	227	2	248	2
Raddy Antić	Yugoslavia		Midfielder	1980–1984	100	9	108	10
Brian Horton	England		Midfielder	1981–1984	118	8	132	10
Paul Walsh	England	5	Forward	1982–1984	80	24	89	28	¤[F]
Tim Breacker	England		Defender	1983–1990	210	3	262	3
Les Sealey	England		Goalkeeper	1983–1990	207	0	259	0
Steve Foster	England		Defender	1984–1989	163	11	213	14
Mick Harford	England	2	Forward	1984–1990 1991–1992	168	69	216	92
David Preece	England		Midfielder	1984–1995	336	21	394	27
Marvin Johnson	England		Defender	1987–2002 †	373	7	440	10
Tony Thorpe	England		Forward	1993–1998 1998 1999 2002–2003	164	70	193	85
Matthew Taylor	England		Defender	1999–2002	129	16	146	17
Steve Howard	Scotland		Forward	2001–2006	212	96	228	103
Chris Coyne	Australia		Defender	2001–2008	221	14	252	17
Kevin Nicholls	England		Midfielder	2001–2006 2008–2010	216	30	237	33
Jean-Louis Valois	France		Midfielder	2001–2002	34	6	40	6
Curtis Davies	England		Defender	2003–2005	56	2	62	2	¤[G]

Close

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.

More information Name, Nationality ...

Name	Nationality	Caps[a]	Position[b]	Club career	League[c] apps	League goals	Total[d] apps	Total goals	Notes
Jimmy Durrant	England		Midfielder	1897–1904 1913–1914	155	30	177	40
Tom McInnes	Scotland		Forward	1897–1900	93	20	109	29
Harry Williams	England		Defender	1898–1905	144	3	157	3
Bill McCurdy	Scotland		Defender	1899–1901 1905–1909	193	0	211	1
Fred Hawkes	England		Midfielder	1899–1920 †	509	22	549	25	¤[H]
Fred White	England		Defender	1900–1909 †	237	10	257	11
Bob Hawkes	England	5	Midfielder	1901–1920 †	349	40	382	43	¤[F][I]
Herbert Moody	England		Forward	1901–1905 1907–1912	232	93	247	104
Billy Barnes	England		Forward	1904–1907	101	12	107	12
Peter Platt	England		Goalkeeper	1905–1909	130	0	139	0
Abe Jones	England		Defender	1906–1910	136	12	141	12
Harry Stansfield	England		Midfielder	1908–1912	135	24	144	24
Syd Hoar	England		Midfielder	1913–1915 1919–1925	221	36	237	39
Ernie Simms	England	1	Forward	1913–1915 1916–1922	160	109	178	122
Louis Bookman	Ireland	3	Midfielder	1919–1922	101	8	110	9
Arthur Roe	England		Midfielder	1919–1925	117	1	124	1
George Butcher	England		Midfielder	1920–1925	121	23	129	25
George Lennon	Scotland		Defender	1920–1923	107	0	115	0
Alf Tirrell	England		Defender	1920–1924	122	4	130	5
Jimmy Walker	Scotland		Defender	1920–1926	133	4	138	4
Rob Millar	Scotland		Defender	1920–1930	205	4	213	4
Bob Graham	Scotland		Defender	1921–1929	164	5	175	5
Bill Jennings	England		Defender	1922–1926	114	2	117	2
Syd Reid	Wales		Forward	1922–1928	134	70	143	81
George Dennis	England		Forward	1924–1929	139	41	150	44
David Richards	England		Defender	1925–1931	147	0	152	0
John Black	Scotland		Defender	1926–1930	91	4	101	4
Charles Fraser	England		Defender	1926–1935 †	246	4	270	4
Henry Kingham	England		Defender	1926–1937	250	0	275	0
Jimmy Yardley	England		Forward	1926–1932	173	78	188	94
Harry Woods	England		Forward	1926–1932	97	22	105	13
George Harford	England		Goalkeeper	1929–1934	99	0	107	0
Hugh McGinnigle	Scotland		Defender	1930–1937	159	2	177	3
Fred Kean	England		Defender	1931–1935	117	5	141	6
Tom Mackey	England		Defender	1932–1938	183	2	208	2
George Martin	Scotland		Midfielder	1933–1937	98	27	105	29
Joe Coen	Scotland		Goalkeeper	1934–1939	142	0	158	0
Fred Roberts	England		Forward	1934–1945	180	38	198	45
Tom Smith[17]	England		Defender	1934–1939	157	1	172	1
George Stephenson	England		Forward	1934–1939	192	58	212	69
Bill Fellowes	England		Defender	1935–1938	110	3	124	3
John Finlayson	Scotland		Defender	1935–1939	154	9	168	9
Jack Nelson	England		Defender	1935–1939	134	1	148	1
Harry Cooke	England		Defender	1946–1953	210	4	228	4
Doug Gardiner	England		Defender	1946–1951	121	1	134	1
Wally Shanks	England		Defender	1946–1957	264	6	275	6
Billy Waugh	Scotland		Midfielder	1946–1950	135	9	147	12
Tom Aherne	Ireland /  Republic of Ireland[J]	1 / 13[J]	Defender	1948–1957	267	0	288	0
George Stobbart	England		Forward	1949–1952	107	30	116	30
Charlie Watkins	Scotland		Defender	1949–1955	218	16	239	20
Les Jones	Wales		Defender	1950–1958	98	1	110	1
Jim Pemberton	England		Defender	1950–1958	92	8	100	10
Mick Cullen	Scotland	1	Forward	1951–1958	112	16	125	19
Roy Davies	South Africa		Midfielder	1951–1957	150	24	171	27
Seamus Dunne	Republic of Ireland	15	Defender	1951–1961	301	0	323	0
Jimmy Adam	Scotland		Midfielder	1953–1959	137	22	140	24
John Groves	England		Defender	1953–1963	218	16	251	18
Terry Kelly	England		Defender	1954–1963	136	1	150	1
Allan Brown	Scotland		Forward	1956–1961	151	51	172	59
Brendan McNally	Republic of Ireland	3	Defender	1956–1963	134	3	164	3
Ken Hawkes	England		Defender	1957–1961	90	1	102	1
Dave Pacey	England		Defender	1957–1965	246	16	277	19
John Bramwell	England		Defender	1960–1965	187	1	206	2
Harry Walden	England		Midfielder	1960–1964	96	11	106	12
Fred Jardine	Scotland		Defender	1961–1970	220	9	243	10
Tommy McKechnie	Scotland		Forward	1961–1966	131	31	146	34
Gordon Riddick	England		Midfielder	1962–1967	102	16	114	17
Ray Whittaker	England		Midfielder	1963–1969	170	40	188	45
Keith Allen	England		Forward	1966–1973	137	36	154	43
Max Dougan	Scotland		Defender	1966–1970	118	0	132	0
John Ryan	England		Midfielder	1970–1976	266	10	304	11
Peter Anderson	England		Midfielder	1970–1976	181	34	208	40
Keith Barber	England		Goalkeeper	1970–1977	142	0	158	0
Jimmy Ryan	Scotland		Midfielder	1970–1977	184	21	214	25
Alan Garner	England		Defender	1971–1975	88	3	112	4
Don Shanks	England		Defender	1971–1975	90	2	110	5
Paul Price	Wales	1	Defender	1972–1981	207	8	230	8
Jimmy Husband	England		Forward	1973–1978	143	44	162	48
Lil Fuccillo	England		Midfielder	1974–1983	160	24	180	27
Mark Aizlewood	Wales		Defender	1978–1982	98	3	110	4
Jake Findlay	Scotland		Goalkeeper	1978–1985	167	0	187	0
Wayne Turner	England		Midfielder	1978–1985	84	2	102	3
Mitchell Thomas	England		Defender	1982–1986 1993–1999	292	5	336	5
Ashley Grimes	Republic of Ireland	3	Midfielder	1984–1989	87	3	115	4
Peter Nicholas	Wales	15	Midfielder	1984–1987	102	1	116	1
Richard Harvey	England		Defender	1986–1998	162	4	191	5
Darron McDonough	England		Midfielder	1986–1992	105	5	129	7
Kingsley Black	Northern Ireland	16	Midfielder	1987–1992	127	26	157	30
Julian James	England		Defender	1987–1998	282	13	335	14
David Oldfield	England		Midfielder	1987–1989 1995–1998	146	22	172	33
Danny Wilson	Northern Ireland	15	Midfielder	1987–1990	110	24	142	30
Alec Chamberlain	England		Goalkeeper	1988–1993	138	0	158	0
John Dreyer	England		Defender	1988–1994	214	13	249	15
Lars Elstrup	Denmark	6	Forward	1989–1991	60	19	70	27	¤[K][18]
Ceri Hughes	Wales	6	Midfielder	1989–1997	175	17	206	20
Paul Telfer	Scotland		Midfielder	1990–1995	144	19	165	22
Phil Gray	Northern Ireland	5	Forward	1991–1993 1997–2000	140	43	161	53
Des Linton	England		Defender	1991–1997	83	1	104	1
Scott Oakes	England		Midfielder	1991–1996	173	27	200	34
Trevor Peake	England		Defender	1991–1998	179	0	202	0
Paul McLaren	Scotland		Midfielder	1993–2001	167	4	202	6
Juergen Sommer	United States	3	Goalkeeper	1993–1995	82	0	103	0	[19][20][21]
Kelvin Davis	England		Goalkeeper	1994–1999	91	0	105	0
Dwight Marshall	England		Forward	1994–1999	128	28	156	39
Gary Waddock	Republic of Ireland		Midfielder	1994–1998	153	3	172	3
Graham Alexander	Scotland		Midfielder	1995–1999	150	15	180	17
Steve Davis	England		Defender	1995–1999	138	21	175	27
Stuart Douglas	England		Forward	1995–2002	146	18	173	23
Ian Feuer	United States		Goalkeeper	1995–1998	85	0	100	0
Andrew Fotiadis	England		Forward	1996–2003	123	18	147	20
Matthew Spring	England		Midfielder	1997–2004 2007–2008	308	36	357	43
Liam George	Republic of Ireland		Forward	1997–2002	102	20	124	24
Alan White	England		Defender	1997–2000 2009–2010	99	4	115	4
Emmerson Boyce	England		Defender	1998–2004	186	8	212	9
Peter Holmes	England		Midfielder	2000–2007	105	11	127	12
Ahmet Brković	Croatia		Midfielder	2001–2008	194	31	223	38
Russell Perrett	England		Defender	2001–2007	99	9	108	9
Sol Davis	England		Defender	2002–2009	199	3	229	3
Kevin Foley	Republic of Ireland		Defender	2002–2007	151	3	166	5
Steve Robinson	Northern Ireland	7	Midfielder	2002–2008	185	9	211	12	[22]
Dean Brill	England		Goalkeeper	2003–2009 2012–2013	88	0	109	0
Marlon Beresford	England		Goalkeeper	2003–2004 2004–2008	116	0	132	0
Keith Keane	Republic of Ireland		Midfielder	2003–2012	237	7	284	8
Enoch Showunmi	Nigerian		Forward	2003–2006	102	14	114	16
Rowan Vine	England		Forward	2004–2007	112	31	121	33
Dean Morgan	England		Forward	2005–2008	88	11	101	12
Jake Howells	Wales		Midfielder	2008–2016	273	29	334	31
Claude Gnakpa	France		Midfielder	2008–2011	105	22	134	27
George Pilkington	England		Defender	2008–2012	140	11	169	12
Mark Tyler	England		Goalkeeper	2009–2016	257	0	297	0
Alex Lawless	Wales		Midfielder	2010–2016	169	18	203	22
Andre Gray	England		Forward	2012–2014	97	52	111	57
Jonathan Smith	England		Midfielder	2012–2017	149	10	176	11
Steve McNulty	England		Defender	2013–2016	117	2	125	2
Scott Griffiths	England		Defender	2013–2016	105	3	115	3
Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu	England		Midfielder	2013 2014–	306	20	349	20
Cameron McGeehan	Northern Ireland		Midfielder	2014 2015–2017	98	28	106	31
Elliot Lee	England		Forward	2015 2017–	104	27	124	30
Scott Cuthbert	Scotland		Defender	2015–2018	97	3	111	4
Dan Potts	England		Defender	2015–	162	9	179	11
Olly Lee	England		Midfielder	2015–2018	105	10	123	11
Alan Sheehan	Republic of Ireland		Defender	2016–2020	117	6	135	9
Glen Rea	Republic of Ireland		Midfielder	2016–	184	7	207	8
James Justin	England		Defender	2016–2019	90	6	114	6
Danny Hylton	England		Forward	2016–	136	51	156	59
James Collins	Republic of Ireland	8	Forward	2017–2021	174	68	183	72	[23]
Andrew Shinnie	Scotland		Midfielder	2017–2021	90	6	106	10
Harry Cornick	England		Forward	2017–	176	29	193	31
Luke Berry	England		Midfielder	2017–	117	17	133	19
Sonny Bradley	England		Defender	2018–	139	5	149	5
Matty Pearson	England		Defender	2018–2021	128	10	136	10

Close