The Bristol Rovers club record holder for most league appearances is Stuart Taylor. The Bristolian defender played 546 times in Divisions Two and Three for The Pirates, scoring 28 times between 1965 and 1980, breaking the previous appearance record of 486 games which had been held by Harry Bamford since 1958.
Twenty of the top 25 most used players were born in England, including Stuart Campbell, who was capped at under-21 level by Scotland, and Kenyan international Peter Hooper. Of the five non-English players, four are Welsh and one is Scottish.
Three of the 25 were full internationals. Geoff Bradford played once (and scored) for England, Peter Hooper won a single cap with Kenya while on national service in the country, and David Williams made five appearances for Wales in 1986.
Top 25 most used players[]
Rank | Player | Nationa | Positionb | Appsc | Goalsc | Yearsd |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Stuart Taylor | England | Defender | 546 | 28 | 1965–1980 |
2 | Harry Bamford | England | Defender | 486 | 5 | 1946–1958 |
3 | Jackie Pitt | England | Midfielder | 466 | 16 | 1946–1960 |
4 | Geoff Bradford | England | Forward | 462 | 242 | 1949–1964 |
5 | George Petherbridge | England | Forward | 457 | 85 | 1945–1962 |
6 | Harold Jarman | England | Midfielder | 452 | 127 | 1959–1973 |
7 | Ray Warren | England | Midfielder | 450 | 28 | 1936–1956 |
8 | Alfie Biggs | England | Forward | 424 | 178 | 1953–1968 |
9 | Bobby Jones | England | Forward | 421 | 101 | 1956–1973 |
10 | Ian Holloway | England | Midfielder | 397 | 42 | 1981–1999 |
11 | Ray Mabbutt | England | Midfielder | 395 | 27 | 1956–1969 |
12 | Jesse Whatley | England | Goalkeeper | 386 | 0 | 1919–1930 |
13 | Vaughan Jones | Wales | Defender | 381 | 12 | 1976–1993 |
14 | Frankie Prince | Wales | Midfielder | 362 | 22 | 1967–1980 |
15 | Lindsay Parsons | England | Defender | 360 | 0 | 1963–1977 |
16 | David Williams | Wales | Midfielder | 352 | 66 | 1975–1985 |
17 | Peter Sampson | England | Midfielder | 340 | 4 | 1948–1961 |
18 | Josser Watling | England | Defender | 323 | 19 | 1947–1963 |
19 | Doug Hillard | England | Defender | 318 | 12 | 1957–1968 |
20 | Phil Bater | Wales | Defender | 310 | 3 | 1974–1986 |
21 | Peter Hooper | Kenya | Forward | 297 | 101 | 1953–1962 |
22= | Ian Alexander | Scotland | Defender | 291 | 6 | 1986–1994 |
22= | Stuart Campbell | Scotland | Midfielder | 291 | 3 | 2004–2011 |
24 | Jimmy Haydon | England | Defender | 290 | 5 | 1921–1931 |
25 | Geoff Fox | England | Defender | 276 | 2 | 1947–1955 |
- Notes
a Nationality is defined as the country represented by a player at any level of international football, or their country of birth if they have never played internationally.
b The position where the player played the majority of their games. Simplified to Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder or Forward to allow for comparison between modern formations and the old 2–3–5 lineups.
c Appearances and goals in Southern League and Football League matches only.
d Period over which the player's appearances were made. This may have been split over two or more spells at the club.