Gasopedia - Bristol Rovers Wiki

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 Eng England Defender 546 28 1965–1980
2 Harry Bamford Eng England Defender 486 5 1946–1958
3 Jackie Pitt Eng England Midfielder 466 16 1946–1960
4 Geoff Bradford Eng England Forward 462 242 1949–1964
5 George Petherbridge Eng England Forward 457 85 1945–1962
6 Harold Jarman Eng England Midfielder 452 127 1959–1973
7 Ray Warren Eng England Midfielder 450 28 1936–1956
8 Alfie Biggs Eng England Forward 424 178 1953–1968
9 Bobby Jones Eng England Forward 421 101 1956–1973
10 Ian Holloway Eng England Midfielder 397 42 1981–1999
11 Ray Mabbutt Eng England Midfielder 395 27 1956–1969
12 Jesse Whatley Eng England Goalkeeper 386 0 1919–1930
13 Vaughan Jones Wal Wales Defender 381 12 1976–1993
14 Frankie Prince Wal Wales Midfielder 362 22 1967–1980
15 Lindsay Parsons Eng England Defender 360 0 1963–1977
16 David Williams Wal Wales Midfielder 352 66 1975–1985
17 Peter Sampson Eng England Midfielder 340 4 1948–1961
18 Josser Watling Eng England Defender 323 19 1947–1963
19 Doug Hillard Eng England Defender 318 12 1957–1968
20 Phil Bater Wal Wales Defender 310 3 1974–1986
21 Peter Hooper Ken-old Kenya Forward 297 101 1953–1962
22= Ian Alexander Sco Scotland Defender 291 6 1986–1994
22= Stuart Campbell Sco Scotland Midfielder 291 3 2004–2011
24 Jimmy Haydon Eng England Defender 290 5 1921–1931
25 Geoff Fox Eng 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.