Stars between the posts
Peter Shilton, now aged 70, holds the record for most senior appearances by a British footballer. Between 1966-97, he played in 1,390 competitive games while serving with Leicester City, Stoke, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, Derby, Plymouth, Bolton and Leyton Orient and, of course, England.
His total includes 1,005 League appearances – an existing record - and he’s also the only footballer to make over 150 League appearances for four different clubs: Leicester (286), Stoke (202), Forest (188) and Southampton (175). He also holds the record for most England caps (125) and overall he played 19 different competitions/tournaments.
Shilton, however, does not hold the record for most League appearances for any of his clubs, but several other ‘keepers do. And here are 12 of them:
■ Eddie Hopkinson, 519 for Bolton, 1956-70.
■ Jerry Dawson, 522 for Burnley, 1907-28
■ Allan Ross, 466 for Carlisle, 1963-79
■ Sam Bartram, 579 for Charlton, 1934-56
■ Steve Ogrizovic, 507 for Coventry, 1984-2000
■ Neville Southall, 578 for Everton, 1981-98
■ Rod Arnold, 440 for Mansfield, 1970-83
■ Tim Williamson, 564 for Middlesboro’, 1907-23
■ Jim Lawrence, 432 for Newcastle, 1904-22
■ Len Weare, 527 for Newport, 1955-70
■ Alan Kelly, 447 for Preston NE, 1961-75
■ Jim Montgomery, 537 for Sunderland, 1962-79
Goalkeeping Facts
■ Ex-England and Arsenal ‘keeper David Seaman made 1,020 appearances overall, including 75 for England: 19812004.
■ David James, the former Watford, Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Bristol City, Bournemouth and England star made 788 League appearances between 1988 and 2013.
■ Dave Beasant (ex-Wimbledon, Newcastle Chelsea etc.) made 774 League appearances: 1979-2003.
■ John Burridge, who served with 20 different League clubs north and south of the border, amassed 771 League appearances.
■ Other ‘keepers who had impressive League appearance records are Ray Clemence with 758, playing for Scunthorpe, Liverpool and Spurs: 1966-87 and Pat Jennings with 757 for Watford, Spurs and Arsenal: 1963-86
■ Jim Gallacher made 649 League appearances in Scotland for Arbroath (1969-72) and Clydebank (1972-92).
■ Fred Mitchell is the only ‘keeper to play in an FA Cup final wearing spectacles, doing so for Preston against Huddersfield in 1922.
■ Wolves supplied both goalkeepers for the EnglandWales Victory International at The Hawthorns, West Bromwich in 1945 - Bert Williams and Cyril Sidlow respectively.
■ Willie ‘Fatty’ Foulke, who kept goal for Sheffield United, Chelsea and England between 1894 and 1907, once tipped the scales at 25 stone.
■ Joe Reader kept goal for WBA on three different home grounds between 1885 and 1902: Five Acres, Stoney Lane and The Hawthorns.
■ Manchester City’s German Bert Trautmann was the first goalkeeper to be named ‘Football of the Year’, collecting the prize in 1956.
■ Walsall used seven different goalkeepers during the course of the 1972-73 season.