List of Darlington F.C. players (25–99 appearances)

Of the more than 350 men who made 25 career appearances for Darlington in national competitions but fell short of the 100 mark, several hold club records. Jason de Vos was the first to play senior international football while a Darlington player,^[5] and Franz Burgmeier made most senior international appearances, with seven for Liechtenstein during the 2008–09 season.^[6] At 15 years 318 days, Curtis Main became Darlington's youngest Football League debutant when he entered the League Two visit to Peterborough United on 3 May 2008 as a second-half substitute.^[6][7] The sale of de Vos to Dundee United for £400,000 in 1998 generated the club's record transfer fee received, and the record for fee paid, of £100,000, was set in 2006 when Julian Joachim was signed from Boston United and equalled the following year with the purchase of Pawel Abbott from Swansea City.^[6]

Others made an important contribution to the club despite relatively few appearances in national competition. Dick Healey's career was coming to an end by the time the club was elected to the Football League, but he was their top scorer with 41 goals as they won the North-Eastern League title in 1913 and captained the club to their second title in 1921, as well as scoring four goals in as many matches for the England amateur team and representing the Amateur XI in the 1913 FA Charity Shield.^[8] Dick Jackson played in 26 FA Cup matches while player-manager of Darlington either side of the First World War,^[9] and George Brown – a former England international and three-time League winner with Huddersfield Town – had a spell as player-manager in the 1930s.^[9] Lol Morgan, Mick Tait^[9] and Martin Gray went on to manage the club: Morgan managed the team to promotion from the Fourth Division in 1965–66,^[10] and Gray led the team to three promotions in four seasons after taking over as manager in 2012.^[11] Marco Gabbiadini was the only player with fewer than 100 League appearances to be voted by supporters into a "Dream Team" as part of the 2003 Farewell to Feethams celebrations (when the club left their long-time home).^[12]

Other players took part in significant matches in the history of the club. Tommy Barbour, Percy Sutcliffe, Alf Dolphin and Arthur Wolstenholme played in Darlington's first match in the Football League, a 2–0 win at home to Halifax Town on 27 August 1921.^[6] Tommy Moran scored twice and created two other goals, one for Ron Harbertson, as Darlington eliminated Chelsea, League champions only three seasons earlier, in the fourth round of the 1957–58 FA Cup to progress to the last 16 of the competition for only the second time in their history.^[13] Gary Coatsworth scored the goal that confirmed Darlington as winners of the 1989–90 Football Conference title.^[14] John McReady, Gary Smith and Michael Smith played in Darlington's last match in the Football League, against Dagenham & Redbridge on 8 May 2010.^[15] After Tommy Wright struck the bar in the 120th minute of the 2011 FA Trophy Final, substitute Chris Senior was first to the rebound to head Darlington's winning goal. Jamie Chandler was man of the match, and the team included seven other men listed here.^[16]

Still others earned their notability elsewhere. In Jack Beby's time as manager of AEK – the club's website dubs him the "great reformer" – he led the team to successive victories in the Greek Cup in 1949 and 1950.^[17] Tom Burlison was an active trade unionist who became deputy general secretary of the GMB, treasurer of the Labour Party and, as Baron Burlison of Rowlands Gill, was the first former professional footballer to enter the House of Lords, where he was a Government whip.^[18]

• The list is ordered first by number of appearances in total, then by number of League appearances, and then if necessary by date of debut.
• Appearances as a substitute are included.
• Statistics are correct up to and including 1 July 2024, the first day of the 2024–25 season. Where a player left the club permanently after this date, his statistics are updated to his date of leaving.

Player

Players marked * were registered for the club as at the date specified above.

Players with name in italics and marked † were on loan from another club for the duration of their Darlington career. The loaning club is noted in the Notes column, and sourced to Neil Brown's Player Database,^[19] to the English National Football Archive, or individually.

Position

Playing positions are listed according to the tactical formations that were employed at the time. Thus the change in the names of defensive and midfield positions reflects the tactical evolution that occurred from the 1960s onwards.^[20][19]

Club career

Club career is defined as the first and last calendar years in which the player appeared for the club in any of the competitions listed below.

League appearances and League goals

League appearances and goals comprise those in the Football League (1921–1989 and 1990–2010), the Football Conference (1989–1990 and 2010–2012) and the National League (2016–present). Appearances in the 1939–40 Football League season, abandoned after three matches because of the Second World War, are excluded.^{[G 1]}

Total appearances and Total goals

Total appearances and goals comprise those in the Football League (including play-offs), Football Conference, National League, FA Cup, Football League Third Division North Cup, Football League Cup, Associate Members' Cup/Football League Trophy, FA Trophy and Conference League Cup. Matches in wartime competitions are excluded.^{[G 1]}

International selection

Countries are listed only for players who have been selected for international football. Only the highest level of international competition is given, except where a player competed for more than one country, in which case the highest level reached for each country is shown.

Player statistics include games played while on loan from: