List of Middlesbrough F.C. players

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of notable footballers who have played for Middlesbrough. Generally, this means players that have played 100 or more first-class matches for the club, or been an officially designated captain.

Players are listed according to the date of their first-team debut for the club. Appearances are for first-team competitive matches only; wartime matches are excluded. Substitute appearances included. Names in bold are currently active at the club. Statistics correct as of 23 May 2026

Notable players

  Middlesbrough Legend (as voted for by fans in the Evening Gazette in 2007)
  Club captains who have won a major senior competition (competitions noted in notes section)
  Club record holder
  Played their full career at Middlesbrough (professional teams only, including loans)
(n/a) = Information not available

More information Name, Nationality ...

Name	Nationality	Position^[1]	Boro career	Captaincy	Appearances	Goals	Notes
Peter McCracken	Scotland	Left-half Left-back	1899–1900	1899–1900	34	0	^[2]
Andrew Ramsey	Scotland	Left-back	1899–1904	–	136	1	–
William Higgins	England	Centre-half	1900–1901	1900–1901	29	4	–
David Smith	Scotland	Right-half	1900–1905	1901–1903	114	12	–
Andy Davidson	Scotland	Left-half Centre-half	1900–1906	–	201	8	–
Joseph Cassidy	Scotland	Inside-left Centre-forward	1901–1906	–	135	34	–
Abraham Jones	England	Centre-half	1901–1906	–	149	9	–
George Friend	England	Left-back	2012–	–	100	3	–
Tim Williamson	England	Goalkeeper	1901–1923	19??–1914	602	2	^[3]
John Hogg	Scotland	Right-back	1902–1906	–	100	0	–
Sam Aitken	Scotland	Right-half Centre-half	1903–1910	1907–19??	242	6	–
Alf Common	England	Forward	1905–1910	1905–1907	178	65	^[4]
Steve Bloomer	England	Inside-right	1905–1910	–	130	62	–
Billy Barker	England	Wing-half	1905–1913	–	113	2	–
Sammy Cail	England	Inside-left Centre-forward	1906–1913	–	143	55	–
Donald McLeod	Scotland	Right-back	1908–1913	–	148	0	–
George Elliott	England	Centre-forward Inside-forward	1909–1925	1913–1921	365	213	^[5]
Andy Jackson	Scotland	Centre-half	1910–1915	1914–1915	137	3	–
William Carr	England	Centre-half	1910–1924	–	118	4	–
Jacky Carr	England	Inside-forward Outside-right	1910–1930	–	449	81	–
John Stirling	Scotland	Outside-right	1911–1914	–	112	8	–
George Malcolm	England	Right-half	1912–1915	–	101	1	–
Stewart Davidson	Scotland	Right-half	1913–1923	–	216	4	–
Walter Holmes	England	Full-back	1914–1928	–	174	1	–
Jack Marshall	Scotland	Right-back	1919–1923	–	121	0	–
Robert Pender	Scotland	Left-half Inside-left	1919–1924	–	110	10	–
William Ellerginton	England	Centre-half Left-half	1919–1924	–	131	0	–
William Victor Fox	England	Full-back Left-half	1919–1924	–	112	1	–
Billy Birrell	Scotland	Inside-right Outside-right	1920–1927	1926–1927	235	63	^[6]
Jack Clough	England	Goalkeeper	1922–1926	–	128	0	–
Reg Freeman	England	Full-back	1923–1930	1924–1926	187	0	–
Robert Furguson	Scotland	Centre-half Right-back	1924–1931	–	159	2	–
Donald Ashman	England	Full-back Half-back	1924–1932	–	174	2	–
George Camsell	England	Centre-forward	1925–1939	–	453	345	^[7]^[8]
Joseph Miller	Ireland	Right-half	1926–1930	–	153	0	–
John Smith	Scotland	Full-back	1926–1930	–	123	0	–
Billy Pease	England	Outside-right	1926–1933	–	238	102	–
James Mathieson	Scotland	Goalkeeper	1926–1934	–	264	0	–
John Reid McKay	Scotland	Inside-forward	1926–1934	–	109	20	–
Joseph Peacock	England	Wing-half	1927–1930	1929–1930	85	4	–
Bobbie Bruce	Scotland	Inside-forward	1927–1935	–	253	71	^[4]
Jack Elkes	England	Inside-left Centre-half	1929–1933	–	113	4	–
John McFarlane	Scotland	Wing-half Inside-forward	1929–1933	–	101	0	–
John Jennings	England	Full-back Right-half	1929–1937	1930–1932	205	10	–
Bill Forrest	Scotland	Left-half	1929–1939	–	333	8	–
William Brown	England	Right-half Right-back	1931–1946	–	274	2	–
Tom Griffiths	Wales	Centre-half Right-back	1932–1935	1932–1935	92	1	^[4]
Frederick Gibson	England	Goalkeeper	1932–1936	–	120	0	–
Bobby Baxter	Scotland	Centre-half Inside-left	1932–1939	193?–193?	266	20	–
John Martin	England	Wing-half	1932–1939	–	137	3	–
Micky Fenton	England	Centre-forward	1932–1950	–	269	162	–
Ralph Birkett	England	Outside-right	1934–1938	–	101	36	^[4]
David Cumming	Scotland	Goalkeeper	1936–1949	–	157	0	–
Wilf Mannion	England	Inside-forward	1936–1954	–	368	110	^[9]
George Hardwick	England	Full-back	1937–1950	19??–19??	166	7	–
Johnny Spuhler	England	Centre-forward	1945–1954	–	241	81	–
Jimmy Gordon	Scotland	Wing-half	1946–1954	1951–1952	253	4	–
Harry Bell	England	Wing-half	1946–1955	–	315	10	–
Richard (Dickie) Robinson	England	Full-back	1946–1959	–	416	1	–
Ronald Dicks	England	Wing-half	1947–1958	1956–1958	334	10	–
Tommy Blenkinsopp	England	Defender	1948–1952	–	100	0	–
Alex McCrae	Scotland	Defender	1948–1953	–	130	49	–
Lindy Delapenha	Jamaica	Forward	1949–1958	–	270	93	^[10]
Arthur Fitzsimons	Republic of Ireland	Inside-forward	1949–1959	–	231	51	–
Raymond Barnard	England	Full-back	1951–1961	–	118	0	–
Ray Bilcliff	England	Full-back	1951–1961	–	190	0	^[11]
John Brian Phillips	England	Centre-half	1954–1960	–	124	2	–
Alan Peacock	England	Centre-forward	1954–1964	–	238	141	–
Bill Harris	Wales	Inside-forward Wing-half	1954–1965	19??–19??	378	72	^[4]^[12]
Brian Clough	England	Centre-forward	1955–1961	19??–19??	222	204	^[8]
Derek McLean	England	Inside-forward	1952–1961	–	123	30	–
Billy Day	England	Outside-right	1955–1962	–	131	21	–
Edwin Holliday	England	Outside-left	1956–1962 1965-1966	–	169	25	–
Ronald Burbeck	England	Winger	1956–1963	–	152	29	–
Michael McNeil	England	Left-back	1958–1964	–	193	3	–
Bob Appleby	England	Goalkeeper	1959–1967	–	110	0	–
Arthur Kaye	England	Outside-right	1960–1965	–	185	44	–
Billy Horner	England	Defender	1960–1969	–	217	12	–
Gordon Jones	England	Full-back	1960–1973	1966–1973^[13]	532	5	^[14]^[15]
Alex Smith	England	Defender	1961–1972	–	137	1	–
Bill Gates	England	Centre-half	1961–1974	–	333	13	–
Mel Nurse	Wales	Centre-half	1962–1965	1962–1965	124	9	^[4]
Ian Gibson	Scotland	Midfield	1962–1966	1965–1966	184	47	^[4]
Bryan Orritt	Wales	Inside-forward	1962–1966	–	128	23	^[16]
Frank Spraggon	England	Defender	1962–1975	–	331	3	–
Edward Connachan	Scotland	Goalkeeper	1963–1966	–	105	0	–
Arthur Horsfield	England	Forward	1963–1969	–	127	56	^[17]
Jim Irvine	Scotland	Centre-forward	1964–1967	–	100	43	–
Stan Anderson	England	Wing-half	1965–1966	196?–196?	22	2	–
Richard Rooks	England	Centre-half	1965–1969	–	150	14	^[18]
Derrick Downing	England	Winger	1965–1972	–	204	49	–
Eric McMordie	Northern Ireland	Midfield	1965–1974	–	277	26	^[19]
David Chadwick	India	Winger	1966–1970	–	115	4	–
John Hickton	England	Forward Utility	1966–1977	–	499	187	^[20]
Joe Laidlaw	England	Midfield Forward	1967–1972	–	128	23	–
Willie Maddren	England	Central defender	1969–1978	–	354	21	^[21]
David Mills	England	Forward	1968–1979 1984–1985	–	398	111	^[22]
David Armstrong	England	Midfielder	1970–1981	–	431	77	^[23]
Jim Platt	Northern Ireland	Goalkeeper	1970–1982	????–????	481	0	^[24]
Nobby Stiles	England	Wing-half	1971–1973	1971–197?	69	2	–
Stuart Boam	England	Central defender	1971–1979	–	393	16	–
John Craggs	England	Right-back	1971–1982	1981	488	14	^[4]
Alan Foggon	England	Winger	1972–1976	–	141	50	–
Peter Brine	England	Midfielder	1972–1977	–	101	8	–
Bobby Murdoch	Scotland	Midfield	1973–1976	–	125	9	–
Graeme Souness	Scotland	Midfield	1973–1978	–	216	27	^[25]
Tony McAndrew	Scotland	Central defender	1973–1982	1979–1981	358	18	–
Terry Cooper	England	Left-back	1974–1978	–	133	1	–
Ian Bailey	England	Left-back	1975–1982	–	175	3	–
Billy Ashcroft	England	Forward	1977–1982	–	179	25	^[4]
Mark Proctor	England	Midfield	1978–1981 1989–1993	–	273	20	–
David Hodgson	England	Forward	1978–1982 1987	–	143	20	–
Terry Cochrane	Northern Ireland	Winger	1978–1983	–	128	12	^[4]
Dave Shearer	England	Forward	1978–1983	–	115	30	–
Irving Nattrass	England	Right-back	1979–1986	1983–1985	221	2	^[4]
Mick Baxter	England	Central defender	1981–1984	–	138	8	–
Heine Otto	Netherlands	Midfield	1981–1985	–	187	28	–
David Currie	England	Forward	1982–1986	–	127	31	–
Tony Mowbray	England	Central defender	1982–1991	1987–1991	425	29	^[26]
Stephen Pears	England	Goalkeeper	1983 1985–1995	–	424	0	^[27]
Gary Hamilton	Scotland	Midfield	1983–1989	–	268	28	–
Gary Pallister	England	Central defender	1984–1989 1998–2000	–	250	7	^[28]
Colin Cooper	England	Defender	1984–1991 1998–2006	–	423	14	–
Archie Stephens	England	Forward	1985–1987	–	107	27	–
Brian Laws	England	Right-back	1985–1988	1985–1986	129	14	–
Stuart Ripley	England	Right-winger	1985–1992	–	311	31	–
Alan Kernaghan	Republic of Ireland	Central defender	1985–1993	1991–1993	268	22	^[29]
Bernie Slaven	Republic of Ireland	Forward	1985–1993	–	381	146	^[30]
Gary Parkinson	England	Right-back	1986–1993	–	258	7	–
Paul Kerr	England	Midfield	1987–1991	–	162	18	–
Nicky Mohan	England	Central defender	1987–1994	–	131	4	–
Peter Davenport	England	Forward	1988–1990	–	28	5	^[4]
Jimmy Phillips	England	Left-back	1990–1993	–	172	6	–
John Hendrie	Scotland	Winger Forward	1990–1996	1993–1994	234	55	^[31]
Robbie Mustoe	England	Midfield	1990–2002	–	367	34	–
Andy Peake	England	Midfield	1991–1994	–	100	1	^[32]
Jamie Pollock	England	Midfield	1991–1996	–	193	19	^[33]
Curtis Fleming	Republic of Ireland	Defender	1991–2001	–	317	4	^[34]
Alan Moore	Republic of Ireland	Left-winger	1991–2001	–	142	17	–
Craig Hignett	England	Winger	1992–1997	–	195	48	–
Chris Morris	Republic of Ireland	Full-back	1992–1997	–	104	4	–
Phil Stamp	England	Midfield	1993–2001	–	154	8	–
Neil Cox	England	Defender	1994–1996	–	120	4	^[4]
Bryan Robson	England	Midfield	1994–1997	–	27	1	^[35]
Nigel Pearson	England	Central defender	1994–1998	1994–1998	139	5	^[36]
Juninho Paulista	Brazil	Midfield	1995–1997 1999 2002–2004	–	155	34	^[37]
Fabrizio Ravanelli	Italy	Forward	1996–1997	–	50	32	^[4]
Mikkel Beck	Denmark	Striker	1996–1998	–	115	31	–
Andy Townsend	Republic of Ireland	Midfield	1997–1999	1998–1999	88	4	–
Gianluca Festa	Italy	Central defender	1997–2002	–	171	12	^[38]
Mark Schwarzer	Australia	Goalkeeper	1997–2008	–	446	0	^[39]
Hamilton Ricard	Colombia	Forward	1998–2002	–	134	43	–
Paul Ince	England	Midfield	1999–2002	1999–2002	106	9	–
Joseph-Désiré Job	Cameroon	Forward	2000–2006	–	111	21	–
Stuart Parnaby	England	Defender/Midfield	2000–2007	–	128	4	–
Ugo Ehiogu	England	Defender	2000–2007	–	150	8	^[4]
Jonathan Greening	England	Midfield	2001–2004	–	109	4	^[40]
Szilárd Németh	Slovakia	Forward	2001–2006	–	146	29	–
Franck Queudrue	France	Left-back	2001–2006	–	199	12	^[41]
Gareth Southgate	England	Defender	2001–2006	2002–2006	204	4	^[42]
Stewart Downing	England	Midfield	2001–2009; 2015–2019	–	404	32	^[43]
George Boateng	Netherlands	Midfield	2002–2008	2006–2008	222	9	–
Massimo Maccarone	Italy	Forward	2002–2007	–	102	24	^[4]
Doriva	Brazil	Midfield	2003–2006	–	110	1	–
Chris Riggott	England	Defender	2003–2009	–	121	8	^[44]
Matthew Bates	England	Defender	2004–2012	2010–2012	126	6	–
David Wheater	England	Defender	2004–2011	–	157	11	–
Emanuel Pogatetz	Austria	Defender	2005–2010	2008–2010	112	3	^[45]
Julio Arca	Argentina	Midfield	2006–2013	–	181	9	–
Jonathan Woodgate	England	Defender	2006–2008; 2012–2016	2014–2015	112	2	–
Gary O'Neil	England	Midfielder	2007–2011	–	120	12	–
Marvin Emnes	Netherlands	Forward	2008–2014	–	161	41	–
Justin Hoyte	Trinidad and Tobago	Defender	2008–2013	–	162	2	–
Rhys Williams	Australia	Defender/Midfield	2009–2016	2012–2014	141	5	–
Barry Robson	Scotland	Midfielder	2010–2012	–	90	19	^[46]
Scott McDonald	Australia	Forward	2010–2013	–	124	49	–
Ben Gibson	England	Defender	2010–2018	–	204	4	–
Grant Leadbitter	England	Midfield	2012–2019	2015–2019	244	33	–
George Friend	England	Defender	2012–2020	2019–2020	299	10	^[47]
Albert Adomah	Ghana	Midfield	2013–2016	–	143	26	–
Dimitrios Konstantopoulos	Greece	Goalkeeper	2013–2019	–	112	0	–
Daniel Ayala	Spain	Defender	2013–2020	–	216	23	–
Adam Clayton	England	Midfield	2014–2020	–	241	1	–
Dael Fry	England	Defender	2015–	2025–present	295	5	^[48]
Adama Traore	Spain	Midfield	2016–2018	–	71	5	–
Britt Assombalonga	DR Congo	Forward	2017–2021	2020–2021	161	47	^[49]
Jonny Howson	England	Midfield	2017–2025	2021–2025	320	9	^[50]
Marcus Tavernier	England	Midfield	2017–2021	–	155	18	–
Paddy McNair	Northern Ireland	Defender	2018–2024	–	219	14	–
George Saville	England	Midfield	2018–2021	–	118	12	–
Anfernee Dijksteel	Suriname	Defender	2019–2025	–	167	3	–
Matt Crooks	England	Midfielder	2021–2024	–	115	23	–
Isaiah Jones	England	Forward	2021–2025	–	127	13	–
Hayden Hackney	England	Midfield	2021–	–	154	16	–
Riley McGree	Australia	Midfield	2022–	-	127	21	–
Emmanuel Latte Lath	Ivory Coast	Forward	2023–2025	–	67	29	^[51]^[52]

Key to positions

GK — Goalkeeper
RB — Right back
LB — Left back
CB — Centre back
MF — Midfielder
RW — Right winger
LW — Left winger
FW — Forward

Notes and references

Middlesbrough FC. The Who's Who of Middlesbrough. Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-569-2.

^E End of contract
^A Initial fee £2.5 million, rising to just over £5 million based on appearances.^[53]
Glasper, Harry. Middlesbrough, A Complete Record, 1876-1989. Breedon Books Sport. ISBN 0-907969-53-4.
"Squad Profiles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
"Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 September 2007.

[1]
For a full description of positions see Football Positions.
[2]
Peter McCracken was the first player to captain Middlesbrough in the Football League.
[3]
Tim Williamson is the all time appearance record holder.
[4]
Was record signing at the time of his purchase.
[5]
George Elliott is second in the all time goalscoring tables with 213. Elliott also holds the record for most goals scored in a competitive Middlesbrough game, scoring eleven in a 14–1 reserve team victory over Houghton Rovers. He was the first Middlesbrough player to be top goalscorer in the Football League, during the 1913-14 season.
[6]
Billy Birrell won the Football League Second Division as captain.
[7]
George Camsell is Middlesbrough's all-time top goalscorer with 345 goals. Camsell also holds the Middlesbrough record for most goals in the season, with 59 league goals and 63 in all competitions during 1926-27. 59 league goals in one season is a Second Division record. His nine hat-tricks that season is an English football record, and his 24 hat-tricks during his time at Middlesbrough is a club record.
[8]
Joint holder of Middlesbrough record for most goals in a single competitive first team game, with five goals. J.Wilkie, A.N.Wilson, J.McClelland and B.H.Clough each achieved this feat once, while G.H.Camsell achieved it in two games.
[9]
Wilf Mannion is Middlesbrough's most capped England player.
[10]
Lindy Delapenha was Middlesbrough's first black player.
[11]
Raymond Bilcliff made more appearances than any other outfield player without scoring a goal.
[12]
Bill Harris is the holder of the Middlesbrough record for fastest recorded goal, with a goal 11 seconds into an FA Cup tie with Shrewsbury.
[13]
FIX ME:May be to 1971,72,73.
[14]
Gordon Jones is second in the all-time Middlesbrough appearance records.
[15]
Player of the year 1965–66 and 1971.
[16]
Bryan Orritt was the first substitute ever used by Middlesbrough.
[17]
Arthur Horsfield is the club's youngest senior goalscorer.
[18]
Player of the year 1967–68, 1968–69.
[19]
Evening Gazette player of the year 1969.
[20]
John Hickton is third in the all-time Middlesbrough appearance records.
[21]
Player of the year 1972–1973.
[22]
David Mills' sale to West Bromwich Albion was a British football record transfer fee at the time, with a fee of approximately £500,000.
[23]
David Armstrong holds the record for most consecutive appearances with 305 consecutive league games and 358 consecutive games in all competitions between March 1972 and August 1980.
[24]
Player of the year 1972, 1981. North East Player of the Year 1981.
[25]
Player of the year 1973–74.
[26]
Player of the year 1985, 1986.
[27]
North East Player of the Year 1992.
[28]
Gary Pallister's sale to Manchester United was a British football record transfer fee at the time, with a fee of £2.3 million.
[29]
Alan Kernaghan holds the record for most substitute appearances for Middlesbrough, with 53.
[30]
North East Player of the Year 1989.
[31]
Supporters' club player of the year 1992–93.
[32]
Players' Player of the Year 1992–93.
[33]
Young player of the year 1991–92.
[34]
Supporters' club player of the year 1993–94.
[35]
Bryan Robson is Middlesbrough's oldest-ever goalscorer, aged 38 years and 2 months old, with his goal versus Port Vale on 26 March 1995. Robson is also the oldest player to appear for Middlesbrough, aged 38 years and 355 days old with his appearances versus Arsenal on 1 January 1997.
[36]
Nigel Pearson won the Football League Division One as captain.
[37]
Supporters' club player of the year 1996–97.
[38]
Supporters' club player of the year 1998.
[39]
Mark Schwarzer holds the record for earning the most international caps while a Middlesbrough player.
[40]
Supporters' club player of the year 2002–03.
[41]
Community player of the year 2003–04.
[42]
Gareth Southgate won the Football League Cup as captain. Player of the year 2001–02.
[43]
Supporters' club player of the year 2007–08. Players' Player of the Year 2007–08.
[44]
Players' Player of the Year 2005–06.
[45]
Supporters' club player of the year 2006–07. Players' Player of the Year 2006–07.
[46]
Supporters' player of the year for 2009-10 and 2011-12
[47]
Supporters' club player of the year for 2013-14 and 2014-15
[48]
Current club captain
[49]
Britt Assombalonga is Middlesbrough's record signing. The club paid a fee of approximately £15 million for him in 2017.
[50]
Supporters' player of the year 2019-20 and 2021-22. Players' player of the year 2023-24
[51]
Latte Lath holds the record for Middlesbrough's highest transfer fee received, at £22.5 million in 2025.
[52]
Johns, Craig (6 February 2025). "Why Middlesbrough won't bank all of the Emmanuel Latte Lath record-sale fee after Atlanta move". Tesside Live. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
[53]
"Pompey will have to wait for half of O'Neil's fee". Portsmouth News. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2007.

List of Middlesbrough F.C. players

Notable players

Key to positions

See also

Notes and references

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