List of Crewe Alexandra F.C. players

Callum Ainley was the most recent Crewe player to top 250 appearances, passing the milestone in August 2022.

This is a list of notable footballers who have played for Crewe Alexandra F.C. Generally, this means players that have played 100 or more first-class matches for the club. However, some players who fell just short of the 100 total but made significant contributions to the club's history are also included.

For a list of all Crewe Alexandra players, major or minor, with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Crewe Alexandra F.C. players. For player appearance records see List of Crewe Alexandra F.C. records and statistics and for the current squad see the main Crewe Alexandra F.C. article.

## List of players

[edit]

(Current Crewe players shown in bold, totals as of 20 December 2024)

This sports-related list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2023)

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Name | Nationality | Position | Crewe Alexandra career | Appearances | Goals

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Tommy Lowry |  England | FB | 1966-1978 | 482 | 3
Peter Leigh |  England | FB | 1961-1972 | 473 | 2
Shaun Smith |  England | FB | 1991-2002 | 466 | 52
Kenny Lunt |  England | MF | 1997-2006, 2008 | 436 | 37
Eric Barnes |  England | CB | 1958-1969 | 390 | 2
Alan Bradshaw |  England | MF | 1965-1971 | 323 | 51
Steve Macauley |  England | CB | 1992-2002 | 317 | 27
John Meaney |  England | FB | 1946-1953 | 288 | 38
Byron Moore |  England | FW | 2007-2014 | 297 | 33
Mark Rivers |  England | FW | 1994-2001, 2004-2006 | 295 | 69
Neil Sorvel |  England | MF | 1999-2005 | 283 | 13
Geoff Crudgington |  England | GK | 1972-1977 | 280 | 0
Callum Ainley |  England | MF | 2015-2023 | 278 | 20
Stan Keery |  England | MF/ST | 1958-1965 | 277 | 24
Luke Murphy |  England | MF | 2008-2013, 2020-2022 | 272 | 26
Barrie Wheatley |  England | FW | 1957-1966 | 272 | 58
Bert Swindells |  England | FW | 1927-1937 | 269 | 139
Bob Scott |  England | CB | 1979-1986 | 261 | 17
Bernard Purdie |  Wales | ST | 1973-1979, 1982-1983 | 255 | 44
Dean Greygoose |  England | GK | 1987-1993 | 251 | 0
Ben Garratt |  England | GK | 2010-2019 | 246 | 0
Stephen Foster |  England | CB | 1997-2006 | 242 | 18
Mark Gardiner |  England | MF/ST | 1988-1995 | 241 | 42
David Wright |  England | RB | 1997-2004 | 240 | 3
Johnny King |  England | ST | 1949-1953, 1962-1967 | 238 | 60
Willie Mailey |  Scotland | GK | 1963-1970 | 239 | 0
Peter Ellson |  England | GK | 1949-1956 | 234 | 0
Gareth Whalley |  England | MF | 1992-1997, 2002 | 232 | 17
Mick Gannon |  England | FB | 1964-1970 | 228 | 2
Shaun Miller |  England | ST | 2006-2012, 2018-2020 | 227 | 52
Matt Tootle |  England | DF | 2009-2015 | 224 | 3
Charlie Kirk |  England | FW | 2016-2021, 2024 | 222 | 32
Rodney Jack |  St. Vincent | FW | 1998-2003, 2006-2007 | 221 | 45
Jason Kearton |  Australia | GK | 1996-2001 | 220 | 0
Colin Little |  England | ST | 1996-2003 | 220 | 45
Jimmy McGuigan |  Scotland | W | 1950-1956 | 217 | 34
Gerry Humphreys |  Wales | ST | 1972-1977 | 214 | 30
David Davies |  Wales | W | 1974-1981 | 209 | 26
David Vaughan |  Wales | MF | 2000-2007 | 209 | 20
Harry Davis |  England | DF | 2009-2017 | 208 | 13
Keith Stott |  England | HB | 1964-1970 | 208 | 11
Tom Briggs |  England | FB | 1949-1956 | 202 | 2
Ray Lugg |  England | MF | 1973-1978 | 202 | 12
Rob Edwards |  England | DF/MF | 1988-1996 | 198 | 58
Paul Bowles |  England | DF | 1975-1979 | 195 | 17
Alf Lees |  England | CB | 1951-1956 | 192 | 5
Ollie Turton |  England | DF | 2009-2017 | 190 | 4
Chris Porter |  England | ST | 2017-2022 | 189 | 54
Dennis Nelson |  Scotland | ST | 1974-1976, 1978-1981 | 188 | 34
Dave Waller |  England | FW | 1982-1986 | 188 | 66
Ryan Wintle |  England | MF | 2015-2021 | 186 | 11
James Jones |  Scotland | MF | 2014-2019 | 185 | 12
Phil Charnock |  England | MF | 1996-2002 | 183 | 8
George Gilchrist |  England | FB | 1934-1946 | 182 | 0
Perry Ng |  England | FB | 2015-2021 | 182 | 7
Frank Mitcheson |  England | ST | 1948-1954 | 181 | 34
Neil Lennon |  Northern Ireland | MF | 1990-1996 | 178 | 16
Tony Waddington |  England | FB | 1946-1953 | 178 | 8
Dean Ashton |  England | ST | 2000-2005 | 177 | 74
Steve Jones |  Northern Ireland | FW | 2001-2006, 2008 | 177 | 46
Danny Murphy |  England | MF | 1994-1997, 1999 | 176 | 33
Phil Nicholls |  England | DF | 1972-1979 | 176 | 8
Danny Bowers |  England | FB | 1979-1984 | 175 | 2
Tom Lowery |  Wales | MF | 2016-2022 | 175 | 13
Steve Walters |  England | MF | 1989-1996 | 173 | 11
Paul Bevan |  Wales | DF | 1975-1980 | 172 | 7
Dave Walton |  England | CB | 1997-2003 | 171 | 3
Don Campbell |  England | DF | 1958-1962 | 170 | 1
Wayne Collins |  England | MF | 1993-1996, 2001-2003 | 170 | 19
Luke Offord |  England | DF | 2019–2024 | 170 | 3
Jackie Waring |  England | W | 1934-1939 | 170 | 67
Harry Pickering |  England | DF | 2016-2021 | 168 | 10
Aaron Callaghan |  Republic of Ireland | DF | 1985-1986, 1988-1992 | 166 | 6
Craig Hignett |  England | MF/ST | 1985-1992, 2004 | 165 | 57
Ben Rix |  England | MF | 2001-2009 | 159 | 6
Chris Cutler |  England | ST | 1985-1989 | 156 | 26
Roy Gater |  England | FB | 1968-1973 | 156 | 5
Gary Blissett |  England | ST | 1983-1987, 1996 | 155 | 40
Chris Riley |  Wales | ST | 1958-1964 | 155 | 49
Bob Young |  England | FB | 1948-1952 | 155 | 2
Jack Basford |  England | ST | 1948-1954 | 154 | 65
Nigel Hart |  England | DF | 1982-1987 | 154 | 11
Geoff Thomas |  England | MF | 1984-1987, 2001-2002 | 154 | 23
Peter Gowans |  Scotland | ST | 1963-1967 | 153 | 47
Tony Naylor |  England | ST | 1990-1994 | 153 | 63
Lee Unsworth |  England | DF | 1995-2000 | 153 | 2
Dele Adebola |  Nigeria | ST | 1993-1998 | 152 | 46
Billy Haydock |  England | ST | 1961-1965 | 152 | 31
Kenny Swain |  England | DF | 1988-1992 | 152 | 1
Bryan Williams |  England | FB | 1954-1958 | 150 | 6
Lee Bell |  England | MF | 2002-2008, 2010-2012 | 148 | 5
David Platt |  England | ST | 1985-1988 | 148 | 61
Ben Williams |  England | GK | 2004-2008 | 148 | 0
Billy Jones |  England | DF/MF | 2003-2007, 2021 | 146 | 9
Peter Coyne |  England | ST | 1977-1981 | 145 | 49
Steve Davis |  England | DF | 1983-1988 | 145 | 1
Adam Dugdale |  England | DF | 2006-2007, 2010-2015 | 143 | 6
George Cooper |  England | MF | 2014-2018 | 142 | 15
Warwick Rimmer |  England | DF | 1975-1979 | 140 | 0
Jon Guthrie |  England | DF | 2012-2017 | 137 | 1
Clayton Ince |  Trinidad and Tobago | GK | 1999-2005 | 137 | 0
George Ray |  Wales | DF | 2011-2019 | 137 | 3
Rio Adebisi |  England | DF | 2019- | 136 | 6
John Pemberton |  England | DF | 1985-1988, 1997-1998 | 136 | 2
Darren Carr |  England | DF | 1990-1993 | 134 | 7
Dale Jasper |  England | MF | 1988-1991 | 134 | 2
Bradden Inman |  Australia | MF | 2012-2016 | 134 | 24
Kelvin Mellor |  England | DF | 2010-2014, 2022-2023 | 134 | 3
Ashley Westwood |  England | MF | 2009-2012 | 133 | 15
David Pullar |  England | W | 1983-1987 | 132 | 7
Rob Hulse |  England | ST | 1999-2003 | 131 | 51
Gary Roberts |  England | MF | 2004-2008 | 131 | 11
Clayton Donaldson |  England | ST | 2008-2011 | 130 | 49
Julien Baudet |  France | DF | 2006-2009 | 127 | 2
Kevin McHale |  England | W | 1958-1970 | 126 | 23
Andy Sussex |  England | DF | 1988-1991 | 125 | 36
Ashley Westwood |  England | DF | 1995-1998 | 125 | 11
Oliver Finney |  England | MF | 2016-2023 | 124 | 17
Martyn Booty |  England | DF | 1993-1996 | 123 | 6
Fred Keenor |  Wales | CB | 1931-1934 | 123 | 5
Chris McCready |  England | DF | 2000-2006, 2007-2009 | 123 | 2
Ernie Adams |  England | GK | 1969-1972 | 122 | 0
Phil Clarkson |  England | MF | 1991-1996 | 122 | 31
A-Jay Leitch-Smith |  England | FW | 2009-2014 | 122 | 21
Kevin Lewis |  England | FB | 1979-1982 | 122 | 2
Steve Phillips |  England | GK | 2009-2014 | 122 | 0
Dave Whelan |  England | FB | 1963-1966 | 122 | 0
Tony Cliss |  England | ST | 1982-1986 | 121 | 11
Hughen Riley |  England | MF | 1971-1975 | 121 | 9
Peter Billing |  England | CB | 1986-1989, 1996-1997 | 120 | 1
Frank Lord |  England | ST | 1961-1963 | 118 | 73
Mark Palios |  England | MF | 1979-1983 | 118 | 23
Albert Parker |  England | DF | 1948-1951 | 118 | 0
Danny O'Donnell |  England | DF | 2006-2010 | 117 | 4
Efe Sodje |  Nigeria | DF | 2000-2003 | 116 | 4
Richard Walker |  England | CB | 1999-2006 | 115 | 7
Gus Wilson |  England | FB | 1991-1995 | 115 | 0
Geoff Hickson |  England | GK | 1962-1968 | 114 | 0
Aidan Murphy |  England | MF | 1987-1992 | 113 | 13
Brian Parkin |  England | GK | 1984-1988 | 113 | 0
Danny Smith |  Scotland | W | 1949-1952 | 110 | 15
Norman Bodell |  England | DF | 1963-1967 | 109 | 2
Owen Dale |  England | FW | 2017-2022 | 109 | 15
Ray Ferris |  Northern Ireland | HB | 1945-1949 | 109 | 23
Steve Garvey |  England | MF | 1991-1998 | 108 | 8
Paul Edwards |  England | DF | 1988-1990 | 108 | 7
Ryan Lowe |  England | FW | 2006-2008, 2015-2017 | 108 | 27
Dave McKearney |  England | MF | 1989-1993 | 108 | 11
Luke Varney |  England | ST | 2003-2007 | 108 | 35
Alan Kelley |  England | FB | 1972-1976 | 107 | 0
Danny Murphy |  England | FB | 1951-1954 | 107 | 1
Marcus Bignot |  England | DF | 1997-2000 | 106 | 0
Joel Grant |  Jamaica | MF | 2008-2011 | 106 | 18
Bert Llewellyn |  England | ST | 1958-1960 | 106 | 58
Francis Tierney |  England | MF | 1993-1998 | 106 | 12
Zoumana Bakayogo |  Ivory Coast | DF | 2016-2018 | 104 | 1
Pat Morrissey |  Republic of Ireland | ST | 1969-1971 | 104 | 31
Dave Brammer |  England | MF | 2001-2004 | 103 | 6
Mark Gayle |  England | GK | 1993-1998 | 103 | 0
Gordon Wallace |  England | FW | 1967-1971 | 103 | 21
Zac Williams |  Wales | DF | 2022- | 103 | 3
Seth Johnson |  England | DF/MF | 1996-1999 | 102 | 6
Jimmy Rolfe |  England | W | 1955-1958 | 101 | 13
Billy Barr |  England | DF | 1994-1997 | 100 | 6
Paul Fishenden |  England | ST | 1988-1990 | 98 | 31
Merfyn Jones |  Wales | W | 1959-1961 | 98 | 16
Chris Lightfoot |  England | DF | 1996-2001 | 98 | 5
Ken Mulhearn |  England | GK | 1980-1982 | 95 | 0
Robbie Savage |  Wales | MF | 1994-1997 | 93 | 11
Conor Thomas |  England | MF | 2022- | 91 | 2
Fred Chandler |  England | DF/ST | 1937-1947 | 86 | 22
Ashley Ward |  England | FW | 1992-1994 | 76 | 34
Rob Jones |  England | DF | 1988-1991 | 74 | 2
Ademola Bankole |  Nigeria | GK | 1996-1998, 2000-2004 | 70 | 0
Nicky Maynard |  England | ST | 2005-2008 | 59 | 37
Stan Bowles |  England | ST | 1970-1971 | 57 | 19
Jermaine Wright |  England | DF/MF | 1998-1999 | 55 | 5
Nick Powell |  England | ST | 2010-2012 | 55 | 14
Frank Blunstone |  England | ST | 1951-1952 | 48 | 12
Bruce Grobbelaar |  Zimbabwe | GK | 1979-1980 | 24 | 1

## References

[edit]

### Books

[edit]

* Finch, Harold (2003). 100 Greats: Crewe Alexandra Football Club. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-3088-2.

### Internet

[edit]

* "Soccerbase". Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
* "Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database - Crewe Alexandra (1946/47 - 2013/14)". Retrieved 14 April 2009.

* v
* t
* e

Crewe Alexandra Football Club

The club|

* Players
* Managers
* Academy
* Seasons
* Records and statistics
* Women's team

Grounds|

* Alexandra Recreation Ground
* Gresty Road

Matches|

* 1993 Football League Third Division play-off final
* 1997 Football League Second Division play-off final
* 2012 Football League Two play-off final
* 2013 Football League Trophy final
* 2024 EFL League Two play-off final

Other|

* Blue Moon
* Norman Rowlinson (chairman 1964–1988)
* John Bowler (chairman 1988–2021)
* Sexual abuse scandal

Seasons|

* 1987–88
* 1988–89
* 1989–90
* 1990–91
* 1991–92
* 1992–93
* 1993–94
* 1994–95
* 1995–96
* 1996–97
* 1997–98
* 1998–99
* 1999–2000
* 2000–01
* 2001–02
* 2002–03
* 2003–04
* 2004–05
* 2005–06
* 2006–07
* 2007–08
* 2008–09
* 2009–10
* 2010–11
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24
* 2024–25

* v
* t
* e

Lists of male footballers in England by club

Premier League|

* AFC Bournemouth
* Arsenal
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Aston Villa
* Brentford
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Internationals
* Hall of Fame
* POTY
* Brighton & Hove Albion
* Chelsea
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Crystal Palace
* 100+
* POTY
* Everton
* 100+
* Internationals
* Hall of Fame
* Fulham
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Ipswich Town
* 100+
* Hall of Fame
* POTY
* Leicester City
* Liverpool
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Manchester City
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Manchester United
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Captains
* Newcastle United
* Nottingham Forest
* 100+
* Internationals
* Southampton
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Tottenham Hotspur
* West Ham United
* Wolverhampton Wanderers

Championship|

* Blackburn Rovers
* Bristol City
* Burnley
* 100+
* Internationals
* Cardiff City
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Captains
* Internationals
* Coventry City
* 100+
* Internationals
* POTY
* Derby County
* 100+
* POTY
* Hull City
* Leeds United
* Luton Town
* 100+
* POTY
* Middlesbrough
* Millwall
* Norwich City
* 100+
* 25–99
* Hall of Fame
* POTY
* Oxford United
* Plymouth Argyle
* 100+
* POTY
* Portsmouth
* Preston North End
* 100+
* POTY
* Queens Park Rangers
* Sheffield United
* 100+
* 25–99
* Internationals
* POTY
* Sheffield Wednesday
* All
* Internationals
* POTY
* Stoke City
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Sunderland
* Swansea City
* 100+
* Internationals
* Watford
* 50+
* 1–49
* POTY
* West Bromwich Albion

League One|

* Barnsley
* Birmingham City
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Blackpool
* Bolton Wanderers
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Bristol Rovers
* 100+
* 25–99
* Internationals
* POTY
* Burton Albion
* Cambridge United
* Charlton Athletic
* Crawley Town
* Exeter City
* Huddersfield Town
* Leyton Orient
* Lincoln City
* 100+
* 25–99
* Mansfield Town
* Northampton Town
* Peterborough United
* Reading
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Internationals
* POTY
* Rotherham United
* Shrewsbury Town
* Stevenage
* Stockport County
* Wigan Athletic
* Wrexham
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Wycombe Wanderers

League Two|

* Accrington Stanley
* AFC Wimbledon
* Barrow
* Bradford City
* 50+
* 1–49
* Bromley
* Carlisle United
* Cheltenham Town
* Chesterfield
* Colchester United
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Crewe Alexandra
* Doncaster Rovers
* 100+
* 1879–1918
* Fleetwood Town
* Gillingham
* 50+
* 25–49
* 1–24
* Grimsby Town
* Harrogate Town
* Milton Keynes Dons
* Morecambe
* Newport County
* Notts County
* Port Vale
* 25+
* 1–24
* POTY
* Salford City
* Swindon Town
* Tranmere Rovers
* 100+
* 1921–1939
* 1945–present
* Walsall

Non-League|

* Bradford (Park Avenue)
* Bury
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Chester
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Darlington
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Dagenham & Redbridge
* Nelson
* Oldham Athletic
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Rochdale
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Southend United
* Torquay United
* Yeovil Town
* 100+
* Internationals
* York City
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY

Defunct|

* Halifax Town
* Hereford United
* Macclesfield Town
* Scarborough
* Wanderers
* Wigan Borough

Clubs are grouped by their division in the 2024–25 season.
Includes the Welsh clubs where lists have been created. 'POTY' = 'Player of the Year / Season'.
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