List of Bolton Wanderers F.C. records and statistics

Bolton Wanderers F.C. is an English professional association football club based in Horwich, Bolton. The club was founded as Christ Church F.C. in 1874, making them one of the oldest football clubs in England, and turned professional in 1877, before joining the Football League as founder members in 1888. Bolton Wanderers currently play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They were relegated from the top tier (where they'd been since 2001) in 2012 but in their time as a professional club have played in all four professional English leagues.

This list encompasses the major honours won by Bolton Wanderers and records set by the club, their managers and their players. The player records section includes details of the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions. It also records notable achievements by Bolton Wanderers players on the international stage, and the highest transfer fees paid and received by the club. The club's attendance records, both at The Reebok Stadium, their home since 1997, and Burnden Park, their home between 1895 and 1997, are also included in the list.

The club have won the FA Cup 4 times, but not since 1958,^[1] and have spent the majority of their history in the top flight of English football. Bolton also hold the record for the most years in the top flight of English football without winning the title, 72 years in total. The club's record appearance maker is Eddie Hopkinson, who made 578 appearances between his debut in 1952 and retirement in 1970, and the club's record goalscorer is Nat Lofthouse, who scored 285 goals in 503 games between 1946 and 1960.

All stats accurate as of match played 10 December 2011.

Honours

Domestic

League titles

• Level II
• Football League First Division^[2]
  • Winners (1): 1996–97
  • Promotion Playoff Winners (2): 1995, 2001.
• Football League Second Division:^[3]
  • Winners (2): 1908–09, 1977–78
  • Runners Up (4): 1899–1900, 1904–05, 1910–11, 1934–35.
• Level III
• Football League Third Division:^[4]
  • Winners (1): 1972–73
  • Runners Up (1): 1992–93.
• Level IV
• Football League Fourth Division:^[5]
  • 3rd Place Promotion (1): 1987–88.

Cups

• FA Cup:
  • Winners (4): 1923, 1926, 1929, 1958
  • Runners Up (3): 1894, 1904, 1953
• League Cup:
  • Runners Up (2): 1995, 2004
• Football League Trophy:
  • Winners (1): 1989 ^[6]
  • Runners Up (1): 1986 ^[7]
• FA Charity Shield
  • Winners (1): 1958
• Lancashire Cup
  • Winners (12): 1886, 1891, 1912, 1922, 1925, 1927, 1932, 1934, 1939 (joint winners with Preston North End), 1948, 1988, 1990
• Central League
  • Winners (2): 1955, 1995

Players

All current players are in bold

Appearances

• Youngest first-team player: Ray Parry 15 years 267 days (v. Wolves, 13 October 1951).
• Oldest first-team player: Peter Shilton 45 years 239 days (v. Wolves, 15 May 1995).
• Most consecutive League appearances: 161 – Jim McDonagh, 2 October 1976 – 3 May 1980^[8]

Most appearances

Competitive matches only.

#	Name	Career	Appearances
1	Hopkinson, EddieEddie Hopkinson	1952–1970	578
2	Greaves, RoyRoy Greaves	1965–1980	575
3=	Finney, AlexAlex Finney	1922–1937	530
3=	Jääskeläinen, JussiJussi Jääskeläinen	1997–2012	530
5	Rimmer, WarwickWarwick Rimmer	1960–1975	528
6	Edwards, BryanBryan Edwards	1947–1965	518
7	Vizard, TedTed Vizard	1910–1931	512
8	Jones, PaulPaul Jones	1970–1983	506
9	Lofthouse, NatNat Lofthouse	1946–1960	503
10	Hartle, RoyRoy Hartle	1952–1966	499

Goalscorers

• Most league goals in a season: Joe Smith, 38 goals in 1920–21 season.
• Most goals scored in a match: 5
  • Billy Struthers v Bootle, 4 November 1882
  • James Cassidy v Sheffield United 1 February 1890
  • Tony Caldwell v Walsall 10 September 1983^[9]

Top goalscorers

Competitive matches only.

#	Name	Years	Total
1	Lofthouse, NatNat Lofthouse	1946–1960	285
2	Smith, JoeJoe Smith	1908–1927	277
3	Jack, DavidDavid Jack	1920–1928	161
4	Milsom, JackJack Milsom	1929–1937	153
5	Westwood, RayRay Westwood	1928–1947	144
6	Moir, WillieWillie Moir	1945–1955	134
7	Byrom, JohnJohn Byrom	1966–1976	130
8	Blackmore, HaroldHarold Blackmore	1927–1932	122
9	Whatmore, NeilNeil Whatmore	1973–1981 1982–1983 1983–1984 1987–1988	121
10	McGinlay, JohnJohn McGinlay	1992–1997	118

International

• Most capped player: Ricardo Gardner, 72 caps for Jamaica as a Bolton Wanderers player. 37 of his (then) 109 caps coming in 1997 and 1998 prior to signing with Bolton. He made three more after leaving in 2012.
• First player to play in a World Cup: Nat Lofthouse for England against Belgium on 17 June 1954.
• First player to score in a World Cup: Nat Lofthouse against Belgium on 17 June 1954.
• Most World Cup goals: Nat Lofthouse, 3 (1958).

World Cup participants

This section lists all players who have played in a World Cup Finals game whilst playing for Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Name	Nationality	World Cup
Nat Lofthouse	England	1954
Eddie Hopkinson	England	1958
Tommy Banks	England	1958
Jason McAteer	Ireland	1994
Per Frandsen	Denmark	1998
Mark Fish	South Africa	1998
Stig Tøfting	Denmark	2002
Youri Djorkaeff	France	2002
Jared Borgetti	Mexico	2006
Radhi Jaïdi	Tunisia	2006
Hidetoshi Nakata	Japan	2006
Lee Chung-Yong	South Korea	2010 2014
Danny Shittu	Nigeria	2010
Vladimír Weiss	Slovakia	2010
Stuart Holden	United States	2010

European Championship participants

This section lists all players who have played in a European Championship Finals game whilst playing for Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Name	Nationality	Euros
Stelios Giannakopoulos	Greece	2004 2008

Record transfer fees

Bolton's record signing Johan Elmander.

Paid

Bolton Wanderers's record signing is Johan Elmander, who signed for the club from Toulouse for £8.2 million in June 2008. This beat the previous record of £8.0 million, which the club paid Fenerbahce for Nicolas Anelka in 2006

#	Name	Fee	From	Date	Notes
1	Johan Elmander	£8.2m	Toulouse	June 2008	[10]
2	Nicolas Anelka	£8.0m	Fenerbahçe	August 2006	[11]
3=	Gary Cahill	£5.0m	Aston Villa	January 2008	[12]
3=	Fabrice Muamba	£5.0m	Birmingham City	June 2008	[13]
5=	El Hadji Diouf	£4.0m	Liverpool	June 2005	[14]
5=	David N'Gog	£4.0m	Liverpool	August 2011	[15]
7=	Grétar Steinsson	£3.5m	AZ Alkmaar	January 2008	[16]
7=	Dean Holdsworth	£3.5m	Wimbledon	October 1997	[17]
7=	Matthew Taylor	£3.5m	Portsmouth	January 2008	[18]

Progression of record fee paid

The club's first £1,000 transfer came in 1911, when they signed Alf Bentley from Derby County. They made their first £100,000 signing in 1978 with the transfer of Alan Gowling from Newcastle United for £120,000 and their first £1,000,000 transfer when they signed Gerry Taggart from Barnsley in 1995.

Date	Player	Bought from	Fee
1911	Alf Bentley	Derby County	£1,000
1920	David Jack	Plymouth Argyle	£3,500
1921	Dick Pym	Exeter City	£5,000
1928	Jack McClelland	Middlesbrough	£6,800
1948	Jim Hernon	Leicester City	£14,850
1951	Harold Hassall	Huddersfield Town	£27,000
1967	Gareth Williams	Cardiff City	£50,000
1967	Terry Wharton	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£70,000
1977	Frank Worthington	Birmingham City	£90,000
1978	Alan Gowling	Newcastle United	£120,000
1978	Neil McNab	Tottenham Hotspur	£250,000
1979	Len Cantello	West Bromwich Albion	£350,000
1994	Fabian de Freitas	Vollendam	£400,000
1995	Chris Fairclough	Leeds United	£500,000
1995	Gerry Taggart	Barnsley	£1,500,000
1997	Robbie Elliott	Newcastle United	£2,500,000
1997	Dean Holdsworth	Wimbledon	£3,500,000
2005	El Hadji Diouf	Liverpool	£4,000,000
2006	Nicolas Anelka	Fenerbahçe	£8,000,000
2008	Johan Elmander	Toulouse	£8,250,000

Received

The largest fee that Bolton Wanderers have received for one of their players was the £15million that Chelsea paid for the services of Nicolas Anelka during the transfer window of January 2008. Four years later, Bolton received their second largest transfer fee, also from Chelsea, for defender Gary Cahill.

#	Name	Fee	From	Date	Notes
1	Nicolas Anelka	£15.0m	Chelsea	January 2008	[19]
2	Gary Cahill	£7.0m	Chelsea	January 2012	[20]
3=	Jason McAteer	£4.5m	Liverpool	September 1995	[21]
3=	Alan Thompson	£4.5m	Aston Villa	June 1998	[22]
5	Nathan Blake	£4.25m	Blackburn Rovers	October 1998	[23]
6=	Saša Ćurčić	£4.0m	Aston Villa	August 1996	[24]
6=	Claus Jensen	£4.0m	Charlton Athletic	July 2000	[25]
6=	Eiður Guðjohnsen	£4.0m	Chelsea	July 2000	[26]
6=	Kevin Nolan	£4.0m	Newcastle United	January 2009	[27]
6=	Ali Al-Habsi	£4.0m	Wigan Athletic	July 2011	[28]

Club records

League Highs and Lows

• Most points in a season: 98 in 46 matches, First Division, 1996–97.
• Most home wins in a season: 18, 1924–25, 1972–73, 1992–93, 1996–97.
• Most home draws in a season: 11, 1979–80.
• Most home losses in a season: 11, 2011–12.
• Most home goals scored in a season: 63, 1934–35.
• Most home goals conceded in a season: 39, 2011–12.
• Most away wins in a season: 14, 2000–01 (15 including playoff final).
• Most away draws in a season: 10, 1986–87, 1996–97, 1996–97.
• Most away losses in a season: 19, 2015–16.
• Most away goals scored in a season: 40, 1996–97 (41 2000–01 including playoffs).
• Most away goals conceded in a season: 59, 1932–33.
• Most wins in a season: 28, 1996–97.
• Most draws in a season: 17, 1991–92.
• Most losses in a season: 26, 2015–16.
• Most goals scored in a season: 100 in 46 matches, First Division, 1996–97, including 2 own goals.^[29][30]
• Most goals conceded in a season: 92, 1932–33.
• Least home wins in a season: 4, 2011–12.
• Least home draws in a season: 0, 1988–89, 1890–91, 1904–05.
• Least home losses in a season: 0, 1910–11, 1920–21.
• Lease home goals scored in a season: 18, 1893–94, 1897–98, 1902–03.
• Least home goals conceded in a season: 7, 1899-90.
• Least away wins in a season: 0, 1949–50, 1979–80, 2015-16.
• Least away draws in a season: 0, 1889–90, 1891–92.
• Least away losses in a season: 3, 1899-90, 1904–05, 1996–97.
• Least away goals scored in a season: 10, 1897–98.
• Least away goals conceded in a season: 16, 1904–05.
• Least wins in a season: 5, 1979–80.
• Least draws in a season: 1, 1889–90, 1890–91.
• Least losses in a season: 4, 1899-90, 1996–97.
• Least goals scored in a season: 28, 1897–98.
• Least goals conceded in a season: 25, 1899-90.

Matches

Record wins

• Record League home win: 8–0 (v. Barnsley, 6 October 1934).
• Record League away win: 7–1 (v. Aston Villa, 26 December 1914).
• Record FA Cup home win: 13–0 (v. Sheffield United second round, 1 February 1890).
• Record FA Cup away win: 5–1 (v. Charlton Athletic third round, 14 January 1933).
• Record League Cup home win: 6–1 (v. Tottenham Hotspur fourth round, 27 November 1996).
• Record League Cup away win: 4–0 (v. Rochdale second round, 10 October 1973).
• Record Premier League home win: 5–0 (v. Stoke City, 6 November 2011.
• Record Premier League away win: 5–0 (v. Leicester City, 18 August 2001).

Record defeats

• Record League home defeat:
  • 0–5 (v. Everton, Division One, 20 September 1890).
  • 0–5 (v. Arsenal, Division One, 1 January 1937).
  • 0–5 (v. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Division One, 28 August 1948).
  • 0–5 (v. Portsmouth, Division One, 20 September 1952).
  • 0–5 (v. Blackburn Rovers, Division One, 29 February 1964).
  • 0-5 (v. Manchester United, Premier League, 10 September 2011.)
• Record League away defeat:
  • 0–7 (v. Burnley, Division One, 1 March 1890).
  • 0–7 (v. Sheffield Wednesday, Division One, 1 March 1915).
  • 0–7 (v. Manchester City, Division One, 21 March 1936).
• Record FA Cup home defeat:
  • 0–5 (v. Bristol City, Round One, 7 February 1903).
  • 0–5 (v. Manchester City, Round Five, 20 February 1937).
• Record FA Cup away defeat: 1–9 (v. Preston North End, Round Two, 10 December 1887).
• Record League Cup home defeat: 0–6 (v. Chelsea, Round Four replay, 8 November 1971).
• Record League Cup away defeat: 0–6 (v. Tottenham Hotspur, Round Five, 11 December 2001).
• Record Premier League home defeat: 0–6 (v. Manchester United, 25 February 1996).
• Record Premier League away defeat: 2–6 (v. Manchester City, 18 October 2003).

Record draws

• Highest scoring League draw:
  • 4–4 (v. Blackburn Rovers, Division One, 8 December 1888).
  • 4–4 (v. Stoke City, Division One, 15 October 1892).
  • 4–4 (v. Middlesbrough, Division One, 9 December 1905).
  • 4–4 (v. West Ham United, Division One, 26 March 1927).
  • 4–4 (v. Portsmouth, Division One, 23 February 1929).
  • 4–4 (v. West Bromwich Albion, Division One, 18 March 1980).
  • 4-4 (v. Bradford City, Division Three, 17 September 1991).
• Highest scoring FA Cup draw: 5–5 (v. Eagley, Round One, 22 October 1881).
• Highest scoring League Cup draw: 4–4 after extra time (v. Oldham Athletic, Round One, Second Leg, 4 September 1984).
• Highest scoring Premier League draw:
  • 3–3 (v. Derby County, 14 December 1997).
  • 3–3 (v. Manchester City, 12 December 2009).

Most Consecutive

• Wins: 11. (v. Gainsborough Trinity, 10 November 1904) - (v. Barnsley, 20 January 1905).
• Home wins: 13. (v. Gainsborough Trinity, 12 November 1910) - (v. Chelsea, 26 April 1911).
• Away wins: 5. (v. Doncaster Rovers, 14 December 1904) - (v. Burnley, 22 January 1905).
• Draws: 6. (v. Manchester City, 25 January 1913) - (v. Derby County, 8 March 1913).
• Losses: 11. (v. Sheffield United, 7 April 1902) - (v. Wolverhampton Wanderers, 18 October 1902).
• Home Losses: 7. (v. Sunderland, 7 May 2011) - (v. Sunderland, 22 October 2011).
• Away Losses: 15. (v. Brentford, 14 April 1984) - (v. Bradford City, 29 December 1984).
• Games without scoring: 5.
  • (v. Bury, 3 January 1898) - (v. Sunderland, 22 February 1898)
  • (v. Wigan Athletic, 16 March 1990) - (v. Chester City, 31 March 1990).
• Games with scoring: 24.
  • (v. Derby County, 8 September 1888) - (v. Everton, 21 September 1889)
  • (v. Sheffield United, 22 November 1996) - (v. Oxford United, 12 April 1997).
• Games without losing: 23. (v. Bury, 13 October 1990) - (v. Fulham, 9 March 1991).
• Home games without losing: 27. (v. Sheffield United, 24 April 1920) - (v. Huddersfield Town, 24 September 1921).
• Away games without losing: 11. (v. Doncaster Rovers, 10 December 1904) - (v. West Bromwich Albion, 22 April 1905).
• Games without a draw: 34. (v. Newcastle United, 26 February 2011) – (v. Wolverhampton Wanderers, 31 December 2011) including 2 FA Cup games and 3 League Cup games.
• Games without a win: 26. (v. Sheffield United, 7 April 1902) - (v. West Bromwich Albion, 10 January 1903).
• Home games without a win: 11. (v. Everton, 19 April 1902) - (v. West Bromwich Albion, 10 January 1903).
• Away games without a win: 28. (v. Everton, 16 April 1979) - (v. Oldham Athletic, 27 September 1980).
• Games without conceding: 7. (v. Woolwich Arsenal, 24 February 1900) - (v. Chesterfield, 14 April 1900).
• Games with conceding: 27. (v. Sheffield United, 7 April 1902) - (v. Notts County, 17 January 1903).

Attendances

• Highest attendance at a home match (Burnden Park): 69,912 (v. Manchester City, FA Cup Fifth Round, 18 February 1933).
• Highest attendance at a home match (Reebok Stadium): 28,353 (v. Leicester City, Premier League, 28 December 2003).
• Lowest attendance at a home match (Burnden Park): 1,507 (v. Rochdale, Autoglass Trophy, 10 December 1991).
• Lowest attendance at a home match (Reebok Stadium): 3,673 (v. Gillingham, Football League Cup Second Round Second Leg, 21 September 1999).
• Highest attendance at a FA Cup match (Wembley Stadium (1923)): 126,047 (official) (v. West Ham, FA Cup Final, 28 April 1923). Some estimates of attendance exceed 300,000.
• Highest attendance at a League Cup match (Wembley Stadium (1923)): 75,595 (v. Liverpool, League Cup Final, 2 April 1995).

Bolton Wanderers in Europe

Below is Bolton Wanderers' record in Europe. As of 2008 they have appeared in the UEFA Cup twice, losing only two games in the process.

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Result
2005–06	UEFA Cup	1R		Lokomotiv Plovdiv	2–1, 2–1
		Group Stage Away		Beşiktaş	1–1
		Group Stage Home		Zenit St. Petersburg	1–0
		Group Stage Away		Guimaraes	1–1
		Group Stage Home		Sevilla	1–1
		Round of 32		Marseille	0–0, 1–2
2007–08	UEFA Cup	1R		FK Rabotnički	1–1, 1–0
		Group Stage Home		Braga	1–1
		Group Stage Away		Bayern Munich	2–2
		Group Stage Home		Aris Thessaloniki	1–1
		Group Stage Away		Crvena Zvezda	1–0
		Round of 32		Atlético Madrid	1–0, 0–0
		Round of 16		Sporting Lisbon	1–1, 0–1

Notes

1. "Cup Final Statistics". The Football Association. 19 May 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
2. Now known as Football League Championship
3. <Up until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division; since then, it has been the Premier League and therefore the Second Division became known as the First and is now known as the Football League Championship
4. Now known as Football League One
5. Now known as Football League Two
6. Then called Sherpa Van Trophy
7. Then called Freight Rover Trophy
8. Hayes, Dean. (30 June 2009). Bolton Wanderers Miscellany (1st ed.). Brighton: Pitch Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-905411-21-4.
9. Hayes, Dean. (30 June 2009). Bolton Wanderers Miscellany (1st ed.). Brighton: Pitch Publishing. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-905411-21-4.
10. Facey, David (2008-08-18). "Bolton 3 Stoke 1". London: The Sun. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
11. "Bolton sign Anelka in record deal". BBC. 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
12. "Bolton complete £5m Cahill switch". BBC. 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
13. "Bolton splash out £5m on Muamba". BBC. 2000-06-16. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
14. "Bolton complete signing of Diouf". BBC. 2005-06-16. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
15. "David Ngog and Gael Kakuta move to Bolton". BBC. 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
16. "Defender Steinsson joins Bolton". BBC. 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
17. "Dean Holdsworth". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
18. "Bolton capture midfielder Taylor". BBC. 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
19. "Chelsea complete £15m Anelka deal". London: BBC Sport. 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
20. "Gary Cahill's move from Bolton to Chelsea completed". BBC Sport. 2012-01-16. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
21. "Jason McAteer's playing career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
22. "On this day in sport - June 5". Daily Mail. 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
23. "Football: No bad blood over Wise tackle, says Gregory". The Independent. 1998-10-31. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
24. "Sasa Curcic - Midfielder". Retrieved 2012-01-19.
25. "Charlton complete Jensen swoop". BBC. 2000-07-21. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
26. "Chelsea spend for success". BBC. 2000-08-13. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
27. "Nolan completes Newcastle switch". BBC. 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
28. "Wigan sign goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi from Bolton Wanderers". BBC. 2011-07-04. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
29. http://www.bwfc.co.uk/page/History/0,,1004~535741,00.html
30. Heroes, Heartbreakers & Headliners Bolton Wanderers F.C. The Official History 1877–2002 by Simon Marland pp.106, 306