Blackburn Rovers Football Club was founded in 1875, first entered the FA Cup four years later, and became a founder member of the Football League in 1888 and of the Premier League in 1992. The club's first team have been English champions three times, and have won six FA Cups, one Football League Cup and one Full Members' Cup. All players who have made 100 or more appearances in nationally or internationally organised competitive matches for the club should be listed below.
Each player's details include the duration of his Rovers career, his typical playing position while with the club, and the number of games played and goals scored in domestic league matches and in all senior competitive matches. Where applicable, the list also includes the national team(s) for which the player was selected.
Key
Players are listed in chronological order according to the year in which they first played for the club, and then by alphabetical order of their surname.
Players marked * were registered for the club as at the date specified above.
Players marked ‡ have won the Blackburn Rovers F.C. Player of the Year award.[1]
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.
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 and the Premier League. Appearances in the 1939–40 Football League season, abandoned after three games because of the Second World War, are excluded.
Countries are listed only for players who have been selected for international football. Only the highest level of international competition is given, except for players who competed for more than one country, for whom the highest level reached for each country is shown.
Players with 100 or more appearances
Table of players, including playing position, club statistics and international selection
^Billy Townley played for Blackburn in two FA Cup finals; in the second, in 1891, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in an FA Cup final as Blackburn beat Sheffield Wednesday 6–1.[5]
^Bob Crompton was manager of Blackburn from 1926 to 1931 and again from 1938 to 1941.[14]
Player statistics include games played while on loan from clubs listed below. Unless individually sourced, loaning clubs come from the appearances source.
^"Brett Emerton". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^"Brett Emerton: For the love of the game". ABC Sport. 6 April 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2023. Brett Emerton went against the trend for most of the world's football stars when he reportedly turned down offers from bigger clubs so he could play in his preferred position of wing with Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League.
^"Steven Reid". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^"Steven Reid". Blackburn Rovers F.C. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Steven has played a number of positions for Rovers since signing in 2003 but has recently settled down in a central midfield berth
Clubs are grouped by their division in the 2023–24 season. Includes the Welsh clubs where lists have been created. 'POTY' = 'Player of the Year / Season'.