Alan Shearer CBE DL is an English football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker. He is the Premier League's record goalscorer with 260 goals. He was named Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995. In 1996, he came third in both Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. Shearer was one of the first two players inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.
Bradley Howard Friedel is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper.
Robert Crompton was an English professional footballer. He spent the entirety of his career with his hometown club, Blackburn Rovers. He also represented England on 41 occasions, captaining them 22 times.
Ewood Park is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facility with a capacity of 31,367, and four sections: the Bryan Douglas Darwen End, The Ronnie Clayton Blackburn End, the Riverside Stand, and Jack Walker Stand, named after Blackburn industrialist and club supporter, Jack Walker. The football pitch within the stadium measures 115 by 76 yards
Simon Garner is an English former professional footballer who spent the majority of his career playing for Blackburn Rovers, where he is the record holder for most goals scored: 194 in all competitions and 168 in the Football League. He also played for West Bromwich Albion, Wycombe Wanderers and Torquay United before spending time playing non-league football.
Fergus Suter was a Scottish stonemason and footballer in the early days of the game. Arguably the first recognised professional footballer, Suter was a native of Glasgow and played for Partick before moving to England to play for Darwen and Blackburn Rovers F.C.
John Michael Connelly was an English footballer. He played as an outside forward and was capped 20 times for his country.
James Christopher Armfield, was an English professional football player and manager who latterly worked as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at Blackpool, usually at right back. Between 1954 and 1971 he played 627 games in all competitions, scored six goals, and spent a decade as the club's captain. He also represented the England national team 43 times between 1959 and 1966, and captained them in 15 games. He was a member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad. After retiring from playing, Armfield managed Bolton Wanderers and Leeds United, leading the latter to the 1975 European Cup final.
Howard Kendall was an English footballer and manager.
Robert David Slater is an Australian former professional soccer player and sports commentator.
Thomas McLean Jr. is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. McLean played for Kilmarnock, Rangers and Scotland as a midfielder. He managed Morton, Motherwell, Hearts, Raith Rovers and Dundee United.
The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and managers who have become significant figures in the history of the English game. New members are added each year, with an induction ceremony held in the autumn, formerly at varying locations, but exclusively at the Museum itself following its move to Manchester's Urbis building in 2012.
Alan Geoffrey Wright is an English football manager and former professional footballer.
Thomas Clark Fisher Johnson was an English footballer who played as either a centre forward or an inside forward. He started his professional career at Manchester City in 1919, and represented the club throughout the 1920s. Known for his powerful left foot shot, Johnson held the record for the most goals scored by a Manchester City player in a single season, with 38 goals in 1928–29. He played for Manchester City in the 1926 FA Cup Final, and was a member of the City side which won the Second Division in 1927.
Ronald Clayton was an English footballer who made nearly 600 appearances in the Football League playing for Blackburn Rovers. He was capped 35 times for England between 1955 and 1960.
Joseph Morris Lofthouse was an English footballer.
William Brindle was an English footballer who played his club football at left-back for Darwen and Blackburn Olympic. He made two appearances for England in 1880, scoring once. He was previously erroneously referred to as Thomas Brindle in various sources.
James Henry Forrest was an English footballer whose career spanned the transition from amateurism to professionalism in English football in the 1880s and 1890s. He played most of his club career for Blackburn Rovers, whose early embracing of professionalism enabled them to become one of the major teams in English football, and with whom he appeared on the winning side in five FA Cup finals. He was the first professional player to appear for England for whom he made eleven appearances, as a half-back.
Darwen Football Club was an association football club from Darwen in Lancashire, England. The team, formed in 1870, was an early pioneer of professional football in Northern England, reaching the semi-finals of the 1880–81 FA Cup. They were a Football League member from 1891 to 1899. Darwen joined the Lancashire League in 1900 and remained in regional football afterwards. They last played in the First Division of the North West Counties Football League in 2008–09, when the club was wound-up. A successor team, AFC Darwen, was founded soon after. Darwen played their home games at the Anchor Ground.
The English Game is a British historical sports drama television miniseries developed by Julian Fellowes for Netflix about the origins of modern association football in England. The six-part series was released on 20 March 2020.
