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 [2]
Most appearances
Competitive matches only.
| # | Name | Career | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Eddie Hopkinson | 1952–1970 | 578 |
| 2 | Roy Greaves | 1965–1980 | 575 |
| 3 | Alex Finney | 1922–1937 | 530 |
| 3 |  Jussi Jääskeläinen | 1997–2012 | 530 |
| 5 | Warwick Rimmer | 1960–1975 | 528 |
| 6 | Bryan Edwards | 1947–1965 | 518 |
| 7 |  Ted Vizard | 1910–1931 | 512 |
| 8 | Paul Jones | 1970–1983 | 506 |
| 9 | Nat Lofthouse | 1946–1960 | 503 |
| 10 | Roy 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 [3]
Top goalscorers
Competitive matches only.
| # | Name | Years | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nat Lofthouse | 1946–1960 | 285 |
| 2 | Joe Smith | 1908–1927 | 277 |
| 3 | David Jack | 1920–1928 | 161 |
| 4 | Jack Milsom | 1929–1937 | 153 |
| 5 | Ray Westwood | 1928–1947 | 144 |
| 6 |  Willie Moir | 1945–1955 | 134 |
| 7 | John Byrom | 1966–1976 | 130 |
| 8 | Harold Blackmore | 1927–1932 | 122 |
| 9 | Neil Whatmore | 1973–19811982–19831983–19841987–1988 | 121 |
| 10 | John 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.
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
Paid
Bolton Wanderers's record signing is Johan Elmander, who signed for the club from Toulouse for £8.2 million in June 2008. The transfer also included Daniel Braaten, with that reportedly making the transfer worth 11m. 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 (+player) [a] |  Toulouse | June 2008 | [5] |
| 2 | Nicolas Anelka | £8.0m |  Fenerbahçe | August 2006 | [6] |
| 3= | Gary Cahill | £5.0m | Aston Villa | January 2008 | [7] |
| 3= | Fabrice Muamba | £5.0m | Birmingham City | June 2008 | [8] |
| 5= |  El Hadji Diouf | £4.0m | Liverpool | June 2005 | [9] |
| 5= | David Ngog | £4.0m | Liverpool | August 2011 | [10] |
| 7= |  Grétar Steinsson | £3.5m |  AZ Alkmaar | January 2008 | [11] |
| 7= | Dean Holdsworth | £3.5m | Wimbledon | October 1997 | [12] |
| 7= | Matthew Taylor | £3.5m | Portsmouth | January 2008 | [13] |
- ↑ The transfer also included Daniel Braaten, with it reported to have made the overall transfer equal to 11m. [4]
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 | Leicester 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 | FC Volendam | £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 (+player) [a] |
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 | [15] |
| 2 | Gary Cahill | £7.0m | Chelsea | January 2012 | [16] |
| 3 | Gary Madine | £6.0m | Cardiff City | January 2018 | [17] |
| 4= |  Jason McAteer | £4.5m | Liverpool | September 1995 | [18] |
| 4= | Alan Thompson | £4.5m | Aston Villa | June 1998 | [19] |
| 6 | Nathan Blake | £4.25m | Blackburn Rovers | October 1998 | [20] |
| 7= |  Saša Ćurčić | £4.0m | Aston Villa | August 1996 | [21] |
| 7= |  Claus Jensen | £4.0m | Charlton Athletic | July 2000 | [22] |
| 7= | Eiður Guðjohnsen | £4.0m | Chelsea | July 2000 | [23] |
| 7= | Kevin Nolan | £4.0m | Newcastle United | January 2009 | [24] |
| 7= |  Ali Al-Habsi | £4.0m | Wigan Athletic | July 2011 | [25] |
