Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based in Luton, Bedfordshire. The club was founded in 1885 and became the first professional club in southern England in 1891. Luton Town have played at all professional levels of English football and are currently contesting the 2023–24 season in the first tier, Premier League. Luton Town have been Football League members for 104 seasons: from 1897 to 1900; from 1920 to 2009, and from 2014 to 2023.
The record for most games played for the club is held by Bob Morton, who made 562 appearances between 1946 and 1964. Gordon Turner is the club's record goalscorer, with 276 goals across his 450 appearances for Luton. Mal Donaghy made 58 appearances for Northern Ireland and so is the Luton Town player who has gained the most caps while with the club. The highest transfer fee paid by the club is the £2 million paid to Barnsley for striker Carlton Morris in 2022, and the highest fees received is the £8 million fee paid by Leicester City for Luton-born James Justin, in 2019. The highest attendance recorded at Kenilworth Road was 30,069 for the visit of Blackpool in 1959. One Football League record is held by a Luton Town player—the 10 goals scored by forward Joe Payne in 1936 against Bristol Rovers is the most scored in any Football League match by a single player.
All records are correct as of the 2022–23 season.
Luton Town have won some major honours in English football. The club reached its first major final in 1959, when the team reached the FA Cup Final, and the 1988 Football League Cup Final was the side's first major cup victory. The team have also won a Football League Trophy (in 2008–09) and finished as runners-up in the Full Members Cup and Football League Cup (in 1987–88 and 1988–89 respectively). [1]
Luton Town have won all three of the present Football League divisions, and have achieved promotion as runners-up on four other occasions. Outside of the League, the club have finished as runners-up in the Southern League twice in a row (starting in 1894–95), runners-up in the United League in 1896–97, and United League champions in 1897–98. More recently, the club were crowned as Conference Premier champions in the 2013–14 season.
Luton Town were the first club to be relegated from the top division to the fourth (relegated from First Division in 1959–60, started playing in Fourth Division in 1965–66) and then subsequently win promotion back to the top flight (promoted from Fourth Division in 1968–69 and started playing in First Division in 1974–75).
Uniquely, the club won the Football League Trophy and were relegated from the Football League in the same season.
# | Name | Nation | Years | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other [C] | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bob Morton | England | 1948–64 ¤ | 495 (0) | 48 (0) | 7 (0) | 12 (0) | 562 (0) |
2 | Fred Hawkes | England | 1899–1920 ¤ | 509 (0) | 40 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 549 (0) |
3 | Ricky Hill | England | 1975–89 | 429 (7) | 33 (0) | 37 (1) | 0 (0) | 499 (8) |
4 | Brian Stein | England | 1977–88 1991–92 |
411 (16) | 31 (0) | 34 (1) | 3 (0) | 479 (17) |
5 | Mal Donaghy | Northern Ireland | 1978–88 1989–90 |
415 (0) | 36 (0) | 34 (0) | 3 (0) | 488 (0) |
6 | Gordon Turner | England | 1949–64 | 406 (0) | 25 (0) | 7 (0) | 12 (0) | 450 (0) |
7 | Marvin Johnson | England | 1987–2002 ¤ | 352 (21) | 20 (1) | 27 (2) | 16 (1) | 415 (25) |
8 | Ron Baynham | England | 1952–65 | 388 (0) | 31 (0) | 5 (0) | 8 (0) | 432 (0) |
9 | Syd Owen | England | 1947–59 | 388 (0) | 27 (0) | 0 (0) | 8 (0) | 423 (0) |
10 | David Preece | England | 1984–95 | 328 (8) | 27 (0) | 23 (0) | 8 (0) | 386 (8) |
# | Name | Nation | Years | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other [C] | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gordon Turner | England | 1949–64 | 243 (406) | 18 (25) | 4 (7) | 11 (12) | 276 (450) |
2 | Andy Rennie | Scotland | 1925–34 | 147 (307) | 15 (26) | 0 (0) | 0 (2) | 162 (335) |
3 | Brian Stein | England | 1977–88 1991–92 |
130 (427) | 6 (31) | 15 (35) | 3 (3) | 154 (496) |
4 | Ernie Simms | England | 1913–15 1916–22 |
109 (160) | 13 (18) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 122 (178) |
5 | Herbert Moody | England | 1901–05 1907–12 |
93 (232) | 11 (15) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 104 (247) |
6 | Steve Howard | Scotland | 2001–06 | 96 (212) | 5 (8) | 2 (7) | 0 (1) | 103 (228) |
7= [D] | David Moss | England | 1978–85 | 88 (221) | 3 (8) | 3 (16) | 0 (0) | 94 (245) |
7= [D] | Jimmy Yardley | England | 1926–32 | 78 (173) | 16 (15) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 94 (188) |
9 | Mick Harford | England | 1984–90 1991–92 |
69 (168) | 10 (27) | 10 (17) | 3 (4) | 92 (216) |
10 | Joe Payne | England | 1934–38 | 83 (72) | 4 (5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 87 (77) |
# | Fee ( GBP) | Paid to | Name | Nation | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | £1,800,000 | Barnsley F.C. | Carlton Morris | England | 6 July 2022 | [17] |
2 | £1,200,000 | Rijeka | Simon Sluga | Croatia | 19 July 2019 | [18] |
3 | £850,000 | Odense Boldklub | Lars Elstrup | Denmark | 21 August 1989 | [19] |
4 | £750,000 | Burnley | Steve Davis | England | 13 July 1995 | [20] |
5 | £580,000 | West Ham United | Ian Feuer | United States | 16 December 1995 | [21] |
# | Fee (GBP) | Received from | Name | Nation | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | £8,000,000 | Leicester City | James Justin | England | 28 June 2019 | [22] |
2 | £4,000,000 | Bournemouth | Jack Stacey | England | 8 July 2019 | [23] |
3= [E] | £3,000,000 | West Bromwich Albion | Curtis Davies | England | 31 August 2005 | [24] |
3= [E] | £3,000,000 | Birmingham City | Rowan Vine | England | 11 January 2007 | [F] [25] |
4 | £2,750,000 | West Bromwich Albion | Leon Barnett | England | 26 July 2007 | [26] |
5 | £2,500,000 | Arsenal | John Hartson | Wales | 13 January 1995 | [27] |
Below is Luton Town's record in European competitions. As of the 2018–19 season, the only European competition the club have taken part in is the Anglo-Italian Cup, and they never progressed past the group stage of that tournament. Luton Town have also qualified for the UEFA Cup, as winners of the Football League Cup in 1987–88; however, they were unable to compete due to the ban of English clubs from European competitions following the Heysel Stadium Disaster. [74] [75] [76] [77] [78]
Season | Competition | Round | Date | Country | Club | Venue | Result [I] | Attendance | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972–73 | Anglo-Italian Cup | Group A | 7 March 1973 | Italy | Bari | Home | 4–0 | unknown | [55] |
21 March 1973 | Italy | Hellas Verona | Away | 1–2 | [55] | ||||
4 April 1973 | Italy | Fiorentina | Home | 1–0 | [55] | ||||
2 May 1973 | Italy | Lazio | Away | 2–2 | [55] | ||||
1988–89 | UEFA Cup | Unable to compete due to ban on English clubs in UEFA competitions due to Heysel Stadium disaster | [J] [74] | ||||||
1992–93 | Anglo-Italian Cup | Group 5 | 15 September 1992 | England | Watford | Away | 0–0 | 5,197 | [79] |
29 September 1992 | England | Bristol City | Home | 1–1 | 2,538 | [79] | |||
1993–94 | Anglo-Italian Cup | Group 6 | 31 August 1993 | England | Watford | Away | 1–2 | 2,854 | [80] |
7 September 1993 | England | Southend United | Home | 1–1 | 1,823 | [80] | |||
1995–96 | Anglo-Italian Cup | Group A | 5 September 1995 | Italy | Perugia | Home | 1–4 | 2,352 | [68] |
11 October 1995 | Italy | Genoa | Away | 0–4 | 3,759 | [68] | |||
8 November 1995 | Italy | Cesena | Away | 1–2 | 461 | [68] | |||
13 December 1995 | Italy | Ancona | Home | 5–0 | 2,091 | [68] |
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for |
Goals against | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anglo-Italian Cup | against English clubs | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
against Italian clubs | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 14 | |
Total | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 18 |
Opposition nationality | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for |
Goals against |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
English | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Overseas | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 |
Total | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 6 |
Opposition nationality | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for |
Goals against |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
English | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Overseas | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
Total | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
General
Specific
A last-minute strike from Brian Stein saw [Luton] Town finally overcome Arsenal 3–2 at Wembley in a see-saw thriller in which Arsenal, leading 2–1, were awarded a penalty, which was brilliantly saved by Andy Dibble, before [Luton] Town came storming back, leading to skipper Steve Foster lifting the Littlewoods Cup.
Arsenal led 2–1 with 10 minutes left when Andy Dibble, Luton's reserve keeper, saved a Nigel Winterburn penalty ... This equaliser was scrambled in [when] Brian [Stein] hit the ball across the face of the box. Danny Wilson nodded it in. In the final minute, Brian Stein's close-range volley snatched victory.
[A] UEFA Cup spot is ... offered to the [League Cup] winner
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based in Luton, Bedfordshire. The club was founded in 1885 and became the first professional club in southern England in 1891. Luton Town have played at all professional levels of English football and are currently contesting the 2023–24 season in the first tier, Premier League. Luton Town have been Football League members for 104 seasons: from 1897 to 1900; from 1920 to 2009, and from 2014 to 2023.
The record for most games played for the club is held by Bob Morton, who made 562 appearances between 1946 and 1964. Gordon Turner is the club's record goalscorer, with 276 goals across his 450 appearances for Luton. Mal Donaghy made 58 appearances for Northern Ireland and so is the Luton Town player who has gained the most caps while with the club. The highest transfer fee paid by the club is the £2 million paid to Barnsley for striker Carlton Morris in 2022, and the highest fees received is the £8 million fee paid by Leicester City for Luton-born James Justin, in 2019. The highest attendance recorded at Kenilworth Road was 30,069 for the visit of Blackpool in 1959. One Football League record is held by a Luton Town player—the 10 goals scored by forward Joe Payne in 1936 against Bristol Rovers is the most scored in any Football League match by a single player.
All records are correct as of the 2022–23 season.
Luton Town have won some major honours in English football. The club reached its first major final in 1959, when the team reached the FA Cup Final, and the 1988 Football League Cup Final was the side's first major cup victory. The team have also won a Football League Trophy (in 2008–09) and finished as runners-up in the Full Members Cup and Football League Cup (in 1987–88 and 1988–89 respectively). [1]
Luton Town have won all three of the present Football League divisions, and have achieved promotion as runners-up on four other occasions. Outside of the League, the club have finished as runners-up in the Southern League twice in a row (starting in 1894–95), runners-up in the United League in 1896–97, and United League champions in 1897–98. More recently, the club were crowned as Conference Premier champions in the 2013–14 season.
Luton Town were the first club to be relegated from the top division to the fourth (relegated from First Division in 1959–60, started playing in Fourth Division in 1965–66) and then subsequently win promotion back to the top flight (promoted from Fourth Division in 1968–69 and started playing in First Division in 1974–75).
Uniquely, the club won the Football League Trophy and were relegated from the Football League in the same season.
# | Name | Nation | Years | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other [C] | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bob Morton | England | 1948–64 ¤ | 495 (0) | 48 (0) | 7 (0) | 12 (0) | 562 (0) |
2 | Fred Hawkes | England | 1899–1920 ¤ | 509 (0) | 40 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 549 (0) |
3 | Ricky Hill | England | 1975–89 | 429 (7) | 33 (0) | 37 (1) | 0 (0) | 499 (8) |
4 | Brian Stein | England | 1977–88 1991–92 |
411 (16) | 31 (0) | 34 (1) | 3 (0) | 479 (17) |
5 | Mal Donaghy | Northern Ireland | 1978–88 1989–90 |
415 (0) | 36 (0) | 34 (0) | 3 (0) | 488 (0) |
6 | Gordon Turner | England | 1949–64 | 406 (0) | 25 (0) | 7 (0) | 12 (0) | 450 (0) |
7 | Marvin Johnson | England | 1987–2002 ¤ | 352 (21) | 20 (1) | 27 (2) | 16 (1) | 415 (25) |
8 | Ron Baynham | England | 1952–65 | 388 (0) | 31 (0) | 5 (0) | 8 (0) | 432 (0) |
9 | Syd Owen | England | 1947–59 | 388 (0) | 27 (0) | 0 (0) | 8 (0) | 423 (0) |
10 | David Preece | England | 1984–95 | 328 (8) | 27 (0) | 23 (0) | 8 (0) | 386 (8) |
# | Name | Nation | Years | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other [C] | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gordon Turner | England | 1949–64 | 243 (406) | 18 (25) | 4 (7) | 11 (12) | 276 (450) |
2 | Andy Rennie | Scotland | 1925–34 | 147 (307) | 15 (26) | 0 (0) | 0 (2) | 162 (335) |
3 | Brian Stein | England | 1977–88 1991–92 |
130 (427) | 6 (31) | 15 (35) | 3 (3) | 154 (496) |
4 | Ernie Simms | England | 1913–15 1916–22 |
109 (160) | 13 (18) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 122 (178) |
5 | Herbert Moody | England | 1901–05 1907–12 |
93 (232) | 11 (15) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 104 (247) |
6 | Steve Howard | Scotland | 2001–06 | 96 (212) | 5 (8) | 2 (7) | 0 (1) | 103 (228) |
7= [D] | David Moss | England | 1978–85 | 88 (221) | 3 (8) | 3 (16) | 0 (0) | 94 (245) |
7= [D] | Jimmy Yardley | England | 1926–32 | 78 (173) | 16 (15) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 94 (188) |
9 | Mick Harford | England | 1984–90 1991–92 |
69 (168) | 10 (27) | 10 (17) | 3 (4) | 92 (216) |
10 | Joe Payne | England | 1934–38 | 83 (72) | 4 (5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 87 (77) |
# | Fee ( GBP) | Paid to | Name | Nation | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | £1,800,000 | Barnsley F.C. | Carlton Morris | England | 6 July 2022 | [17] |
2 | £1,200,000 | Rijeka | Simon Sluga | Croatia | 19 July 2019 | [18] |
3 | £850,000 | Odense Boldklub | Lars Elstrup | Denmark | 21 August 1989 | [19] |
4 | £750,000 | Burnley | Steve Davis | England | 13 July 1995 | [20] |
5 | £580,000 | West Ham United | Ian Feuer | United States | 16 December 1995 | [21] |
# | Fee (GBP) | Received from | Name | Nation | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | £8,000,000 | Leicester City | James Justin | England | 28 June 2019 | [22] |
2 | £4,000,000 | Bournemouth | Jack Stacey | England | 8 July 2019 | [23] |
3= [E] | £3,000,000 | West Bromwich Albion | Curtis Davies | England | 31 August 2005 | [24] |
3= [E] | £3,000,000 | Birmingham City | Rowan Vine | England | 11 January 2007 | [F] [25] |
4 | £2,750,000 | West Bromwich Albion | Leon Barnett | England | 26 July 2007 | [26] |
5 | £2,500,000 | Arsenal | John Hartson | Wales | 13 January 1995 | [27] |
Below is Luton Town's record in European competitions. As of the 2018–19 season, the only European competition the club have taken part in is the Anglo-Italian Cup, and they never progressed past the group stage of that tournament. Luton Town have also qualified for the UEFA Cup, as winners of the Football League Cup in 1987–88; however, they were unable to compete due to the ban of English clubs from European competitions following the Heysel Stadium Disaster. [74] [75] [76] [77] [78]
Season | Competition | Round | Date | Country | Club | Venue | Result [I] | Attendance | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972–73 | Anglo-Italian Cup | Group A | 7 March 1973 | Italy | Bari | Home | 4–0 | unknown | [55] |
21 March 1973 | Italy | Hellas Verona | Away | 1–2 | [55] | ||||
4 April 1973 | Italy | Fiorentina | Home | 1–0 | [55] | ||||
2 May 1973 | Italy | Lazio | Away | 2–2 | [55] | ||||
1988–89 | UEFA Cup | Unable to compete due to ban on English clubs in UEFA competitions due to Heysel Stadium disaster | [J] [74] | ||||||
1992–93 | Anglo-Italian Cup | Group 5 | 15 September 1992 | England | Watford | Away | 0–0 | 5,197 | [79] |
29 September 1992 | England | Bristol City | Home | 1–1 | 2,538 | [79] | |||
1993–94 | Anglo-Italian Cup | Group 6 | 31 August 1993 | England | Watford | Away | 1–2 | 2,854 | [80] |
7 September 1993 | England | Southend United | Home | 1–1 | 1,823 | [80] | |||
1995–96 | Anglo-Italian Cup | Group A | 5 September 1995 | Italy | Perugia | Home | 1–4 | 2,352 | [68] |
11 October 1995 | Italy | Genoa | Away | 0–4 | 3,759 | [68] | |||
8 November 1995 | Italy | Cesena | Away | 1–2 | 461 | [68] | |||
13 December 1995 | Italy | Ancona | Home | 5–0 | 2,091 | [68] |
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for |
Goals against | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anglo-Italian Cup | against English clubs | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
against Italian clubs | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 14 | |
Total | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 18 |
Opposition nationality | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for |
Goals against |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
English | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Overseas | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 |
Total | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 6 |
Opposition nationality | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for |
Goals against |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
English | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Overseas | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
Total | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
General
Specific
A last-minute strike from Brian Stein saw [Luton] Town finally overcome Arsenal 3–2 at Wembley in a see-saw thriller in which Arsenal, leading 2–1, were awarded a penalty, which was brilliantly saved by Andy Dibble, before [Luton] Town came storming back, leading to skipper Steve Foster lifting the Littlewoods Cup.
Arsenal led 2–1 with 10 minutes left when Andy Dibble, Luton's reserve keeper, saved a Nigel Winterburn penalty ... This equaliser was scrambled in [when] Brian [Stein] hit the ball across the face of the box. Danny Wilson nodded it in. In the final minute, Brian Stein's close-range volley snatched victory.
[A] UEFA Cup spot is ... offered to the [League Cup] winner