Burnley Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Burnley, Lancashire. Founded on 18 May 1882, the club was one of the first to become professional (in 1883), putting pressure on the Football Association (FA) to permit payments to players. In 1885, the FA legalised professionalism, so the team entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1885âÂÂ86, and were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888âÂÂ89. Burnley have played in all four professional divisions of English football from 1888 to the present day. The team have been champions of England twice, in 1920âÂÂ21 and 1959âÂÂ60, have won the FA Cup once, in 1913âÂÂ14, and have won the FA Charity Shield twice, in 1960 and 1973. Burnley are one of only five teams to have won all four professional divisions of English football, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Portsmouth. They were the second to achieve this by winning the Fourth Division in the 1991âÂÂ92 season.
The list encompasses the honours won by Burnley, records set by the club, its managers and its players. The record for most games played for the club is held by Jerry Dawson, who made 569 appearances between 1907 and 1928. George Beel scored 188 goals during his Burnley career and is the club's record goalscorer. William Tait scored Burnley's first hat-trick in the Football League in 1888, which was also the first league hat-trick worldwide. Jimmy McIlroy made 51 appearances for Northern Ireland and so is the player who gained the most caps while with Burnley. The highest transfer fee paid by the club is the circa ã23 million paid to Chelsea for Lesley Ugochukwu in 2025; the highest fee received is the ã31 million paid by Manchester City for James Trafford in 2025. The highest attendance recorded at home ground Turf Moor was 54,775 for the visit of Huddersfield Town in a third round FA Cup match in 1924.
During the 2024âÂÂ25 season, Burnley matched or broke several English league records, including the best defensive record in history (16 goals conceded in 46 matches, an average of 0.35 per game), the joint-most clean sheets (30, equalling Port Vale's 1953âÂÂ54 side), becoming the first team to avoid conceding more than one goal in any league fixture, and the first to gain at least 100 points in a specific division (EFL Championship) on two occasions (101 in 2022âÂÂ23 and 100 in 2024âÂÂ25).
All records and statistics are correct as of the 2024âÂÂ25 season.
Honours and achievements
Burnley won their first honour in 1883, when they won the Dr Dean's Cup, a knockout competition between amateur clubs in the Burnley area. The club turned professional by the end of 1883, and was one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888. Burnley reached their first major final in 1914, beating Liverpool 1âÂÂ0 in the FA Cup final. Burnley have been champions of England two times, in 1920âÂÂ21 and 1959âÂÂ60, and have won the Charity Shield twice, in 1960 and 1973. The side have competed in one of the four professional levels of English football from 1888 to the present day. They were the second, and are one of only five teams to have won all four tiers, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Portsmouth. Burnley's honours include the following:
League
First Division (Tier 1)
Second Division/Championship (Tier 2)
Third Division/Second Division (Tier 3)
Fourth Division (Tier 4)
Cup
FA Cup
FA Charity Shield
Texaco Cup
Anglo-Scottish Cup
Associate Members' Cup
Budapest Cup
Allison Trophy
Regional
Lancashire Cup
- Winners (13): 1889âÂÂ90, 1914âÂÂ15, 1949âÂÂ50, 1951âÂÂ52, 1959âÂÂ60, 1960âÂÂ61, 1961âÂÂ62, 1964âÂÂ65, 1965âÂÂ66, 1969âÂÂ70, 1971âÂÂ72, 1992âÂÂ93, 2022âÂÂ23
- RunnersâÂÂup (15): 1899âÂÂ1900, 1900âÂÂ01, 1901âÂÂ02, 1910âÂÂ11, 1911âÂÂ12, 1929âÂÂ30, 1940âÂÂ41, 1945âÂÂ46, 1956âÂÂ57, 1967âÂÂ68, 1985âÂÂ86, 2018âÂÂ19, 2021âÂÂ22, 2023âÂÂ24, 2024âÂÂ25
Dr Dean's Cup
Hospital Cup
- Winners: 1883âÂÂ84, 1887âÂÂ88, 1889âÂÂ90
East Lancashire Charity Cup
- Winners (14): 1892âÂÂ93, 1893âÂÂ94, 1898âÂÂ99, 1904âÂÂ05, 1905âÂÂ06, 1906âÂÂ07, 1907âÂÂ08, 1911âÂÂ12, 1914âÂÂ15, 1919âÂÂ20, 1920âÂÂ21, 1921âÂÂ22, 1923âÂÂ24 (shared), 1927âÂÂ28 (shared)
- RunnersâÂÂup (7): 1890âÂÂ91, 1901âÂÂ02, 1910âÂÂ11, 1922âÂÂ23, 1925âÂÂ26, 1926âÂÂ27, 1928âÂÂ29
Club records
Season records
- Most league wins in a season: 29 in 46 matches, Championship, 2022âÂÂ23
- Fewest league wins in a season: 4 in 22 matches, Football League, 1889âÂÂ90
- Most league draws in a season: 17 in 46 matches, Third Division, 1981âÂÂ82
- Fewest league draws in a season: 3 in 22 matches, Football League, 1888âÂÂ89 and 1890âÂÂ91
- Most league defeats in a season: 24 in 38 matches, Premier League, 2009âÂÂ10 and 2023âÂÂ24
- Fewest league defeats in a season: 2 in 30 matches, Second Division, 1897âÂÂ98 and Championship, 2024âÂÂ25
Points
- Most points in a season:
- Two points for a win: 62 in 42 matches, Second Division, 1972âÂÂ73
- Three points for a win: 101 in 46 matches, Championship, 2022âÂÂ23
- Fewest points in a season:
- Two points for a win: 13 in 22 matches, Football League, 1889âÂÂ90
- Three points for a win: 24 in 38 matches, Premier League, 2023âÂÂ24
Goals
- Most league goals scored in a season: 102 in 42 matches, First Division, 1960âÂÂ61
- Fewest league goals scored in a season: 28 in 38 matches, Premier League, 2014âÂÂ15
- Most league goals conceded in a season: 108 in 42 matches, First Division, 1925âÂÂ26
- Fewest league goals conceded in a season: 16 in 46 matches, Championship, 2024âÂÂ25
Clean sheets
- Most clean sheets in a league season: 30 in 46 matches, Championship, 2024âÂÂ25
- Longest run without conceding a goal (league): 12 matches (1,214 minutes); 26 December 2024 to 21 February 2025, Championship
Match records
Firsts
- First recorded match: Burnley 4âÂÂ0 Burnley Wanderers, friendly, 10 August 1882
- First match at Turf Moor: Burnley 3âÂÂ6 Rawtenstall, 17 February 1883
- First FA Cup match: Darwen Old Wanderers 11âÂÂ0 Burnley, first round, 17 October 1885
- First league match: Preston North End 5âÂÂ2 Burnley, 8 September 1888
- First League Cup match: Cardiff City 0âÂÂ4 Burnley, second round, 24 October 1960
- First European Cup match: Burnley 2âÂÂ0 Stade de Reims, second round, 16 November 1960
Record wins
- Record win: Burnley 15âÂÂ0 Haydock, Lancashire Cup, second round, 20 January 1890
- Record league win: Burnley 9âÂÂ0 Darwen, Football League, 9 January 1892
- Record away win: Tananarive 1âÂÂ14 Burnley, in Madagascar, friendly, 9 May 1954
- Record league away win: Birmingham 1âÂÂ7 Burnley, First Division, 10 April 1926
- Record FA Cup win:
- Burnley 9âÂÂ0 Crystal Palace, second round, 10 February 1909
- Burnley 9âÂÂ0 New Brighton, fourth round, 26 January 1957
- Penrith 0âÂÂ9 Burnley, first round, 17 November 1984
- Record League Cup win: Burnley 6âÂÂ0 Grimsby Town, second round, 10 September 1968
- Record European win: Burnley 5âÂÂ0 Lausanne-Sports, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup second round, 25 October 1966
Record defeats
- Record defeat: Darwen Old Wanderers 11âÂÂ0 Burnley, FA Cup first round, 17 October 1885
- Record league defeat:
- Aston Villa 10âÂÂ0 Burnley, First Division, 29 August 1925
- Sheffield United 10âÂÂ0 Burnley, First Division, 19 January 1929
- Record league home defeat:
- Burnley 1âÂÂ7 Blackburn Rovers, Football League, 3 November 1888
- Burnley 0âÂÂ6 Hereford United, Fourth Division, 24 January 1987
- Burnley 0âÂÂ6 Manchester City, Second Division (third tier), 9 March 1999
- Record League Cup defeat: Manchester City 5âÂÂ0 Burnley, first round, 11 August 1999
- Record European defeat: Hamburger SV 4âÂÂ1 Burnley, European Cup quarter-final, 15 March 1961
Streaks
- Longest winning streak (all competitions): 11 matches; 16 November 1912 to 18 January 1913, Second Division (10 matches) and FA Cup (one match)
- Longest winning streak at home (all competitions): 18 matches; 6 September 1920ÃÂ toÃÂ 2 April 1921, First Division (17 matches) and FA Cup (one match)
- Longest winning streak from home (all competitions): 7 matches; 12 October 1991 to 1 January 1992, Fourth Division (six matches) and FA Cup (one match)
- Longest unbeaten run (league): 33 matches; 7 November 2024 to 3 May 2025, Championship
- Longest unbeaten run (top tier): 30 matches; 6 September 1920 to 25 March 1921, First Division
- Longest unbeaten run at home (league): 34 matches; 1 April 1911 to 4 January 1913, Second Division
- Longest unbeaten run from home (league): 16 matches; from 7 November 2024 to 26 April 2025, Championship
- Longest drawing streak (league): 6 matches; 21 February to 28 March 1931, Second Division
- Longest losing streak (league): 8 matches;
- 9 November 1889 to 22 February 1890, Football League
- 16 March to 2 September 1895, First Division
- 2 January to 25 February 1995, First Division (second tier)
- Longest streak without a win (league): 24 matches; 16 April to 17 November 1979, Second Division
- Longest scoring run (league): 31 matches; 16 August 2022 toÃÂ 25 February 2023, Championship
- Longest non-scoring run (league): 6 matches;
- 9 August to 7 September 1997, Second Division (third tier)
- 23 December 2006 to 30 January 2007, Championship
- 21 March to 2 May 2015, Premier League
Attendances
Managerial records
- First full-time manager: Harry Bradshaw; August 1894 to June 1899
- Longest serving manager (time and games): Harry Potts; 745 competitive matches, February 1958 to February 1970 and February 1977 to October 1979
- First manager from outside England: Frank Hill; Scottish, managed the club for 257 competitive matches from October 1948 to August 1954
- Most wins: Harry Potts; 321 competitive matches (from 745)
Player records
Award winners
Appearances
Most appearances
Competitive first-team appearances only; substitute appearances appear in parentheses; they are in addition to the figures before the brackets and are not included within them.
âÂÂPlayed their full career at Burnley
Goalscorers
- Most goals in a season in all competitions: 37 goals;
- Jimmy Robson (25 in the First Division, five in the FA Cup, four in the League Cup, and three in the European Cup), 1960âÂÂ61
- Willie Irvine (29 in the First Division, five in the FA Cup, and three in the League Cup), 1965âÂÂ66
- Most league goals in a season: George Beel â 35, First Division, 1927âÂÂ28
- Most goals in a league match: Louis Page â 6, versus Birmingham away (First Division, 10 April 1926)
- Most consecutive matches scored in: 8 â Ray Pointer (First Division and FA Cup, 29 November 1958 to 14 January 1959) and Charlie Austin (Championship and League Cup, 15 September 2012 to 23 October 2012)
- Most seasons as top goalscorer: George Beel â 6, 1923âÂÂ24, 1926âÂÂ27, 1927âÂÂ28, 1928âÂÂ29, 1930âÂÂ31, 1931âÂÂ32
- Most goals on debut: Ian Lawson â 4, versus Chesterfield (FA Cup third round, 5 January 1957)
- First goal in the FA Cup: Walter Place, versus Astley Bridge away (first round, 23 October 1886)
- First goal in league football: Pat Gallocher (21st minute), versus Preston North End away (Football League, 8 September 1888)
- First hat-trick (league): William Tait, versus Bolton Wanderers away (Football League, 15 September 1888)
- Most hat-tricks: George Beel â 11, between 1923 and 1931
- Fastest hat-trick: Louis Page â 3 minutes, versus Birmingham away (First Division, 10 April 1926)
Overall scorers
Competitive first-team matches only; appearances including substitute appearances appear in parentheses and italics.
Internationals
Transfers
Notes
References
Specific
General