A friend threw a pub quiz-style question at me today: “How many sets of brothers can you name who have both played football in the English First Division (or Premier League)?” It’s a good one, and I have to admit my answer was quite pathetic, drying up at around two or three. Later, I went online to try to find some more, and was amazed to find that there are dozens, possibly hundreds. One list gave over 20 pairs of brothers who both played for England!. There were also good references from the Daily Mirror and The Times.
If you have any corrections or additions to this list, I’d be delighted to read your comments at the bottom.
So here we go, not in any particular order, but perhaps starting with the greatest sets of brothers of all, and a few sets of more than two brothers!
Bobby and Jack Charlton
Nearly 1,600 club appearances between them, and a World Cup Final for good measure.
Denis and Leslie Compton
Denis may have been one of the greatest all-rounders in sporting history, but Leslie made 253 Arsenal appearances to Denis’s 54.
Danny and Jackie Blanchflower
Jackie’s career for Manchester United was cut short by injuries from the team’s Munich air crash, while elder brother Danny is widely regarded as Spurs’ greatest ever player.
Allan, Frank, Derek and Wayne Clarke
Allan scored over 100 goals for Leeds, Frank appeared in Division One for Ipswich, Derek made five top-flight appearances for Wolves, and Wayne was in the championship-winning Everton team of 1987. A fifth brother, Kelvin, appeared for Walsall but never played at the top level.
Bob, Peter and Dave Latchford
Peter and Dave were both goalkeepers, playing in Division One for WBA and Birmingham City respectively, while middle brother Bob scored over 200 goals in hais career, notably for Birmingham City and Everton.
Danny, Ray and Rod Wallace
Actually played in the Southampton team together in 1988.
Jacky, William and George Carr
All played in the same team, Middlesbrough, in 1920.
John and Justin Fashanu
Justin was the one remembered for his goal of the season and for being Britain’s first million-pound black footballer, but John got the England caps.
Gary and Phil Neville
Their 800 club appearances and over 140 England caps seem great in this modern age, but I guess they ain’t no Bobby and Jack.
Xabi and Mikel Alonso
A pairing who scrape in thanks to Mikel’s 7 appearances for Bolton.
Rio and Anton Ferdinand
Both started at West Ham, but Rio moved on to greater things.
Shaun and Bradley Wright-Phillips
Half-brothers; Bradley managed about 40 appearances for Manchester City in the mid-noughties.
Fabio and Rafael Da Silva
Only 30 appearances for Manchester United so far between them, but time is on their side.
John and Charles Sutcliffe
John was the goalkeeper for Bolton Wanderers in the 1894 FA Cup Final, and Charles turned out for Sheffield United an incredible 31 years later.
Clive and Bradley Allen
Bradley played for several seasons in the top flight for QPR, while Clive famously played for almost every club in England. Cousins Paul and Martin also played in Division One, but weren’t brothers.
Kolo and Yaya Toure
Yaya came to Manchester City to join his brother Kolo in 2010.
Luke and Stefan Moore
Both played Premier League football for Aston Villa, Stefan only making 22 appearances.
Paul and Ron Futcher
Division One appearances with Luton and Manchester City in the seventies for the twins.
Mark and Brian Stein
Not the only pairing to start out at Luton.
Ron and Peter Springett
Successive Sheffield Wednesday goalkeepers as one swapped for the other in a transfer deal in 1967.
Ray and Dean Wilkins?
I’m not sure whether any of Dean’s appearances for QPR or Brighton were in the First Division.
Jimmy and Brian Greenhoff
Jimmy made nearly 300 appearances for Manchester United and Leeds United, and Brian made nearly 500 appearances at the top level, with the two playing in the same Manchester United team for three years in the late 70s.
Stephen and Gary Caldwell
Both players began their careers at Newcastle United and have ended up with each other again at Wigan Athletic.
Dean and David Holdsworth
The twins who have managed against each other also played a single game in the same Bolton Wanderers side in 2002, as well as making top-level appearances for other sides.
In addition to the above, the following sets of brothers, most of who were unknown to me, all played for England, no less, at one time or another!
Arthur, Charles and Ernest Bambridge
Billy and Charles Clegg
Bertie and Rex Corbett
Arthur and Harry Cursham
Alf and Charley Dobson
Frank and Fred Forman
Fred and Jack Hargreaves
Frank and Hubert Heron
Alex Leake and Jimmy Windridge
Alfred and Ed Lyttelton
Frank and Reg Osbourne
Charlie and Tom Perry
Herbert and William Rawson
Alf and Charlie Shelton
Jack and Sep Smith
Clem and George Stephenson
AG and Robert Topham
Arthur and Percy Walters
Clause and Geoffrey Wilson
29 Comments
Andrew Bartlett
Ian and Roger Morgan were twins who played on opposite wings for QPR in the late 60s. Roger was sold to Spurs for something like £100,000 – huge fee at the time. I remember reading about it in Goal magazine.
mark
…and Shola and Sammy Ameobi
Colin Edwicke
George and Ted Robledo. Both played for Barnsley and were both transferred to Newcastle United together. Newcastle only wanted George but the brothers wouldn’t be separated. Both appeared in the 1952 FA Cup final, the first time more than one foreign player had appeared in a cup final.
K Stand Ken
Martin Buchan’s younger brother George played in the same Manchester United team on at least one occasion – I think it was in the 70s/80s.
George was nowhere near as good as his brother, his performances were described as that of a ‘Cheshire League dasher.’
S J Little`
…did not two Claptons play for Arsenal?
Spencer the Halfwit
You’ve forgotten John and Mel Charles. Mel played 60 matches for Arsenal between 1959 and 1962 (as well as playing for both Swansea and Cardiff, while John is the greatest player ever produced by Wales.
john marshall
peter and cyril knowles wolves and spurs
john marshall
terry /kenny hibbert leeds/wolves
Mark
Ray Wilkins had another brother Graham who also played Division 1 football for Chelsea
Dan
Did you mean Ray and Graham Wilkins?
gaz batty
jeff and jim whitely played for man city in the 1980 s
mary steel
My grandfather was Danny Steel, he was captain of Tottenham Hotspur and played between 1908-1912, his brother Robert was with the club from 1908-1915, and their brother Alec played there in 1910. I think they were the first three brothers to play for the same team.
tudor lewis
Ivor and Len Allchurch played together for Swansea and Wales. Ivor – who also played for Newcastle and Cardiff – rates as one of the greatest inside forwards Britain has ever produced. Pele is quoted as saying he was the best player in the 1958 World Cup.
Gary Satterthwaite
My Great GrandFather, Charles Oliver “Charlie” Satterthwaite (1877 – May 1948), was an English football player.
Born in Cockermouth, Cumberland, Satterthwaite played as a youth for local sides Black Diamond and Workington before joining Football League side Bury in 1896, moving to Burton Swifts a year later. A striker known for his powerful shooting, he made enough of a name for himself to be signed by Liverpool in 1899.
He made his Liverpool debut away to Nottingham Forest on 16 December 1899, and scored on his home debut against Glossop North End on 23 December. He continued to play for Liverpool that season, scoring five goals in 18 matches, and scored five in 22 matches the following season as Liverpool won the 1900–01 First Division title. However, after losing his place early in the 1901–02 season, he moved on to New Brompton (later renamed Gillingham) and then Southern League side Thames Ironworks (who later became West Ham United) in the 1903 close season.
After a season at the Irons, scoring 18 goals in 36 matches,[1] Satterthwaite joined Woolwich Arsenal in the summer of 1904, with Arsenal having just been promoted to the First Division. Satterthwaite made his debut in Arsenal’s very first top-flight match, away to Newcastle United on 3 September 1904; Arsenal lost 3–0. On 24 September 1904, Satterthwaite scored Arsenal’s very first goal in the top flight, in a 2–0 win over Wolves.
Satterthwaite was a first-team regular for Woolwich Arsenal for the next three seasons; although the newly-promoted club were unable to challenge for the First Division title, they made a strong showing in the FA Cup, reaching the semi-finals in 1905–06 and 1906–07. Satterthwaite was Arsenal’s top scorer in both the 1904–05 and 1906–07 seasons with 11 and 19 goals, respectively. However, his age was catching up with him and between 1907 and 1910 he played fewer first-team matches. Nevertheless, upon his retirement in the summer of 1910 at the age of 33, he had played 141 matches for Arsenal, scoring 48 goals.
He died in 1948, aged 70. His brother, Joe Satterthwaite, also played for Woolwich Arsenal (making them the first pair of brothers to do so), although he was mainly a reserve player, only playing 5 first-class matches. Surely these 2 must be the first?
Danny WAFC Bublé
Don’t forget the Hazard brothers at Chelsea…
…the Riise brothers at Fulham…
…and have we missed the Neville brothers?
I’m not sure if Tommy Amos (Wigan) and Ben Amos (Man U) are brothers.
Wayne ormston
Eddie and Frankie Gray: two of Leeds United’s greatest.
Colin Burgess
What about Gary andDave Bennett?
Eric buckle
The Howdy brothers, one for Newcastle, one for Sunderland.
guy morecroft
Jack, George and Jimmy Milburn all played for Leeds. Fourth brother Stan played for Leicester.
Brendan somers
Noel and Stephen Hunt
Eric Olthwiate
A bit of info about Clem Stephenson, who is mentioned above, who is a bit of a legend. Winner of three FA Cups (two with Aston Villa, one with Huddersfield Town), and captain of Herbert Chapman’s Huddersfield team that won three successive league titles in the 1920s.
Even more interesting than that, his son, grandson, nephew and dog were all also named Clem.
maggie wheeler
Martin and Marcus Ollson played for Blackburn Rovers
Peter sells
Ron & Allan Harris Chelsea fc.late 60s early 70s.
Aimee
Gavin and Justin Hoyte both played for Arsenal at the same time, Gavin was at arsenal for 5 years but only had 1 appearance at premier league level , as was on loan for most of the time, justin was more prolific with 34 apps over 6 years at prem league but 68 overall, interestingly both played for England but not in the senior team and they both ended up being capped for the Trinidad and Tobago national team as are were eligible to do so.
Andrew Vause
Ian and Glynn Snodin.
Martin and George Buchan
Chris and Ron Guthrie
Dave and Alex Watson
Neil and Bruce Rioch
Alan and Brian Little
John and Dave Hollins
Martyn and Viv Busby
Chris and Tony Galvin
Frank,Dave, Bob Wothington
Frank, Wayne,Allan. Derek and Kelvin Clarke.
Bryan and Gary Robson
Andy, David and Brian Linighan
Steve and Alan Buckley
Craig and Chris Short
Peter and Paul Shirtliffe
Bill and Eric Gates
John and Billy Hughes
Jack and Bobby Charlton.
Ian and David Brightwell
Darren and Jason Beckford
David and Gary Flitcroft
Andrew Vause
Some more
Brian and Jimmy Greenhoff
Mark and Nev Chamberlain
Tony and Kim Book
Mick and Olly Kearns
Kevin and Gary Mabbutt
Bill Sturrock
Ted and George Robledo both of Newcastle United. Both played in the 1952 cup final win against Arsenal.
Darren Hogg
George and Ted Robledo Newcastle in the 50’s Shola and Sammy Ameobi Newcastle and Sean and Matty Longstaff Newcastle
John DRAPER
Denis and Danny Clapton, brothers, played for Arsenal at Bloomfield Road versus Blackpool in the First Division in November 1960. A 1-1 draw. They were the last two brothers to play in the same first team match for the Gunners. How do I know ? Firstly it’s buried in the Arsenal website. Secondly, Denis is my next door neighbour ! Ironically, I’m a current Spurs season ticket holder whose first game attended was in 1958. The sad part is that because Denis was only a very late call up for the Arsenal on the saturday, he did not feature in the match programme as in those days they were printed three days beforehand.