Legends

Wrexham AFC have a rich history as the oldest football club in Wales and a list of legends to suit. The Red Dragons have also enjoyed success over the years with a collection of trophies.

The Racecourse Ground outfit’s story dates all the way back to 1864 and has featured a host of iconic names. Legends of the game like Ian Rush and Sir Stanley Matthews have appeared for Wrexham. But Chris Armstrong and Alan Kennedy were legends of Wrexham’s own right.

Tommy Bamford is also the record league goalscorer in Wrexham AFC’s club history after his 175 between 1928 and 1934. He scored 209 times with the Red Dragons in all competitions, as well. Now, he features in The Wrexham Insider’s top 10 Wrexham AFC legends of all time.

Tommy Bamford

Being Wrexham AFC’s record goalscorer, Bamford is naturally among the Red Dragons’ top 10 legends of all time. His output also secured the striker the club’s record for goals over one campaign. He hit home an amazing 44 goals across the 1933/34 Division Three North term.

Bamford enjoyed a remarkable hit rate for Wrexham having amassed his tally of 209 goals in just 241 appearances. He also started his league career with the Red Dragons after playing in local divisions around South Wales before he arrived at the Racecourse Ground, aged 23.

But going from local leagues to being a Wrexham AFC legend saw Bamford earn the interest of Manchester United. He would head to Old Trafford in 1934 and enjoyed four years before returning to Wales with Swansea Town. He also helped the Red Devils to a Division Two title.

Wrexham was where Bamford settled, though, and he returned to make his home after World War II. The striker also remained based in Queen’s Park until his passing aged 62. Wrexham AFC also honoured Bamford’s legend by naming a suite at the Racecourse Ground after him.

Joey Jones

Joey Jones just could not stay away from Wrexham AFC after enjoying not one, not two, not three but four spells at the Racecourse Ground. The last of his spells at the Red Dragons was also as their caretaker coach during 2001. He stood in between Brian Flynn and Denis Smith.

The defender became synonymous with the club and served as a coach in Wrexham AFC’s academy, as well. It saw Jones give back to the path he once trod having broken through via the Red Dragons’ youth fold in 1973. He made his Wrexham AFC first-team debut aged 17.

Jones’ efforts for Wrexham would see him secure a transfer to the left-back’s boyhood team, Liverpool, in 1975. But he returned in 1978 for £210k, a club record fee that stood until Ollie Palmer left AFC Wimbledon in 2022 for £300k. For the fee, Wrexham got another four years.

Chelsea, this time, would break Jones’ bond with Wrexham AFC in 1982. But he returned in 1987 following a spell with Huddersfield Town to see out the Llandudno native’s career with the Red Dragons. It also took him to 479 appearances across Jones’ three spells as a player.

Chris Armstrong

Armstrong was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and moved to London when he was just three years old. But the striker owes Wrexham AFC for the career he would enjoy after joining the Red Dragons in 1989. He also headed back to the Racecourse Ground before his retirement.

Wrexham AFC picked Armstrong up at the end of his youth after honing his trade with local village side, Llay Welfare. The following two terms saw the striker catch Millwall’s attention after scoring 16 goals in 70 appearances. Of his haul, 13 goals came over 60 league outings.

His life back in London would not be what Armstrong hoped for as he left Millwall after two seasons. But three campaigns with Crystal Palace returned 57 goals over 136 fixtures and a move to Tottenham Hotspur. He also had his only outing for England’s B-Team during 1994.

Armstrong would call north London his home from 1995 to 2002 and offered Spurs 62 goals in 173 games. A brief and unsuccessful spell at Bolton Wanderers then followed before the forward returned to Wrexham. He would enjoy a further 65 appearances with eight goals.

Mickey Thomas

Born in Mochdre, Conwy in 1954, Micky Thomas broke through with Wrexham AFC in 1972 and quickly gained a key role. He would amass 283 appearances over the first eight seasons of his career. The winger also helped the club to promotion from the Third Division in 1978.

But Thomas hitting the ground running by scoring six goals in 16 Second Division games saw Manchester United move. He had also earlier helped Wrexham AFC into the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals. But Thomas’ greatest Wrexham moment was still to come.

After spells at Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion, Stoke City, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion, Derby County, Shrewsbury Town, Leeds United and the Potters again, Thomas returned to Wrexham in 1991. His transfer would be for the last two campaigns of the forward’s career.

Yet age was not going to stop Thomas from helping Wrexham AFC stun Arsenal in the 1992 FA Cup. The Gunners visited the Racecourse Ground in the third round. But they returned to north London with their tails between their legs following a 2-1 defeat despite leading 1-0.

Thomas drew Wrexham AFC level in the 82nd minute after Alan Smith’s 43rd-minute opener. A surge of momentum firmly sat with the Red Dragons after his goal as Steve Watkin would net the winner in the 84th. Thomas was 37 years old at the time but delivered for Wrexham.

Alan Kennedy

Kennedy only spent a term at Wrexham AFC at the tail end of the Liverpool legend’s career. But the defender etched his name on the pages of the Red Dragons’ history books, too. He became a hero at the Racecourse Ground after helping them avoid relegation in 1989/90.

Wrexham AFC stared down the barrel of falling out of the Football League during a sudden bad season. They had ended the 1988/89 campaign in seventh place but plummeted down the table. Yet Kennedy and co kept them afloat and Wrexham earned promotion in 1992/93.

It would be Kennedy’s only campaign at Wrexham AFC before he continued a nomadic part of the Englishman’s career. Far from the eight seasons he spent at Anfield that saw Liverpool win five First Division titles, two European Cups and four EFL Cups between 1978 and 1986.

Gareth Davies

Alvan Williams turned to Gareth Davies whilst looking to bolster Wrexham AFC’s defence in 1967 and discovered a legend. The Bangor native had only played youth-level football with Llandudno and Colwyn Bay before featuring for the Red Dragons but stayed there until 1983.

His 16 years at the Racecourse Ground ended with a brief move to Wrexham-based side, Lex Glyndwr XI. But it was for Wrexham AFC that Davies became a legend with 612 appearances. He also captained them and had a testimonial in 1979 with George Best one of those to play.

Wrexham AFC recognised Davies’ performances through his first 12 years at the Racecourse Ground after the centre-back reached his peak. The Welshman won the team’s Player of the Season award for the 1977/78 term. It was also in 1978 that he earned his three Cymru caps.

Davies had earlier featured for Wales’ Under-23s and is one of Wrexham AFC’s greatest-ever legends. He played an instrumental role in the club’s 1977/78 Division Three title triumph to reach Division Two for the first time. He also lifted the 77/78 FAW Cup and Debenhams Cup.

Darren Ferguson

Darren Ferguson might have established his own name away from being Sir Alex Ferguson’s son as a manager elsewhere. But it was at Wrexham AFC where Ferguson became a legend on the pitch. He enjoyed 356 appearances for the club and captained the Red Dragons, too.

It was also over Ferguson’s spell as the skipper that the Racecourse Ground side added the 04/05 Football League Trophy to Wrexham AFC’s trophy history. He lifted the trophy at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff after scoring their second in a 2-0 win over Southend United.

Ferguson also helped Wrexham win four FAW Premier Cup titles during his storied spell with the club. The titles added a silver lining to a career some onlookers only remember for failing at Manchester United. Ferguson also enjoyed a lengthy spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Carlos Edwards

Despite his inauspicious start at the Racecourse Ground under Flynn, Carlos Edwards still became a Wrexham AFC legend. The Trinidadian international made his big move to Europe with the Red Dragons in 2000. While the following seasons would see him make 197 outings.

Edwards also started in the 2004/05 Football League Trophy final as Wrexham won the title for the first time. His dazzling displays as a wing-back had also helped the Red Dragons gain promotion out of Division Three in 2002/03. But he would depart following their relegation.

Luton Town leapt at their chance to sign Edwards upon Wrexham AFC falling back into the fourth tier. His career would also take the defender to Sunderland and Ipswich Town before returning to Trinidad in 2016. Edwards returned to England in 2017 and joined Bury in 2020.

Gary Bennett

Gary Bennett produced an incredible hit rate to establish himself as a Wrexham AFC legend. The striker hit 114 goals in just 177 games across two spells at the Racecourse Ground. Flynn brought the Kirkby, Lancashire-born attacker back to North Wales for a brief period in 1997.

Flynn had initially signed Bennett from Chester City in 1992. The striker had never displayed a prolific hit rate with his previous clubs, including Wigan Athletic and Southend United. But he was a sensation at the Racecourse Ground to show what their rivals had let out the door.

Tranmere Rovers would eventually pay Wrexham £300k to sign Bennett in 1995. The forward sought a move away after the Red Dragons failed to make the Division Two play-offs. Yet the goals he had hit more than made Bennett a legend of Wrexham and one who joined for free.

Fans also affectionally nicknamed Bennett, Psycho, for his direct style of play and never say die attitude. While his 16 goals during the 1992/93 season helped to secure promotion from Division Three. Flynn even re-signed Bennett on the eve of the FA Cup quarter-final in 1997.

Karl Connolly

Flynn ushered Karl Connolly into the Wrexham AFC first-team in 1991 and would oversee his career at the Racecourse Ground. The forward ultimately moved on in 2000 to join Queens Park Rangers. But he never found a home like Wrexham AFC at Swansea City or Cefn Druids.

A scout working for Wrexham discovered Connolly whilst the winger played for Napoli in the Liverpool Sunday League. But Flynn would find more in the forward at striker after Bennett’s departure in 1995. Connolly also helped to some of Wrexham’s finest results in the FA Cup.

Connolly enjoyed 476 appearances for the Red Dragons during his nine years with the club. The attacker also boasted 122 goals to earn a move to QPR at the end of his contract. But it was with Wrexham AFC where Connolly was at his best working at the top of Flynn’s attack.

The Prescot native helped Wrexham AFC go all the way to the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1997. Flynn’s side eliminated West Ham United, Peterborough United and Birmingham City in the earlier rounds. Connolly had also helped Wrexham AFC stun Arsenal in the FA Cup in 1992.