The current Wrexham squad is full of heroes, and potentially even players capable of holding legendary status, but one former player truly made history back in the 1990s.
Now, under Phil Parkinson’s stewardship — and with a little help from Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney — Wrexham are flying in League One after two successive promotions to escape non-league football.
Whether the Red Dragons get promoted or not this season, players like Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer, and Elliot Lee are still likely to go down in Wrexham folklore for their roles in the incredible rise through the leagues.
But, as we look back through the Wrexham history books, an equally fascinating character has a brilliant story to tell, which ultimately led to him making a record-breaking transfer away from Wales.
How Bryan Hughes made Wrexham £1m thanks to FA Cup run
Speaking to The Leader about his time with the club, Wrexham legend Bryan Hughes reflected on his role in the incredible FA Cup run of the 1996/97 season, and how it helped his career take off.
He said: “That season gave me a bit more prominence. I scored in every round of the FA Cup and against high profile teams like West Ham and Birmingham. It was a fantastic run. We had a really good team.
“I think a year or so before, there were a couple of high profile clubs that were interested in me but it didn’t materialise. We had the cup run and we played Birmingham along the way, we performed really well on the day and beat them comfortably 3-1 on one of the greatest days of my Wrexham career.”
Obviously, Birmingham liked what they saw, and the Midlands outfit acted quickly to get a deal for Hughes over the line as soon as Wrexham had crashed out of the FA Cup, losing in the quarter-finals to Chesterfield.
He added: “I didn’t know anything about the move. I think it got kept under wraps because at that time, we were trying to earn as much money as possible from the FA Cup run. The club didn’t want it to be a distraction but as soon as you went out of the cup, I think it was all done.”
Hughes was sold for £1m, the first Wrexham player to attract such a fee. Ironically, he was bought by then-Birmingham manager Trevor Francis, who was the first player to make a £1m transfer back in 1979.
On that situation, Hughes said: “From such a low moment to then picking yourself up to go and speak to the first £1million player who was now a manager. It was a big challenge for me. I was only 20 years old at the time, but we thrashed out a deal.”
Bryan Hughes returned to Wrexham as manager
Once Hughes brought his playing career to an end, he returned to Wrexham, this time as manager. It was his first full managerial role in the game, and it felt only right that he take up such an opportunity at the club that gave him his platform in football.
Unfortunately, Hughes came in at a tumultuous time in Wrexham’s history, partway through the 2018/19 campaign. He was the third manager to have a go at things at the Racecourse Ground that season, which says it all.
Hughes was unable to achieve the goal of getting the Red Dragons promoted out of the National League, but did guide them to a fourth-placed finish.
He was ultimately sacked in September 2019, paving the way for Dean Keates to step in as Wrexham manager, who would later be replaced by Phil Parkinson. And the rest, as they say, is history.