The Aston Villa Legacy Numbers initiative is shining a light on every single player who has represented the club competitively as part of our 150th anniversary celebrations this season.
The list began with the line-up from Villa’s first official match in 1879, an FA Cup tie against Stafford Road of Wolverhampton, with every player assigned his own unique number, denoting his place in the club’s long and illustrious history. View the full list here.
Delving further into the stories of some of our former players, we'll be regularly shining a light on five ex-Villans as we move towards the end of the current campaign, including a slender striker, a Scottish sensation and a notorious hard man in this instalment...
758: Peter Crouch
He played for so many clubs in his nomadic career that you might imagine Peter Crouch recalls little of his brief spell at Villa.
But, as he revealed on his hugely successful podcast recently, that’s not the case at all. “It’s such a special place to play football,” he said. “It’s got all that history, and it elevates Villa as a club.” He also retains fond memories of the pitch. “It’s so wide – it feels like a Wembley,” he added.
Graham Taylor attracted some ridicule for buying an old-school, lead-the-line target man when he signed Crouch from Portsmouth soon after the beginning of his second spell as manager in 2002. The truth, as Villa fans quickly discovered, was that he was remarkably skilful on the ground as well.
Span: 2001-02-2003-04. Appearances: 43. Goals: 6.
111: Johnny Campbell
The Scottish striker Johnny Campbell spent just two seasons with Villa, but he packed them full of silverware. He won two league titles and the FA Cup in that whirlwind spell before returning to Celtic.
Campbell opened the scoring in the classic 1897 FA Cup final victory over Everton at the Crystal Palace, the first of five goals in 20 minutes that marked the match as one of the finest finals in the history of the competition.
And the following Saturday he scored the first goal at Villa Park when the club’s new home was inaugurated with a 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.
It was a beauty, too, a cool finish at the end of a long weaving dribble. “No finer effort has been seen for a long time,” said one match report.
Span: 1895-96 — 1896-97. Appearances: 63. Goals: 42.
401: Dickie Dorsett
There were hard men and then there was Dickie Dorsett. Born in Brownhills, he joined Villa from Wolverhampton Wanderers straight after the Second World War and switched from the forward line to defence. He later became the club captain.
Dorsett’s forte was the free-kick or penalty struck with ferocious power. His ball-striking ability came in useful in an era when it was often the defender’s first duty to clear the ball as quickly and as far as possible.
He also liked a tackle. “If you didn’t give the other guy a knock he might walk all over you,” Dorsett said in 1996. He once had a septic tooth pulled out without anesthetic. “It did make me jump a bit, though,” he admitted.
Span: 1946-47 — 1952-53. Appearances: 271. Goals: 35.
273: Billy Kirton
The signing of Billy Kirton must qualify as one of the most unusual in Villa history. He was acquired at an auction held to dispose of the Leeds City squad after the club had been kicked out of the Football League in 1919.
Kirton, a 22-year-old inside-forward from Newcastle, left an indelible mark on the club’s heritage.
At Stamford Bridge on 24th April 1920, he scored the only goal in the first FA Cup final after the First World War, giving Villa their sixth success in the competition. Not that he knew much about it, the ball rebounding into the Huddersfield Town goal from a defensive header.
“I should say that no one was more surprised than Kirton himself when he realised the world-shaking event that had happened,” reported the Athletic News.
Span: 1919-20 – 1926-27. Appearances:261. Goals: 60.
349: Mush Callaghan
There is a long list of potential post-playing careers for the modern player – manager, pundit, agent, coach.
Ernie Callaghan – usually known by the sobriquet “Mush” – chose a rather different path: he became the Villa Park maintenance man and caretaker after a playing career as a versatile and rock-steady defender.
After being regularly in and out of the team, he found a niche at right-back in the epic 1937-38 Second Division title-winning season. Serving as a reserve policeman during the Second World War, he was awarded the British Empire Medal for bravery during the bombing of Birmingham.
But after more than 40 years of loyal service to the club, Callaghan died tragically of gas poisoning at his home near Villa Park in May 1972 – just 48 hours after a testimonial match in his honour.
Span: 1932-33 — 1946-47. Appearances: 142. Goals: 0.
Legacy Numbers Initiative
