Notts County are known around the world for being the oldest professional football league club. Formed in 1862, they predate the formation of the football association and were founding members of the Football League. Their influence on football can be seen all over the world, as in 1903, their famous black and white strip was the inspiration for Juventus to change their kit from pink to ‘i bianconeri.’ But who are their greatest goalscorer of all time? Let’s find out.Â
Who are Notts County’s top goal scorers of all time?
5 Tom Keetley – 98 goals in 110 appearances
Tom Keetley was part of an incredible football family in the 1920’s and his goalscoring records have stood the test the time. From this Guardian article, Tom was one of nine siblings that played football. Tom, Frank, Joe and Harold Keetley all turned out for Doncaster Rovers in the 1920s, and Tom became the first “Rovers great” thanks to 180 goals in six seasons. He is still Rovers’ top ever goal scorer but comes in fifth on our Notts County list.
In 1929, Notts County signed Tom from Doncaster for £750. Keetley would have an instant impact, scoring a hat trick in his first game and going on to be the Magpies top scorer in three out of his four seasons with the club. His 39 league goals in the 1930-31 season ensured Notts won promotion from Division Three South and would stand as a club record for 92 years, only to be beaten by Macauley Langstaff’s incredible season in 2022-23. He would leave Notts in 1933 for Lincoln at the age of 35, where he would wind down his playing career. He ended his career with and 284 goals and a goals per game ratio of 0.75. Upon retirement, Keetley would become a pub landlord in Derby.
4. Tommy Lawton – 103 goals in 166 appearances
Scoring 231 goals across World War II, Tommy Lawton was seen as the finest forward of his generation. Stanley Matthews described him as the ‘greatest header of the ball he had ever seen.’ Lawton’s story is fascinating and a more detailed account of his story is available here by Vince Cooper.  Having played for Burnley, Everton and Chelsea at the very top of English football, Notts County signed Lawton for a British transfer record fee of £20,000 in 1947. It was a shock at the time, as Lawton chose to drop down two divisions to link up with good friend Arthur Stollery and on the promise of a well paid job when he retired. Lawton formed a formidable partnership with Jackie Sewell, and the pair alternated top goal scorer in the four seasons they played together.
Infuriated by the sale of Sewell in 1951 and a dramatic drop in form following the break down of his marriage, Lawton left Notts and played for Brentford and Arsenal. His international record was outstanding scoring 22 goals in 23 internationals for England and scoring 24 goals in 23 games during wartime internationals. Lawton would return to Notts in May 1957 for an ill-fated attempt at management. Replacing Frank Broome who had guided the Magpies away from relegation the previous season, Lawton had his hands tied by financial regulations and Notts were relegated under his stewardship and he was consequently sacked.
After retirement, Lawton’s story is heartbreaking. He fell on hard times and had to sell the majority of his medals and trophies. Throughout his career, Lawton was vocal about the lack of money available in the game and here you can read the remarkable story of him writing to Lord Attenborough to ask for a loan of £250!
3. Jackie Sewell – 104 goals in 193 appearances
One ahead of his teammate, Jackie Sewell comes third in the list. Sewell began his career at Meadow Lane in 1946 and would make an immediate impact, ending his first season as their top goal scorer with 22. Despite his great partnership with Lawton, even outscoring the champions by 15 goals in one season, Notts position at the end of the season didn’t reflect their goal scoring exploits, until 1949-50 season, where they were finally rewarded with promotion as champions to Division Two.
Sewell and Lawton’s story intertwines again as Sewell was sold in 1951 against the fans and teammates wishes to Sheffield Wednesday, breaking the transfer record fee set by Lawton. He continued his excellent goalscoring at Wednesday, scoring 92 goals in 172 appearances. Six months after leaving Notts, he won the first of his six England caps and scored three goals for them, but that wasn’t to be his only international involvement. Later in his career, Sewell accepted an offer to coach in Zambia, and became one of a select group of footballers to have gained caps for more than one country. He captained the Zambia national team when the country gained its independence from Britain in 1964 and made 10 appearances between 1964 and 1965, scoring seven goals. Upon retirement, Sewell returned to Nottingham and became a car salesman
2. Tony Hateley – 114 goals in 215 appearances
Many of you may know the name Hateley as in Mark Hateley, who played for England, Rangers, Monaco and Milan in the 1980’s and 90’s but his dad was a prolific goalscorer in his time and comes second on Notts all time list. Making his debut at just 17, Hateley would score the first of his 114 goals against Stockport County. However, it would be two years before he fully broke into the first team, but once he had there was no stopping him. He went to be top scorer in the following three seasons, scoring 70 goals in Division Three. In his first spell with Notts he would score 77 league goals and his prolific nature was spotted by Aston Villa, who he moved to in 1963. His 86 goals would save Villa from relegation over the next three years.
It meant he was a target for big money moves to Chelsea and Liverpool, but the style of play would hinder Hateley’s exploits. Known for his strength in the air and heading ability, the quick build up play of those sides didn’t bring the best out of him. He would play for Coventry and Birmingham before returning ‘home’ to Notts in 1970. The return of Hateley boosted the attendance numbers at the Lane by almost 10,000. In his first season back, Hateley rediscovered his goal scoring prowess, scoring 23 goals and helping Notts to promotion from Division Four. However, an injury plagued second season brought to a close his Notts career, as his 28 league appearances reaped an uncharacteristic nine goals, before the forward finished his career with spells at Oldham and the Boston Minutemen in the US. At the time of his retirement, his combined transfer fees was a British record.
Finally topping our list of Who are Notts County’s top goal scorers of all time
1. Les Bradd – 137 goals in 398 appearances
For longevity and consistency, Les Bradd takes the crown as Notts’ top all time goalscorer. Playing for the Magpies for 11 seasons, Bradd was top goal scorer in three of his 11 seasons. Signed from Rotherham, having played only a handful of games and scoring one goal, ironically against Notts, Bradd would go on to become a legendary figure at Meadow Lane. Under iconic manager, Jimmy Sirrel, Bradd was the first name on the team sheet. Bradd was part of the team that won two promotions and established itself as a consistent Second Division side.
During his time, Bradd formed an excellent partnership with second on the list Tony Hateley. Despite offers from the First Division, he remained loyal and stayed until 1978. At the age of 30, Bradd moved to Stockport where he would often be deployed as a centre back! He would go on to play for Wigan and his 19 goals in the 1981-82 season, helping them to their first ever league promotion. Upon retirement, Bradd would return to Nottingham, where he has been a well loved and revered ambassador of the club. In addition to his work with Notts, he is working with Nottingham University to further understand the effects of heading on the brain.
Despite Notts County’s number of years in existence, their top goal scorers are relatively low with only four players registering over 100 goals for the club. Mark Stallard is the highest post 2000 player on the list at joint 10th with 79. It would have been interesting to see how high Macauley Langstaff would have gone had he stayed in the summer, as he was already on 71 goals in just 90 games and even with just one more season, could have made the list of Who are Notts County’s top goal scorers of all time?!Â
