After youngster Luca Williams-Barnett became Legacy Number 900 with his debut appearance against Doncaster Rovers, we take a look back at the other players who took the significant numbers throughout our history…
Legacy Number 1 | Stanley Briggs
Debut: v West Herts (FA Cup), 13 October, 1894
Our Legacy Numbers initiative starts with the team that took to the field for our first recorded senior competitive game – an FA Cup tie with West Herts on 13 October, 1894 – and it’s half-back Stanley Briggs who owns the prestigious No 1. Players making their first appearance in the same game are allocated Legacy Numbers by virtue of alphabetical order, hence Briggs heading the list. One of the most famous names in London amateur football at the end of the 19th century, Briggs played an important role in helping us establish ourselves as one of the top amateur clubs in the South. Our captain for a time, he was a tall, commanding defender and would have been with us for many years, only to oppose our momentous decision to adopt professionalism in December 1895. Instead, he continued to play at amateur level away from Spurs, but he will always have a poignant place in our history as Legacy Number 1.
Legacy Number 100 | William Dryburgh
Debut: v Portsmouth (Southern League), 25 December, 1903
A goalscoring debut on Christmas Day to become Legacy Number 100 – not a bad way to start your Spurs career! William Dryburgh was born in Cowdenbeath and started his career with his hometown club. The Scottish forward had spells with Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall Athletic before arriving in north London to bolster our Southern League side of 1902/03 and made a dream start to life at the Lane with a goal in a 2-2 draw against Portsmouth. He featured in most of our matches for the rest of the campaign but was released at its conclusion and returned home to Scotland.
Legacy Number 200 | Tom Mason
Debut: v Middlesbrough (Division One), 17 February, 1912
Inside forward Tom Mason only played seven competitive matches in our colours, but the first of them saw him allocated Legacy Number 200. Becoming our first ‘Centurion’ of the Football League era, he joined us during the 1911/12 season and featured for the first time in a 2-1 defeat of Middlesbrough at White Hart Lane in the First Division. It was a short-lived Spurs career however and he left us in March 1913 to join Southern League Southend United.
Legacy Number 300 | Wally Alsford
Debut: v Reading (Division Two), 27 December, 1930
Due to the First World War, we jump forward 18 years before we reach the next milestone Legacy Number and it’s a local lad who took the honours. Wally Alsford was born and bred in north London, playing for our junior and senior nursery clubs before moving onto the White Hart Lane staff and making his full debut in a 2-1 Division Two victory at Reading, just after Christmas 1930. A versatile player who was usually a wing-half but could also play centre-half or inside forward, Wally spent six years at Spurs without quite becoming a regular as we bounced between the top two divisions during that time. He left us for Nottingham Forest in early 1937 having made 90 senior appearances.
Legacy Number 400 | Ralph Wetton
Debut: v Aston Villa (Division One), 20 October, 1951
It took a further 21 years before we allocated Legacy Number 400 - World War Two this time a major factor in the long gap – with Ralph Wetton taking the number. The half-back was part of the Spurs set-up as we marched to the Second Division and First Division titles in back-to-back seasons in 1949/50 and 1950/51, developing his skillset in our reserve side. His first team break came in October 1951 when he deputised for the great Ron Burgess, playing in our 2-0 win over Aston Villa at the Lane. Ralph went on to make 46 appearances for us over the next few years but, with the arrival of Danny Blanchflower, he moved to Plymouth Argyle in 1955.
Legacy Number 500 | Steve Walford
Debut: v Liverpool (Division One), 13 December, 1975
Steve Walford was just 17 years old when he became our Legacy Number 500, the first of our ‘Centurions’ to earn his number as a substitute. It wasn’t a game to remember, unfortunately, as we went down 4-0 to Liverpool at home, with Walford replacing Chris Jones. The Islington-born defender could be considered as one that got away as he only played one more game for us before following manager Terry Neill from Spurs to Arsenal, enjoying a decent career at Highbury before making over 100 league appearances for both Norwich City and West Ham United.
Legacy Number 600 | Kevin Watson
Debut: v Brentford (League Cup), 21 September, 1992
Our second goalscoring ‘Centurion’ is Kevin Watson, a midfielder who became Legacy Number 600 when making his debut in the first leg of our League Cup second round tie against Brentford in September 1992. Watson found the target in our 3-1 home win and was considered a highly-rated youngster after coming through our ranks, but was unfortunate to be competing with the likes of Darren Anderton, Vinny Samways and Nicky Barmby at that time. He left us having made eight appearances and enjoyed a career in the lower leagues with the likes of Swindon Town, Rotherham United, Reading and Colchester United.
Legacy Number 700 | Andy Reid
Debut: v Portsmouth (Premier League), 5 February, 2005
One of no fewer than 15 debutants during the 2004/05 campaign, Republic of Ireland midfielder Andy Reid is the proud owner of Legacy Number 700. Interestingly, the only one of our ‘Centurions’ to make their debut in the Premier League, Reid joined us from Nottingham Forest alongside Michael Dawson in January 2005. Just a few weeks later, he was handed his first appearance by Martin Jol for the home game against Portsmouth, which we won 3-1 with fellow debutant Mido (No 699) scoring twice. Reid kept his place for the rest of that season but injuries and a loss of form saw him drop down the pecking order and he moved to Charlton Athletic in August 2006, before spells with Sunderland, Blackpool and a return to Forest.
Legacy Number 800 | Harry Winks
Debut: v FK Partizan (Europa League), 27 November, 2014
Harry Winks worked his way through our Academy from the age of five all the way to our first team when he was allocated Legacy Number 800 in November 2014. Just 18 at the time, he came off the bench for the final few minutes of our 1-0 Europa League group stage win over FK Partizan at White Hart Lane. His major breakthrough came in 2016/17 and Winks would go on to become a regular under Mauricio Pochettino, starting our Champions League Final against Liverpool in June 2019. In total, he made an impressive 203 appearances in our colours, scoring five times before joining Leicester City in July 2023.
Legacy Number 900 | Luca Williams-Barnett
Debut: v Doncaster Rovers (League Cup), 24 September, 2025
Our latest ‘Centurion’ is another Academy product and the youngest player on this list. Luca Williams-Barnett is still only 16 years old but made his debut in our League Cup third round tie with Doncaster Rovers, coming off the bench for the closing stages of our 3-0 win to take Legacy Number 900. A First Year Academy scholar whose been with our youth set up since the Under-10s, Williams-Barnett has been in fine form for our Under-21s this season with six goals in six games.