CITY will carry heritage numbers on their playing shirts next season.

Almost 1,300 players have represented the Bantams since the club was founded in 1903.

Every single one of them is associated with a heritage number and, from August, Gary Bowyer’s men will wear them with pride.

The numbers will appear below the club crest on all playing shirts after City were given permission by the EFL.

The first-ever player to claim one was John Beckram, who was the first name alphabetically in City’s maiden fixture against Grimsby.

Other famous names include FA Cup goalscorer Jimmy Speirs (84), record appearance maker Ces Podd (647) and all-time leading scorer Bobby Campbell (710).

The numbers were researched and developed by Bantams Heritage, a project launched last year.

Aaron Bower, who set it up, said: “It is a huge honour to be officially recognised by the EFL and, more importantly, the club.

“Connecting the present-day Bradford City to the generations before us, who have followed the club’s journey through history, was the underlying reason behind creating the heritage numbers.

“Now every single City player past and present knows they forever have a place in our history.

“It’s particularly exciting to see the club express such a desire to make this happen – and become the first English club to have heritage numbers displayed on the shirts.”

The current squad’s official numbers include Danny Devine (1204), Eoin Doyle (1250), Kelvin Mellor (1251) and Richard O’Donnell (1254).

City’s head of media and PR Ryan Sparks said: “We are proud to be endorsing such a fantastic initiative and making the heritage numbers official for the 2019/20 season and beyond.”