Brian Stafford was undoubtedly one of the finest marksmen the GAA has ever seen. 

Here is a snapshot of his scoring exploits from the start of the 1987 Leinster SFC to that memorable All-Ireland Final replay win over Cork the following year.

“Staff’ finished five points behind Cork's Larry Tompkins in the 1987 SFC top scorer charts. The Meath ace scored 34 points as the Royals claimed their first All Ireland title in 20 years.

1987 Championship

Round 1: 0-7 versus Laois

Semi final 0-10 versus Kildare

Leinster Final: 0-6 versus Dublin

All Ireland semi final: 0-4 versus Derry

All Ireland Final: 0-7 versus Cork

1987/88 NFL

Roll on to the 1987 - 1988 NFL and the full forward was also in top form as Meath claimed the Division 1 title scoring an incredible 2-54 over the 11 games.

Round 1: 0-7 versus Dublin

Round 2: 0-4 versus Derry

Round 3: 0-5 versus Armagh

Round 4: 0-6 versus Kerry

Round 5: 2-2 versus Cork

Round 6: 0-2 versus Monaghan

Round 7: 0-5 versus Mayo

Quarter Final: 0-5 versus Louth

Semi Final: 0-6 versus Down

Final: 0-7 versus Dublin

Final replay: 0-5 versus Dublin

1988 Championship

The Kilmainhamwood star reversed that championship statistic the following year to finish four ahead of Tompkins with 38 points as the Royals claimed a two in a row of Sam Maguire Cups.

Round 1: 0-6 versus Louth

Semi final: 0-8 versus Offaly

Leinster Final: did not play

All Ireland semi final: 0-9 versus Mayo

All Ireland final: 0-8 versus Cork

All Ireland final replay: 0-7 versus Cork

In 21 games at the highest level Stafford scored 2 goals and 125 points. It’s no wonder Sean Boylan’s men were the team to beat in this glorious era for Meath football.

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