A reliable top five is hard to establish. Reading’s supporters’ trust documents John Arlott as its first famous public fan and records Mick Foster’s decades of supporter work, but its Hall of Fame is not a celebrity ranking. The club-history evidence supports two notable names—not five in a defensible order.
Why there is no reliable top-five ranking
“Famous” can mean public recognition beyond football, prominence among Reading supporters, or a lasting contribution to the club. Those measures do not produce the same list, and no published poll or other ranking establishes Reading FC’s five most famous supporters.
Supporters’ Trust at Reading (STAR) maintains a Hall of Fame that recognizes people who made an exceptional or distinctive contribution to the club’s life. It includes supporters as well as players, managers, officials and journalists; recommendations are considered by a panel for merit and popularity. STAR cautions that the Hall of Fame is not a “long service” award. It is a curated recognition scheme, not a league table of celebrity fans. STAR’s Hall of Fame
Two Reading supporters with documented claims to recognition
John Arlott: the nationally known public fan
STAR records that broadcaster and writer John Arlott supported Reading from the 1920s onward. It calls him “the first well-known personality to speak up as a Reading fan” and describes him as a nationally, perhaps internationally, known supporter. His public fame came chiefly from cricket broadcasting and writing; he also worked for a time as a football journalist.
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STAR’s biography gives a vivid measure of that allegiance: as a young man, Arlott cycled from Basingstoke to watch Reading, and once left a Cambridge entrance examination to attend a Reading cup tie. Those details make him the clearest answer if “famous supporter” means a fan whose name was known well beyond the club. STAR’s John Arlott biography
Mick Foster: a lasting contribution to supporter culture
STAR identifies Mick Foster as a supporter whose work for the supporters’ club and the football club spanned decades. His contribution was practical and closely tied to match-going life: he ran club shops, sold old programmes and souvenirs, and helped organize coaches and special trains for away games. STAR also says he is thought to have started the “Your Rs” shout.
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That record makes Foster a notable figure in Reading’s supporter community, but it does not establish him as a mainstream celebrity. His prominence rests on service and supporter culture rather than broad public fame. STAR’s Mick Foster biography
What the club’s historical record can—and cannot—add
Reading Museum’s COLLECTED exhibition opened on 19 February 2022 as part of the club’s 150th-anniversary celebrations. Reading Borough Council described an exhibition of club images, ephemera and memorabilia, including material from STAR, previously unseen photographs, a shirt worn by Robin Friday, and items from Sir John Madejski’s personal collection. It documents the breadth of the club’s history and memory, but does not supply a top-five list of famous supporters. Robin Friday appears there as a fan-favourite player, not as a supporter. Reading Borough Council’s exhibition announcement
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So who belongs in a defensible answer?
On the evidence available, Arlott and Foster are the two supporters who can be named with confidence, for different reasons: Arlott for national public recognition and an openly documented Reading allegiance; Foster for decades of work within the club and its supporter community. The sources do not substantiate three additional names or an ordered top five. Listing more people as if they formed a verified ranking would overstate what the record establishes.
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