Steve Bloomer

This article is about the association football player. For the Australian rules footballer, see Steve Bloomer (Australian footballer).

Steve Bloomer
Bloomer in England kit
Personal information
Full name Stephen Bloomer
Date of birth (1874-01-20)20 January 1874[1][2]
Place of birth Cradley, Worcestershire, England [1][2]
Date of death 16 April 1938(1938-04-16) (aged 64)[3]
Place of death Derby, England [3]
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[4]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1886–1888 St. Chad's Juniors
1888–1891 Derby Swifts
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1891 Derby Midland
1891–1906 Derby County 376 (240)
1906–1910 Middlesbrough 125 (59)
1910–1914 Derby County 98 (53)
Total 599 (352)
International career
1895–1907 England 23 (28)
Managerial career
1914 Britannia Berlin 92
1918 Blauw-Wit Amsterdam
1920–1922 Derby County
1922 Grenadier Guards
1922–1923 Derby County
1923–1925 Real Unión
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stephen Bloomer (20 January 1874 – 16 April 1938) was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem "Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played at every Derby home game and there is a bust of him at the Pride Park Stadium. He is also listed in the Football League 100 Legends and English Football Hall of Fame.

During his career, Bloomer was a prolific goalscorer for both club and country. A quick-thinking forward, he was able to shoot powerfully and accurately with either foot and his speciality was the daisy cutter – a low shot, hit with great power, speed and accuracy. In 535 First Division games he scored 314 goals and, after Jimmy Greaves, he is the second-highest all-time goalscorer in the top-flight of English football. He also scored 28 goals in 23 appearances for England. He helped Derby to win the Second Division title in 1911–12, and to finish second in the First Division in 1895–96; he also played on the losing side in four FA Cup semi-finals and three FA Cup finals (1898, 1899 and 1903).

Bloomer also played baseball for Derby Baseball Club and helped them become British champions three times in the 1890s. After retiring as a footballer he became a coach and worked with clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. During World War I he was interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp. The highlight of his coaching career came in 1924 when he guided Real Unión to victory in the Copa del Rey.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ruhl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "England's Meteoric Forward". Eastern Daily Press, Tuesday 25 April 1905, p.7. Via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 27 September 2021.(Subscription required.)
  3. ^ a b "Death Of Steve Bloomer. Rams' Most Famous Player. Brilliant Record". Derby Daily Telegraph, Saturday 16 April 1938, p.1. Via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 27 September 2021.(Subscription required.)
  4. ^ Seddon 1999, p. 36