Steve Bloomer

Bloomer was born in Cradley, Worcestershire (now the West Midlands) to Caleb Bloomer (a blacksmith / iron foundry worker) and Merab Dunn, on 20 January 1874. He was the eldest of six children.[5] The family moved to Litchurch, Derbyshire five years later.[6] Caleb began working for Ley's Malleable Castings foundry in Derby which was founded by Francis Ley. At the age of 12 Bloomer left school, and started working as an apprentice for a local blacksmith.[7] This helped him to build strength.[8]

Bloomer had an aptitude for football that he later described as "a natural gift".[9] He first made an impression on the Derby football scene playing for St. Chad's Choir on 11 April 1887. Bloomer was on the losing side of the 1887 Derbyshire Boys' Shield under-15 final on this date, and impressed despite his team losing 14–0 to a dominant St Luke's Choir.[10][11] His mother died on 27 November 1887 at 87, Yates Street in Derby.[12]

In 1888, soon after his 14th birthday Stephen began working as a 'striker' at Ley's iron foundry, where his father Caleb, and uncle Farley worked.[13] In 1888 he also began playing football for Derby Swifts in the Derbyshire Minor League.[14] On 20 December 1890, at Belper he scored seven goals against Belper Town in a 22-2 win.[15] In 1891 he appeared in the Midland League for Derby Midland, playing in a 1–1 draw with Burton Swifts on 27 March.[16]

After retiring as a player Bloomer went to Germany in July 1914 to coach Britannia Berlin 92.[43] However within three weeks of arriving the First World War broke out. When Germany declared war on Russia, his contract was cancelled at once, and Herr Fauber, President of Britannia Berlin 92 advised Bloomer to get out of Germany as soon as possible but he could not get out of the country. Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914.[44]

On 5 August 1914, Steve Bloomer, anxious to leave Germany, went to the British Consul office in Berlin. He was stopped by two gendarmes who questioned him, and his translator. Along with about a dozen others, he was marched through the streets of Berlin for about a quarter of a mile to the Alexander Platz, accompanied by a guard with revolvers and swords. At the Alexander Platz he was questioned by magistrates with others, and arrested. Bloomer was given a slip of paper with his name and description, and told to report to the police at periodic intervals. On 6 November 1914, he was interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp in the Spandau district of Berlin.[44] According to the Derby Daily Telegraph, which relayed details in a letter written from Bloomer to his wife, he was arrested as a prisoner of war on 5 November 1914,[45] although another source gives the date of his arrest as 6 November 1914.[1] Bloomer was one of several former professional footballers among the detainees. Others included his former England colleague Sam Wolstenholme; his former Middlesbrough teammate Fred Pentland; a Scotland international, John Cameron; John Brearley, once of Everton and Tottenham Hotspur; and a German international, Edwin Dutton, who had previously played for Britannia Berlin 92.[46]

The camp contained between 4,000 and 5,500 prisoners. Gradually a mini-society evolved and football became a popular activity. The Ruhleben Football Association was formed and cup and league competitions were organised with as many as 1,000 attending the bigger games. The teams adopted the names of established teams and in November 1914, Bloomer captained a Tottenham Hotspur XI, that also included Dutton, to victory in a cup final against an Oldham Athletic XI. On 2 May 1915, an England XI featuring Pentland, Wolstenholme, Brearley and Bloomer played a World XI captained by Cameron. Bloomer also played cricket at the camp and in May 1915 a Rubleben XI, featuring Bloomer and Brearley, played a Varsities XI in the Rubleban Cricket League. In July 1916 a Lancashire XI, featuring Bloomer, beat a Yorkshire XI that included Wolstenholme.[1]

In summer the prisoners turned to cricket on 'The Oval', played to packed houses. Bloomer established the camp batting record with an innings of 204 and recorded bowling figures of 6 for 15. There was athletics too. Bloomer won the 'Old Age Handicap' at the Ruhleben Olympics, sprinting the 75 yards in 9.6 seconds. Everybody in camp knew 'Steve'. When he finally left Ruhleben in March 1918, a farewell football match was staged in his honour. Bloomer was released to neutral Holland, where he was employed as a coach of Blauw-Wit Amsterdam. He was not allowed to return home until the end of the war. Bloomer later said of his time in Ruhleben, "Myself and many others would not have survived without football."

Immediately after World War I Bloomer briefly coached Blauw-Wit Amsterdam in The Netherlands. He returned to England on 22 November 1918,[47] and became player-coach of the Derby County reserve team, retiring from playing in January 1920. He was coach of the Derby first team in 1921. Between May and August 1922, he was in Montréal, Canada coaching the Grenadier Guards football team during their close season.[48] He arrived back in England on 11 August 1922, and resumed his coaching duties with Derby County.[49][50]

In 1923 he became coach of Real Unión in Spain[51] and subsequently guided them to victory in the 1924 Copa del Rey.[52] During the 1920s the Copa was effectively a play-off to decide the Spanish champions. Teams qualified by winning their regional titles and Real Unión represented Guipuzcoa. Nine other regional champions also qualified and in the first round of the competition Real beat Sevilla FC, the champions of Andalusia, 3–1 on aggregate. In the semi-final they faced the Catalan champions, FC Barcelona, coached by another Englishman, Jack Greenwell. Greenwell's squad included the likes of Paulino Alcántara, Sagibarba and Josep Samitier. Despite this, Real beat FC Barcelona 5–1 after a replay and went on to beat Real Madrid, the champions of central Spain, 1–0 in the final.

After finishing coaching Real Union, Bloomer returned to England and to Derby where he worked the rest of his life as a groundsman and general assistant at the Baseball Ground. He died in Derby of bronchitis on 16 April 1938 aged 64.[53]

On 13 May 1893, he played at first base for St. James's in a 17 - 34 defeat against Vulcan, at Derby. This was the first match of the 1893-1894 Derbyshire Baseball Association. The Vulcan team contained many members of the old Derby Baseball Club which had disbanded in 1890, but had reformed again later in that same year.[54] On 10 June 1893, Steve Bloomer played for a Rest Of League team against Derby in a 22 - 26 defeat.[55]

Bloomer then played baseball for Derby Baseball Club, making his debut for the team at the age of 20 on 5 May 1894, at the Baseball Ground in Derby. The Derby County goalkeeper, Jack Robinson also made his debut on the same day.[note 4] Derby got to the semi-final of the English cup in 1894, and lost to the Thespians.[57][58] The team won the English Baseball Cup on 17 August 1895 at Derby's Baseball Ground beating Fullers in the final, with Steve Bloomer playing at first base.[59] They won 16 matches and lost just five in that season.[60] The English Cup was won again by Derby in 1897, when they beat Middlesbrough in the final.[61] The trophy was won for a third time by Derby, beating Nott'm Forest 14 - 3 in the final on 19 August 1899. Bloomer captained the team in the final and played at second base.[62]

Derby County formed a baseball team in 1900 which Steve Bloomer played for in that season. Their first game was played on 19 May 1900. It contained, with Bloomer and among others, players who were or had been, members of Derby County football team up to that date: Enos Bromage, Hugh McQueen, Jonathan Staley, John Goodall, and Jimmy Methven. They played in a local league against Derby, Ilkeston, Belper, Chesterfield and Nottingham Forest.[63] However, both Derby baseball teams do not appear to have existed after 1900.

The bust of Bloomer at Pride Park

A plaque commemorating Bloomer's by-then demolished birthplace in Bridge Street, Cradley, was unveiled in 2000 by former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Derby player Jimmy Dunn and Bloomer's grandson Steve Richards.[53]

On 17 January 2009, after a long and sustained period of campaigning, a bust of Bloomer was finally unveiled inside Pride Park, Derby. Bloomer's two grandsons, Steve Richards and Alan Quantrill, unveiled the bust in the presence of Bloomer's family and relations, the sculptor Andy Edwards and thousands of Derby County fans. On 17 January 2009, a bust of Bloomer was unveiled next to the home dugout at Pride Park Stadium.[64] He remains a legend at Derby County and the club anthem, "Steve Bloomer's Watchin'", is played and sang before every home game. He is also listed in the Football League 100 Legends and English Football Hall of Fame.

Real Unión held a Steve Bloomer Day on 21 January 2017, to pay tribute to Bloomer.[52] In recognition of his contribution to both clubs, Real Unión and Derby County met to contest the Steve Bloomer Trophy in a friendly match in Irun on 3 October 2017, in what is intended to become an annual fixture.[65]

On 16 February 2018, a Blue plaque honouring Bloomer was unveiled on Bloomer's former school, in Portland Street, Derby, by the Derby Civic Society, in the presence of the Mayor of Derby, councillor John Whitby.[66][67] It reads:

Steve Bloomer

1874-1938
Footballer
Played for Derby County FC (1892-1914) and capped 23 times for his Country

Brought up in Portland Street, he received his earliest education in this building

Blue Plaque commemorating the life of Steve Bloomer in Derby, sited on the corner of Peartree Street and Portland Street.

• List of English football first tier top scorers
• List of men's footballers with 500 or more goals

• Steve Bloomer at Englandstats.com
• Media related to Steve Bloomer at Wikimedia Commons