The world’s first soccer superstar: A goal sensation who became a true pioneer He had a record that Kane, Rooney and Lineker would have envied.
We remember West Midlands legend Steve Bloomer.
Harry Kane, 48 goals in 67 appearances for England.
This equates to a 71 percent hit rate for him.
Quite productive.
Wayne Rooney, 53 goals in 120 games, or 44 percent, not bad.
Gary Lineker, 48 goals in 80 games, about 60 percent.
That’s pretty good too, but they’re not exactly Steve Bloomer, right?
The son of a Black Country iron ‘webber’ has a record to beat them all.
He made just 23 appearances for England, which wasn’t that many at the time, but he scored an incredible 28 goals.
This corresponds to a target rate of 121 percent.
Having Steve Bloomer’s name on the team sheet was better than giving England a goal in every game.
Steve who?
Now, let’s go back in time a little.
It has been 130 years since Bloomer made his professional debut for Derby County, and his career in England spanned from 1895 to 1907.
But we will probably never see him like him again.
His club results were equally astounding.
He scored 350 goals in 598 games.
This record is bettered only by Jimmy Greaves, who scored 357 goals.
Often referred to as football’s ‘first superstar’, he paved the way for modern footballers in many ways.
Like all of his soccer contemporaries, his wages were limited to just above the average factory worker, but Bloomer amassed a large fortune from corporate sponsorship.
After his playing career ended, he tried his hand at club management on the Continent, but he long regretted taking this job in Berlin and was sentenced to prison upon the outbreak of World War I.
He was also a great cricketer, baseball player, sprinter, and cribbage player.
Bloomer’s portrait adorns the mural of the Queen Mary on her maiden voyage, and his name appears in P.
G.
Wodehouse’s novels.
But at a time when even elite footballers tend to stay local, Villa, Wolves, Albion and perhaps even Shrewsbury Town could be looking to improve after the derby and turn things around for their families.
Bloomer’s father, Caleb, must have regretted his decision.
But despite being the most famous sports star of his time, he didn’t look like a typical pinup.
Average height, slim physique, the most striking thing about his appearance was the lack of color in his cheeks.
Frederick Wall, then FA Secretary, said: “His pale face was a mystery to me.
Some people attributed his pale complexion to physical weakness, but it maintained his vitality and stamina over the years.
Thoughts, well denied.
I often wondered if this morbid look was caused by fear and the way he exerted his nervous energy, as he was often deadly serious.
But Bloomer’s influence on popular culture in the 1890s and 1900s was truly immeasurable, says football historian Paul Topliff, who runs a website dedicated to the player.
He states: “He was associated with clothing, shoes, books, magazines, tonics, tobacco, photography.
“It was used to support the ‘Phosphate Tonic – The King’s Cure’ .
He featured on 19 of his cigarette cards and had his own “Lucky Striker” soccer cleats, championed by Steve Bloomer, as well as the first soccer cleats with molded studs, the “Perfe Gripe”.
More than 40 years later, the shoes are still sold all over the world.
his death.
” Stephen Bloomer He was born on 20 January 1874 in Bridge Street, South of the River Stour.
