I must admit, I never met the guy, never saw him play, and have never knowingly met any of his descendants. We do however share the same birthday... which is nice!
Anyway, the following comments relate to the aforementioned... and titular... Mr Steve Bloomer...
He played 525 times for Derby... And scored a clear record 332 goals for The Rams.
After Jimmy Greaves, he is the second-highest all-time goalscorer in the top-flight of English football.
While at Derby he was top scorer in the First Division on five occasions in 1896, 1897, 1899, 1901 and 1904. In 1896, together with John Campbell of Aston Villa. He was also the leading "Rams" scorer for 14 consecutive seasons and scored 17 hat-tricks in the league. One of his best seasons came in 1896–97 when he scored 31 goals, including five hat-tricks, in 33 League and FA Cup games. Between 14 November 1896 and 5 April 1897 he scored 21 goals in 20 games. He also scored six goals for the club in a game against Sheffield Wednesday in January 1899.
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).
After four years at Middlesbrough he returned to the Rams in 1910 and helped them win the Second Division title in 1912.
He missed seven games of the 1893–94 season after Leicester Fosse half-back Peggy Lord broke his collarbone on 10 February. Bloomer recovered and claimed 19 goals from 27 appearances during the campaign.
Bloomer's goals helped Derby finish runners-up in the First Division in 1896 and helped them reach three FA Cup finals in 1898, 1899 and 1903. He scored in the 1898 final, a 3–1 defeat to Nottingham Forest. On 3 September 1900 Bloomer scored the first-ever goal at The Hawthorns, the 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion being the first match played at the ground.
He also had two spells as Rams Manager.
He also scored 28 goals in 23 appearances for England...
Bloomer made his England debut on 9 March 1895, scoring twice in a 9–0 win against Ireland, which helped England win the British Home Championship.
He scored in all of his first 10 international appearances, which remains a record for number of consecutive scoring appearances. He netted 19 times during these games, including 5 goals against Wales on 16 March 1896, winning three British Home Championships.
He became England's all-time top goalscorer on 2 April 1898, when he surpassed Tinsley Lindley's total of 14 with two goals against Scotland. On 18 March 1901, he scored four goals against Wales, becoming the first player to score two hat-tricks for England and also the first to score four goals for England twice, as England once again won the British Home Championship.
At the end of 1901, his goal tally stood at 25 in just 14 games.
He captained England once; against Scotland on 3 May 1902.
He finished his international career in 1907 as England's longest serving player and England's all-time top goalscorer with 28 goals. He held the record until his tally was overhauled by Vivian Woodward in 1911.
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.
He remains a legend at Derby County
He also had to put up with quite a bit of s*** in Germany, during The Great War... including being interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp in the Spandau district of Berlin, in 1914.
In January 2024, he was described by someone on the internet, claiming to be a Derby County fan, as "some dead footballer who no one really knows".
Allow me to repeat that, to avoid any doubt... "some dead footballer who no one really knows".
The above comment was further accompanied with "who the hell is Steve Bloomer....and I really don't care if he is watching or not."
This is the one time I am genuinely embarrassed to be in the presence of a fellow Derby County fan.
