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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.
Bloomer had an aptitude for football that he later described as "a natural gift". 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. His mother died on 27 November 1887 at 87, Yates Street in Derby.
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.Seddon, Peter (2013). Destroying Angel: Steve Bloomer - England's First Football Hero. DB Publishing, an imprint of JMD Media Ltd (Beeston, Nottinghamshire). p.32. Retrieved 2 October 2021. In 1888 he also began playing football for Derby Swifts in the Derbyshire Minor League. On 20 December 1890, at Belper he scored seven goals against Belper Town in a 22–2 win. In 1891 he appeared in the Midland League for Derby Midland, playing in a 1–1 draw with Burton Swifts on 27 March.
An administrative error by Derby secretary William Parker meant that Ernest Hickinbottom, Jimmy McLachlan and Samuel Mills were ineligible for the opening game of the 1892–93 season against Stoke at the Victoria Ground, and Bloomer was a surprise late addition to the first eleven. Hickinbottom, McLachlan and Mills had been registered a day too late and so they could not play unless by special permission, which could not be granted in time. Bloomer later claimed many times that he scored twice during the game but contemporary reports instead credited him with scoring just one goal, which was the second of Derby's goals in the 3–1 win. The local papers credited Johnny McMillan with scoring the first goal for Derby County in this game, and Frederick George Ekins getting the third goal for the team. Steve Bloomer's performance in this game was reviewed very positively in the local papers. He remained a key member of the first team, and was also given penalty taking duties, and finished the campaign with 11 goals from 28 matches. Veteran striker and captain John Goodall helped to improve his game, helping to improve his ball control and positional skills.
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.
Derby struggled during the 1894–95 campaign, and Bloomer was limited to 10 goals in 29 league games as County finished in 15th place and forced to play a test match against Notts County at Filbert Street to retain their First Division status. Notts County were leading 1–0 with seven minutes to go, but goals from Goodall and Bloomer gave Derby the win.
Bloomer opened the 1895–96 season by scoring both goals in a 2–0 win over Sunderland in the club's new permanent home at the Baseball Ground (the club had actually already played two first team games at the ground in 1892 due to scheduling conflicts at the County Ground). Derby finished the season in second-place behind Aston Villa and exited the FA Cup at the semi-finals after losing 2–1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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. "Derby County v Sheffield Wednesday, 21 January 1899". Via 11v11.com. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
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.
During his international career, Bloomer's teammates included his County teammate John Goodall as well as Frank Becton, Billy Bassett, Jack Reynolds, Ernest Needham, Fred Spiksley, Sam Wolstenholme and Woodward.
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. "The Post Sunday Special Series". Via Steve Bloomer Website. Retrieved 27 September 2021. 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, although another source gives the date of his arrest as 6 November 1914. 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. (2026). 9780995541238, Goal Post. ISBN 9780995541238
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. The Ruhleben Story: Prisoners: Steve Bloomer.
In the 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 the 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."
In 1923, he became coach of Real Unión in Spain and subsequently guided them to victory in the 1924 Copa del Rey. 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 Gipuzkoa. 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 Barcelona 5–1 after a replay and went on to beat Real Madrid, the champions of central Spain, 1–0 in the final.
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. Derby got to the semi-final of the English cup in 1894, and lost to the Thespians. 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. They won 16 matches and lost just five in that season. The English Cup was won again by Derby in 1897, when they beat Middlesbrough in the final. 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.
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. However, both Derby baseball teams do not appear to have existed after 1900.
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 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. 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.
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. It reads:
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