A replica of the Steve Bloomer Bust has been installed in the Main Reception at Derby County’s Pride Park Stadium.
The name of Steve Bloomer needs little introduction to Derby supporters after he scored 331 goals in 525 games for the club between 1891-1906 and 1910-14.
His goalscoring exploits were so impressive that he has been the Rams’ all-time leading goalscorer for well over a hundred years and he is immortalised at pitchside next to the home dugout in a stylish bronze bust, which was revealed in early 2009 as part of the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
The bust is a permanent memorial to Bloomer, who also scored 28 goals in just 23 games for England, and strengthened links between the past and the present as it is housed on a buttress of bricks that were previously in use at the Baseball Ground.
A prototype of the bust was given to the club by celebrated artist Andrew Edwards, who created the Bloomer Bust as well as the statues of Brian Clough/Peter Taylor and Dave Mackay and the recently-created Reg Harrison Bust, which was also installed in Main Reception last summer.
The replica of the Bloomer Bust proudly sits at the top of a five-feet tall brick pillar plinth, which was provided by local construction entrepreneur Ian Hodgkinson from Hodgkinson Builders.
The bricks were, once again, from the Rams’ former Baseball Ground home and was installed prior to Derby’s 5-0 home win over Morecambe last weekend.
