Mark Stein

Stein was born in Cape Town and moved with his family to London in the 1970s. Both his brothers Brian and Edwin plus Mark decided to become professional footballers, with Mark joining Luton Town in 1983. He turned professional in January 1984 and earned three caps with the England under-19 team but he was unable to live up to the heights expected of him at Kenilworth Road and had a short loan spell at Aldershot. In 1987–88, he helped Luton win their first major trophy as they achieved a shock 3–2 over Arsenal in the 1988 Football League Cup final, with Stein coming on as a substitute. In June 1988 he moved on to Queens Park Rangers where he spent the 1988–89 season scoring seven goals in 42 appearances. He signed for Oxford United in September 1989 after failing out of favour at Loftus Road. After two seasons with Oxford Stein found himself out of the side and playing in the reserves. He joined Stoke City on loan in September 1991 and played five matches without scoring. But he impressed manager Lou Macari with his contribution so much that he persuaded the board to pay £100,000 for his services. It proved to be a sound piece of business as Stein went on a fine run, scoring 22 goals in 1991–92 helping Stoke reach the play-offs where they lost to Stockport County although they did beat County in the 1992 Football League Trophy final with Stein scoring the game's only goal. Stoke fans named Stein "The Golden One" and he went on to top-score in 1992–93 as Stoke won the Second…

He is the younger brother of former Luton Town striker Brian Stein; another brother, Ed Stein, played for Barnet. The Stein brothers were born in South Africa, and arrived in the United Kingdom in 1968 when their father Isaiah Stein, an activist with the African National Congress and former boxer, fled the country to escape police persecution and torture for his political activities. Isaiah continued his activism in Britain, serving as a member of the South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee. On 12 July 2008 he played for the England XI in the Gordon Banks Charity Match at the Britannia Stadium.

Luton Town

Football League Cup: 1987–88 Full Members' Cup runner-up: 1987–88 Stoke City

Football League Second Division: 1992–93 Associate Members' Cup: 1991–92 Chelsea

FA Cup runner-up: 1993–94 Bournemouth

Football League Trophy runner-up: 1997–98 Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 1992–93 Second Division, 1998–99 Second Division Stoke City Player of the Year: 1992–93 Football Conference top scorer: 2001–02 Stoke City Greatest All-Time XI