Steve Bull

Early years

Bull was born in Tipton and started school in September 1969 at Wednesbury Oak Primary School and moved up to Willingsworth High School in September 1976, by which time he was excelling in school football teams. The junior teams he played for included Ocker Hill infants, Red Lion and Newey Goodman. He left school in 1981 to join non-league Tipton Town. During this time he also held down a succession of factory jobs in addition to playing local league games. He began his professional career, aged 19, after being recommended to West Bromwich Albion in 1984 by his Tipton Town manager Sid Day, who also worked as a scout for the Baggies. After initially having to train with the club's youth ranks, he was quickly offered a pro contract and moved into first team contention. He made his senior debut on 23 October 1985, replacing Garth Crooks in a 2–1 Full Members Cup win against Crystal Palace. He made his league debut as a substitute against QPR, away, on 12 April 1986 (lost 1–0), and his full debut at home to Sheffield Wednesday on 22 April (drew 1-1); they were his only league appearances that season and only appearances in top flight football. Bull played three Second Division games for Albion after they were relegated in 1986, scoring twice, and also scored one goal in two League Cup appearances for the club. Bull knew it would be difficult to break the Crooks/Varadi partnership, so was prepared to drop to the bottom tier in search of first team football. In…

Bull was capped 13 times by England, and scored 4 goals, all coming in the buildup to 1990 World Cup He scored his first goal on his debut after replacing an injured John Fashanu against Scotland on 27 May 1989, with a low right-footed shot to the net. Two more goals came in a friendly against Czechoslovakia on 25 April 1990. His final England goal came against Tunisia, which earned him a place in Bobby Robson's World Cup squad. Despite starting his international career well, he did not score another goal for England after this. He played four times during Italia 90 – three times as a substitute against Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium and once as a starter against Egypt. His final match for England was on 17 October 1990 against Poland, but he was not picked again by his future Wolves manager, Graham Taylor. Bull was still technically a Third Division player when he won his first cap, at the end of the 1988–89 season, as Wolves had not yet played in Division Two after their promotion that season. He remains the last player to be capped by England from outside the top two tiers, and one of only five post-war players so honoured. In total, he scored nine goals in 23 appearances for his country at full, U-21 and "B" team levels.

On 21 February 2008, Bull entered management with Conference National side Stafford Rangers. He had previously worked as a coach at this level with Hereford United in the 2000–01 season and had completed his UEFA Pro B coaching licence in the years in between. The team was in the relegation zone at the time of his appointment and he was unable to prevent relegation. He parted company with the club on 12 December 2008.

He is the cousin of West Bromwich born former footballer Gary Bull, who played for clubs including Barnet, Nottingham Forest and Birmingham City. In November 2022, Bull launched his own clothing line entitled 'SB9' using the famous gold and black; it comprises t-shirts, hoodies, caps, beanies, polos, gilets, track suit trousers and shorts.