Wolves supporters set to pay tribute to ‘Old Gold and Black’ legend at book launch

Held at the Mount Hotel on October 13th from 2pm, the event will act as a tribute to the life of Steve Plant, who has written three of the most comprehensive books ever published on the men from Molineux, raising more than £250,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital in the process.

The popular Wolves supporter sadly lost his life on September 23rd at just 63 years-old, a few weeks before his latest delve into the famous club’s history was due to be unveiled.

Led by his wife Andrea and the family, a committee of friends was quickly formed to make sure the ‘launch’ went ahead, and a sell-out crowd is now expected to attend this weekend.

In addition to a first view of the book, there will also be the largest exhibition of Wolves memorabilia ever held outside of Molineux, with more than 200 ‘match worn’ shirts from Steve Bull, Ruben Neves, Derek Dougan, Frank Munroe, Kenny Hibbitt and John Richards on display.

Andrea Plant commented: “This is what Steve would have wanted. He was deeply committed to his collection, the books and, most importantly, raising money for charities so they could do even more of their fantastic work.

“The family knew we had to launch ‘Old Gold and Black’ and felt it was the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to him with many of his closest friends from the football world. He’ll probably be fuming up there, as he never really wanted any fuss.”

Steve, who lived in Wordsley, watched Wolves all over the country for more than 55 years, a passion that had been passed down by his father John.

When his dad was given a cancer diagnosis, he decided to throw all his energy into starting a match worn shirt collection to give them both a shared purpose. This quickly morphed into a museum that now has more than 300 shirts and 100+ artefacts from the club’s history.

The former heating engineer didn’t stop there, writing his first book ‘They Wore the Shirt’ in 2016 and arranging a 24-hour penalty shoot-out with fans to support Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme.

A second volume of the publication quickly followed before the first of a series of Tribute Evenings were held to celebrate some of the finest players to ever wear Gold and Black, including Steve Bull, Kenny Hibbett, John Richards and Derek Parkin.

Through all the books and the events, Steve successfully raised more than £250,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital and won the prestigious Rachel Heyhoe Flint Award in 2018 at the Wolverhampton Wanderers end of season awards ceremony.

Dave Foster, a lifelong friend and fellow Wolves supporter, picked up the story: “The Old Gold and Black Shirt Exhibition and Book Launch will be very emotional. Over 200 people will be there, and we’ll be joined by Bully, Andy Thompson, Suzi Perry, Steve Daley, Paul Butler, Andy Sinton, Robbie Dennison, Carl Ikeme and many others. There will also be a special video tribute, but that’s a secret for now.

“We knew Steve’s tireless fundraising had touched so many people’s lives but even we have been blown away by the response. A lot of individuals have been in touch that we never knew he had helped and then to get Ruben Neves and Robert Plant providing their own tributes…wow, just wow.”

He concluded: “The family were also overwhelmed by the show of support from Wolves fans during the 63rd minute of the Liverpool game and, once again, they will come out in massive numbers on Sunday. We’re fully sold-out, so it’s ticket only I’m afraid.”

More than 450 copies of Old Gold and Black have already been pre-ordered, including 200 subscriber editions where people have had their name put in the book.

Steve’s funeral will be held on Friday 18th October at Stourbridge Crematorium and will be for family and close friends only, which they ask is respected.

For those who still want to purchase a copy, you can do so via Waterstones or by visiting https://www.conkereditions.co.uk.