Johnny Phillips: Steve Plant’s love for Wolves will stand the test of time

It would be revisionist to suggest that when the idea was first proposed it was met with universal approval. How could such a niche concept produce enough material for an entire tome on the subject?

Steve Plant, like so many of us, was taken to his first game by his dad.

In 2009, the man who had sat Steve down on the perimeter wall at Molineux decades earlier, then later constructed a wooden box for him to stand on for a better view of the pitch, contracted cancer.

For a sense of purpose, and to give his dad something to follow each day, Steve set up a memorabilia website and went about collecting artefacts associated with Wolves.

The collection grew and grew, and as his dad moved into the final weeks of his life in the summer of 2012, he spoke with pride about Steve’s collection with so many match-worn shirts now in the Plant household. Those shirts inspired the next idea.

When passion meets determination, it is amazing what can be achieved.

Steve’s love of Wolves was a lifelong devotion that led to him becoming one of the most knowledgeable supporters to walk through Molineux’s turnstiles by the time he reached his 50s.

And the determination to honour his dad’s memory was the driving force behind They Wore The Shirt.

What followed stunned everyone: the definitive photographic record of the club’s shirt, each with a detailed description chronicling some of the players who wore it.

Never before had anything like this been attempted, and the brilliant book has become a valuable historical record which will stand the test of time.

The launch night of They Wore The Shirt, at WV1 in the Stan Cullis Stand, was a huge success, raising thousands of pounds for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, with Robert Plant among those in attendance.

The book was displayed in the Fosun building in Shanghai for a wider audience during the club’s Premier League Asia Trophy trip to China in July 2019, as Wolves became a global entity.

In truth, They Wore The Shirt deserves a place in the club’s museum forever more, such is its relevance.

It has spawned three more follow-up books.

The latest – Old Gold and Black – went to print just this week ahead of its launch next month.

How tragic that its author and inspiration will not see the fruits of his latest painstaking work.

Steve’s untimely passing this week has shocked all who knew him and many more who were touched by his life and work.

Planty could often be found at Wolves’ Compton training ground in the era when there was a more relaxed security presence than the modern-day Premier League allows, often hunting signatures for his latest match-worn memorabilia.

He was known to many players, who were often surprised at his knowledge of their own careers.

It was a George Elokobi shirt, purchased from Ebay, which became the first in Steve’s precious collection. The player himself posted his own tribute on social media this week.

Similarly, two of the club’s greatest players of the Fosun era – inspirational captain Conor Coady and talisman Ruben Neves – also paid personal and heartfelt tributes on hearing the terrible news.

Planty became close to the Coady family during the Liverpudlian’s time at Wolves and they always appreciated the support he gave to Conor.

It was not just the books. Steve also staged hugely successful fundraising dinners at Molineux in honour of some of the club’s most decorated and long-serving players such as Kenny Hibbitt, Derek Parkin, Phil Parkes, Steve Bull and Andy Thompson.

True to his dedication, Steve left no stone unturned when he sought to give his heroes a night to treasure.

He arranged for Sir Bobby Charlton to send a letter to be read out during Hibbitt’s evening.

Ian Rush, a hero of Bully’s, sent a video message for his event in 2019.

On a raucous night in the Sir Jack Hayward Suite, countless former team-mates of Bully’s turned out including then-Wigan Athletic manager Paul Cook, who took time out from life at the sharp end of management in the Championship.

In 2021, Bruce Grobbelaar, who was understudy to Phil Parkes at Vancouver Whitecaps, travelled to the UK to be there for Lofty.

And those who attended Thompson’s tribute evening will never forget Thommo being serenaded on stage by a well-refreshed Robbie Dennison and Andy Mutch.

At the final dinner, held at The Mount Hotel last year, Steve Daley was surprised by the arrival of his former Manchester City, Seattle Sounders and England B team-mate Joe Corrigan.

Planty didn’t do things by halves, he wanted everything he put his heart into to be the best it could be.

On the eve of the 2017/18 season, the club and its supporters received the shocking news that Carl Ikeme had been diagnosed with leukaemia.

Within days Steve had mobilised friends and acquaintances to support the long-serving goalkeeper.

A charity penalty shootout raised £13,000, a family fun day followed and, over the course of that season, the Wolves community went on to raise an astonishing £140,000 for Cure Leukaemia.

Steve was moved to tears when, at the end of that promotion season, he was announced as the winner of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for Outstanding Services, which he picked up at the club’s end of season dinner.

When it came to Wolves, Planty was never short of an opinion.

He was honest about his own foibles here, too, acknowledging that sometimes the strength of his views would ruffle a few feathers.

But no matter how strong, there was never any bitterness from a generous, open and warm-hearted soul who just wanted what we all want: The best for our football club.

His final match was one steeped in tradition.

Wolves against Villa in a local tussle that saw both teams give as good as they got.

As always, he got chatting to many fans at Villa Park and they were as shocked as we all were at the tragic news that followed just days later.

There are two quotes which spring to mind when thinking about Planty.

One is from the second part of Sir Bobby Robson’s famous words about what a club actually is: “It’s a small boy clambering up the stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.”

The other is from Stan Cullis, the club’s greatest ever manager: “You only have one life and I gave mine to Wolves.”

Fellow supporters will mark their own tribute today with applause in the 63rd minute of tonight’s fixture against Liverpool.

Bully, Coady, Neves & Co paying their respects? An ovation from Wolves fans at his spiritual home? The man who did so much for others would never have believed this could happen in his name, and it is just so sad he cannot be here to witness it.

He’d have been humbled, of course, but deep down he would have absolutely loved it.

Steve and Dad to his loving family. Planty to all who knew him. Wolves forever and one of a kind.