Wolves Museum duo Pat Quirke and Neil Pennington have joined forces to share both facts and memories of some of the club’s most popular, if sometimes overlooked, former stars, with the first instalment shining a light on four cult heroes.
Henri Camara - Wolves years: 2003–04 | Wolves appearances: 32 | Wolves goals: 7
The backstory with Neil Pennington
“Henri Camara was born in Dakar, Senegal, but began his football career in France with Strasbourg. He joined Wolves, newly promoted to the English top flight, in August 2003. Incredibly gifted, but often guilty of erratic finishing, he notched just one goal in his first 23 games, but what a goal – the winner as Wolves came back from three down at half-time against Leicester to win 4-3. He went on to score six goals in the last nine games and was, somewhat controversially named, Player of the Season, as Wolves were relegated.”
The cult hero status with Pat Quirke
“It was never the case that Henri Camara and Wolves really ‘got’ each other. He had some silky skills which were well appreciated by the Molineux crowd, but it was always felt that he was using his time at Wolves as a stepping stone towards bigger career goals, such as being crowned the African Player of the Year. Despite a concerted, if somewhat desperate campaign to encourage Camara to stay with Wolves once relegation had been confirmed in 2004, he insisted on moving on. Surely the paper Senegalese flags the local paper printed and encouraged supporters to put in their windows remain a forlorn sign that playing for Wolves is not the great honour most of us think it should be.”
Alun Evans - Wolves years: 1964–68 | Wolves league appearances: 22 | Wolves league goals: 4
The backstory with Neil Pennington
“Born in Kidderminster, Alun Evans debuted for the club in the USA for Los Angeles Wolves as they won the United Soccer Association League, beating Washington Whips (aka Aberdeen). He made his debut in England in 1967/68. He had only one season at Molineux, scoring four goals in 22 games, before Liverpool signed him in September 1968 for £100,000 – famously making him Britain’s most expensive teenager. His Liverpool career could hardly have started better: a goal on his home debut against Leicester and then two more the following week as he returned to Molineux and helped destroy his former club 6-0. “Thank you very much for Alun Evans. Thank you very much. Thank you very, very, very, very much...” sang the travelling fans. He later played for Aston Villa and Walsall, where he scored a Match of the Day’s Goal of the Month, before playing in Australia. Evans continued to live near Melbourne, where he worked for a while as a delivery driver at a fish market. He returned to Lancashire and has played for the Red Rose county’s over-50s cricket team.”
The cult hero status with Pat Quirke
“Alun Evans, with a mop of blond hair, was very much a product of his time. In those days of ‘Beatlemania’, when players like George Best and Rodney Marsh were readily associated with the pop culture of the day, Alun Evans, with his youthful looks and talent, fitted right in, but this never made him popular with the Molineux faithful. He had a good career, but it wasn’t in a gold shirt, and there was always some underlying resentment when he returned to Wolverhampton.”
Gary Bellamy - Wolves years: 1987–92 | Wolves appearances: 164 | Wolves goals: 9
The backstory with Neil Pennington
“Gary joined Wolves from Chesterfield in 1987. He helped the club win back-to-back promotions, as well as the Associate Members’ Cup in 1988. He made 136 league appearances for the club before moving to Leyton Orient and later managed in non-league football. Adjectives such as ‘solid’, ‘reliable’ and ‘dependable’ seem to be favoured for Bellamy, to such an extent that his fellow professionals mock-yawned as he stood up to speak at a reunion of the Sherpa Van Trophy-winning squad some 20 years later.”
The cult hero status with Pat Quirke
“Gary Bellamy came into the team as part of the club’s revival after the darkness of the Bhatti years. A tall, imposing figure in the heart of the defence, he was a calm and unflustered player, often dribbling the ball out from the home six-yard area, despite being surrounded by opposition forwards. He gave stability to Wolves’ defence at a time when the team were getting re-established.”
Billy Hartill - Wolves years: 1928–35 | Wolves appearances: 234 | Wolves goals: 170
The backstory with Neil Pennington
“‘Artillery Billy’ joined Wolves from the Royal Horse Artillery in August 1928. In his first full season as a professional, he scored 33 goals in 36 games and when he left for Everton in 1935, he had scored 162 goals in 221 league games. Only John Richards and Steve Bull have scored more. He twice scored five goals in a single match – a record never bettered by a Wolves player. He retired in 1940.”
The cult hero status with Pat Quirke
“Billy Hartill was one of Frank Buckley’s first major signings in the late 1920s and was a prolific goalscorer for Wolves. The novelty value of his name and former occupation was not lost on local wits, nor the headline writers of newspaper sports columns. The fact he was a local man was a matter of great pride to the Wolves’ supporters of the time and many felt that Buckley sold him on far too early in his career. It is believed that members of his family still live in the Wolverhampton area.”
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolves years: 2009–11 | Wolves appearances: 41 | Wolves goals: 0
The backstory with Neil Pennington
“Marcus Hahnemann joined Wolves as a free agent in 2009, initially as cover for Wayne Hennessey. Having become first choice in the second half of the season, his form ensured Wolves’ survival in the top flight and ranked him ‘the best goalkeeper in the world’ according to the Castrol Performance Index System. Hahnemann’s second season did not go as well. ‘I got on well with Mick McCarthy until he dropped me,’ he revealed. The American was released after a total of 41 appearances. Famously, he warmed up to (very) heavy metal music, but these days is back in Seattle where, among other things, he is a fishing guide and commercial pilot.”
The cult hero status with Pat Quirke
“Hahnemann was, I think, the first American to turn out in gold and black, and was a good, solid keeper who commanded his 18-yard box with authority and confidence. He gained a lot of admiration and respect locally when it was revealed that he would spend part of his free time working in schools helping children learn how to read.”
