In 2009, Wolverhampton Wanderers took welcome steps to further honour their heroes with the setting-up of a Hall Of Fame. The dinner to officially recognise inductees has become a hugely popular, sell-out annual occasion in the luxurious hospitality area of Molineux’s Billy Wright Stand.
The club themselves provide lengthy write-ups of these glittering nights, as well as detailed accounts of why individuals – or even teams – have been chosen. So please check their website for much, much more.
This, however, is our brief overview of the Hall Of Fame – a VIP club that became even more prominent with the unveiling in 2012 of a superb museum in the towering new Stan Cullis Stand.
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Inductees to date
(in chronological and then alphabetical order):
2009 – Steve Bull, Stan Cullis, Ron Flowers, Jackery Jones, Derek Parkin, Billy Wright (6).
2010 – Mike Bailey, Peter Broadbent, Billy Harrison, John Richards, Bill Slater, Graham Turner, Bert Williams (7).
2011 – Derek Dougan, Sir Jack Hayward, Kenny Hibbitt, Jimmy Mullen, Roy Swinbourne, the 2003 play-off final winning team (6).
2013 – Major Frank Buckley, the triumphant 1954 team against Honved, Malcolm Finlayson, Andy Mutch, Dave Wagstaffe (5).
2015 – Johnny Hancocks, John McAlle (2).
2017 – Jack Brodie, Frank Munro, Andy Thompson, Dennis Westcott (4).
2023 – Alf Bishop, Jack Davies, Robbie Dennison, Joe Gardiner, Geoff Palmer, Phil Parkes, Mike Stowell, Dennis Wilshaw (8).
(There were no inductees in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 or 2022).
Hall of Fame Inductees
Diogo Jota
Diogo Jota Diogo Jota has been honoured at his first English club by being inducted immediately into Wolves’ hall of fame. The Portuguese forward was killed in the tragic car crash that also claimed the life of his brother, Andre. The hall of fame committee, who run independently of the club, have moved swiftly following the massive outpouring of grief from supporters and the huge shrine that grew in the player’s memory outside Molineux. Inductees into the most coveted part of the club’s museum are normally chosen after weeks or even months of deliberation and discussion
Mike Bailey
Mike Bailey The ultimate leader and warrior who gave over a decade of his career to the gold and black cause. Wolves’ midfield was always a more powerful unit with him in. Honoured by England with two senior caps and the 1967 Midlands Footballer of the Year award.
Alf Bishop
Alf Bishop The second Wolves 1908 FA Cup winner to be inducted and what a leader this defender sounds. He showed his toughness by bouncing back from a broken jaw for the final, his durability and longevity later earning him the captaincy in a stay of 382 games.
Peter Broadbent
Peter Broadbent What a talent! To many fans of a certain age, he was a favourite among a team of legends. Genial and with a razor-sharp cutting edge, his goals and ‘assists’ would make him worth a king’s ransom today. An England star of his day, too – of course.
Jack Brodie
Jack Brodie Talk about being in on things from day one… utility man ’Jack’ was a founder member of the club, born in the town and later to serve as a director. His 65 first-team games included the 1889 FA Cup final and he also won three England caps.
Major Frank Buckley
Major Frank Buckley Visionary’ is a word often applied to the Boer War veteran. Not only was he ahead of his time in seeing football’s future, he developed a brilliant youth policy at Molineux and set the seeds for the greatness that followed under Stan Cullis.
Steve Bull
Steve Bull Well, he has a stand named after him, so he has to be in there! He became the youngest individual inductee to date and is still a very frequent visitor to Molineux, where those 306 goals and numerous battle scars help to assure him of the warmest of welcomes.
Stan Cullis
Stan Cullis One outstanding career – as a player – was interrupted by the war and then ended early by injury. So the former Wolves and England captain carved out another as a brilliant, trophy-laden manager, who apparently had a thing about discipline.
Jack Davies
Jack Davies Jack Davies helped see to it that Stan Cullis stayed at Wolves as a player, then talked the Molineux management out of giving up on a young Billy Wright. If he had achieved nothing else in around 50 years as a trainer – and he did loads! – those acts were enough.
Robbie Dennison
Robbie Dennison ‘Wizard of the wing’ is a very appropriate term here. For a decade, the genial Irishman glided across Molineux, providing quality service for others and scoring almost 50 goals. Did someone once point out he had a flair for scoring spectacularly in big games?