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
Jimmy Mullen
Jimmy Mullen Blooded at 16 and still going strong in his mid-30s. The Geordie was the ‘left’ part of the club’s feared post-war wing combination, with an extraordinary ability to cross on the run. His death in 1987 led to the club’s Former Players Association being formed.
Frank Munro
Frank Munro Much-admired and elegant defender who had been viewed as an inside-forward back home in a country for whom he won nine caps. One of Ronnie Allen’s later and best signings for the club, he is in the all-time top 20 Wanderers appearance-makers.
Andy Mutch
Andy Mutch Bouncing pay cheques were a feature of Molineux life when Sammy Chapman brought Andy Mutch south in 1986. But the striker played a huge part in Wolves’ renaissance with his 106 goals for the club, the vast majority of them in partnership with Steve Bull.
Geoff Palmer
Geoff Palmer What a wonderful local-boy-made-good story this is! The Cannock-born full-back was a fixture in the club’s defence for well over a decade, with two League Cup triumphs, a substantial taste of the captaincy and some semi-final heartbreak along the way.
Phil Parkes
Phil Parkes Could there be a more popular inductee than the guy who embraces Wolverhampton life as much as anyone from the playing ranks? And to think he was born in West Bromwich! Desperately unlucky to miss out on Wembley glory, this master story teller is pure gold.
Derek Parkin
Derek Parkin Recognised as the best uncapped English full-back of his generation and might have been even more formidable had he remained as a right-back rather than being switched to no 3. Has played more Wolves games than any other man alive or dead – what an honour!
John Richards
John Richards Was first spotted in a schools tournament and blossomed into such a feared finisher that, in another era, he would have won many more than his solitary senior England cap. Was the club’s top all-time scorer for nearly a decade and a half. He was pure dynamite!
Bill Slater
Bill Slater His story is a truly incredible one….from playing in an FA Cup final as an amateur to serving Wolves as a part-timer to captaining a winning team at Wembley to being named Footballer of the Year. Has an OBE, CBE and England caps on top of all that.
Mike Stowell
Mike Stowell He didn’t play in the top flight but he has done pretty much everything else in his outstanding career. Tall and commanding, he exuded confidence and huge loyalty in becoming Wolves’ all-time most used keeper. Now he is a champion coach and title-winner to boot.
Roy Swinbourne
Roy Swinbourne What might have become of this sizzling centre-forward had fate not dealt him the cruellest hand with a career-ending injury in his mid-20s? Plundered goals against the cream of England and Europe and has thankfully been a class act in business as well.