Tipton legend hails FA Cup heroes
The man who catapulted Tipton Town's favourite son Steve Bull onto the big stage today has told the club's FA Cup heroes - "your achievements surpass mine."
The man who catapulted Tipton Town's favourite son Steve Bull onto the big stage today has told the club's FA Cup heroes - "your achievements surpass mine."
Bill Powell, now Tipton's president, has served the club for 52 of the club's 62-year existence, from occasional player to chairman.
As the man who negotiated Bull's transfer from Tipton to Albion just over a quarter of a century ago, Powell remembers how he negotiated a clause to double the striker's transfer fee from £500 to £1,000.
Albion paid £500 to take the then factory worker, with Tipton earning the same sum again when Bully joined Wolves in November 1986.
The raw youngster had scored 14 goals in 17 games as Tipton won promotion to the West Midlands League Premier Division in 1984-85, after bagging 35 in 47 for their youth team between 1981-83.
Powell, now 76, said: "I remember the Albion chairman of the time getting on the phone to me and saying he'd pay us £500 for Bully.
"I wrote to them and managed to get £1,000 out of them eventually."
The fee seems modest now, but Bull never received a penny from Tipton, nor was there any guarantee of his future stardom at that time.
Powell hasn't seen Bully for a few years now, but the striker's goalscoring left a memorable mark on him.
He said: "We had better footballers than Steve, but there was no one like him for getting goals.
"Bully came to us in his mid-teens and if you put him in the team, he'd score at least a goal every game. He was tremendous.
Powell was a junior player at Wolves and Walsall before losing a kidney on national service in the RAF, which called a halt to his chances in full-time football.
But the professional game's loss was Tipton's gain, with determined Powell instrumental in the club's development after moving to their present site in 1965.
He said: "It was a 19.5 acre rubbish dump but we could see the potential of the club and we gradually built it up."
But Powell believes any legacy he left has been surpassed by his successor as chairman Bill Williams, and manager John Hill, who is in his 10th season in charge.
Hill has presided over the club's charge at the top of the Midland Alliance alongside their astonishing cup run, which takes them to League One Carlisle on Saturday to a team playing six levels above.
Powell said: "This FA Cup run is the biggest thing that has happened to Tipton Town and Bill and John have done a wonderful job with the team.
"Bill runs the organisation very professionally and John has done brilliantly with the players.
"Their contribution is unsurpassed."
Powell is even confidently predicting an upset.
He added: "Carlisle are no fools - they're a full-time team in League One and were a top flight team a few years ago.
"But if we can get them back to our place, we will beat them."
