Biography
Pacy striker Steve Moran was at the latter stages of a high profile career when he joined the Tigers in the 1993 close season – he began a trial in mid-July 1993 and signed a contract three weeks later. Adding experience to Terry Dolan’s squad, a recurring back complaint meant Moran was in and out of the first team during the first three months of the season but he did score his first City goal in a September 1993 4-3 win at Cardiff City that took the Tigers to the top of the table. Moran’s season exploded briefly in early November 1993 when he came back into the first team and smote a hattrick past Rotherham United, then netted a fifth Tigers goal a month later against Barnet. But by February 1994 he was out of the first team as his back problem continued to hamper him and retired from the game that summer.
Steven James Moran was born in Croydon but grew up in Fareham near Portsmouth on England’s south coast. Raised as a Southampton fan in a largely Portsmouth-supporting area, Steve came through the Saints’ youth system during the late 1970s and completed his A levels before turning professional in 1979 and making his first team debut in January 1980 when he came off the Saints bench and scored a goal against Manchester City. By October 1980 Moran was an established first team player at The Dell – between 7 October 1980, the third senior appearance of his career, and 24 January 1981 he scored a remarkable sixteen goals in 18 matches, form that attracted the attention of international selectors. Moran ended that first full season with 21 goals and a stellar career looked to be ahead of him.
After scoring twelve goals in the first half of the 1981/82 season including two goals in the UEFA Cup against Irish side Limerick, Moran suffered an injury in January 1982 and missed eight months of football – despite this he was still elected PFA Young Player of the Year. He returned to the Saints’ first team in September 1982 and scored another twelve goals in the 1982/83 season including a March 1983 hattrick against Manchester City. The 1983/84 season was Moran’s most successful of his career as Southampton finished second in Division One and reached the semi-final of the FA Cup with Moran netting 25 times – his second career hattrick came in an April 1984 8-2 destruction of Coventry City and in January 1984 Moran scored perhaps his most storied goal for Southampton, a late winner in an FA Cup tie at Fratton Park against bitter local rivals Portsmouth. He followed up with 18 goals in the 1984/85 season and 10 goals in the 1985/86 season, including hattricks against Ipswich Town in May 1985 and Watford in October 1985. His reputation as a productive striker was now undeniable – in six seasons in the Southampton first team Moran had struck 99 goals in 228 appearances.
Moran was not selected by Southampton for the opening fixtures of the 1986/87 season and In September 1986 he was sold to Division One side Leicester City for a £300,000 fee. Moran’s twelve goals, including a January 1987 hattrick against Sheffield Wednesday, were not sufficient to prevent Leicester from being relegated to Division Two in May 1987. He started the 1987/88 season with five goals and by November 1987 he had netted 17 goals in 52 appearances for the Foxes when he joined Division Two strugglers Reading. Despite scoring seven goals for the Royals, Moran suffered his second relegation in two seasons as Reading dropped into Division Three.
He spent three seasons playing for Reading in the third tier, often used as substitute striker, and when he left in the 1991 close season he had made 143 senior appearances and scored 38 goals. In August 1991 he joined Division Three side Exeter City, in his first season at St James’ Park he rediscovered his form in front of goal, netting 24 times in all competitions including four goals in an October 1991 win against Darlington. Steve was used less regularly in the 1992/93 season as a back injury began to limit his ability to play regularly, though he still managed to score a popular hattrick against local rivals Torquay United in the Football League Trophy. He left the Grecians in the 1993 close season having struck 34 times in 74 appearances.
When Steve retired from football in the summer of 1994 he had scored an impressive 193 goals in 518 appearances across a 15 year career. Despite his southern England roots he remained in the Hull area on retirement and worked for an internet company before becoming a lorry driver and living in the Yorkshire Wolds.
Having previously been an England Schoolboys international during his fecund goalscoring years at Southampton, Moran was twice selected to play for England’s under-21 side. His first game came in September 1981 against Norway in Drammen, his second game came over two years later in February 1984 against France at Hillsborough, a game that finished 6-1 with future Tigers player-manager Mark Hateley hitting four goals,
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 10 January 1961, Croydon
Hull City First Game: 14 August 1993, Barnet A (League Division 2), 32 years, 216 days old
Hull City Final Game: 19 February 1994, Cambridge United H (League Division 2), 33 years, 40 days old
Clubs
Southampton (1979-1986), Leicester City (1986-1987), Reading (1987-1991), Exeter City (1991-1993), Hull City (1993-1994)
Hull City Record
Career: 21 apps, 5 goals
Steve Moran| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993/94 | 11 (6) | 5 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | 2 (0) | 0 |