Although Les Randle only had a season or so playing in the Southern League for Halesowen Town, his service to the club deserves pride of place.
Randle started his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers as a youngster.
He joined Tamworth in 1968 and started out in the Lambs` reserve side but left when they disbanded the second string at the end of the 68/69 campaign.
His next port of call was to Brierley Hill Alliance in the West Midlands (Regional) League and it was there that he was switched from his normal position as a forward to full back where he went on to enjoy success.
In 1971, Randle departed for Oldbury United, then in the Midland Combination, before switching to another Combination side, Smethwick Highfield, where he was player of the year for 1974/75.
He re-joined Oldbury in 1975 but had an unhappy return there and was invited to sign for Warley County Borough in the West Midlands (Regional) League.
But the club, only founded in 1968, folded at the end of the 1976/77 season and Randle followed manager Brian Fosbrook to league rivals Halesowen Town.
The Yeltz enjoyed a decent season in 77/78, reaching the Fourth Round of the FA Vase, and Randle was rewarded by being named player of the year.
However, a good number of the squad left at the end of the season with manager Fosbrook but Randle stayed and 78/79 saw him win the player of the year award for the second successive season.
Season 1981/82 saw the start of what was to become a period of successive success for Halesowen as they finished third in the WMRL and Randle was once more the player of the year.
But 82/83 saw the Yeltz win the league title for the first time, win the League Cup against Hednesford Town and reach Wembley for the FA Vase Final, although they lost to an Ian Crawley goal for VR Rugby.
Halesowen and Randle went on to dominate the West Midlands (Regional) League for the next three years and in 1984/85, the club reached Wembley again in the Vase which this time they won by beating Fleetwood Town 3-1.
The following season was even better as Halesowen made it to a second successive Vase Final, beating Southall, and winning the WMRL again and this time earning promotion to the Southern League.
Halesowen`s first season in the Southern League though saw Randle in and out of the side, although he did break his ten-year goalscoring duck with a late penalty at Buckingham Town in his 450th game and have the honour of being awarded a testimonial against Kidderminster Harriers in May 1987.
He eventually left the club in 1988 but didn`t travel far as he returned to the West Midlands (Regional) League by signing for neighbours Halesowen Harriers, having made in excess of 470 appearances for the Yeltz.
There also cannot be a piece on Halesowen Town without mentioning the most appropriate `twin` strikers Paul and Lee Joinson.
I say appropriate because, of course, they were actually twin brothers who between them scored 614 goals in over 1,150 appearances for the club.
Paul is Halesowen's all-time top goalscorer and also the player with the most appearance for the Yeltz, with 609.
He scored 369 goals in total and, along with Les Randle, was part of the FA Vase winning team in both 1985 and 1986 and the side that finished runners-up in 1983.
Both came up through Halesowen`s reserve side, with Paul going on to have spells with Worcester City, Redditch United, Dudley Town, Malvern Town, Stourbridge and Blakenall as well as returning to Halesowen twice more.
Brother of Lee (pictured) also played in the Vase finals and later re-joined his twin at Redditch, Malvern, Blakenall and Sandwell Borough.
Mark Penn enjoyed a joint testimonial game with the Joinson twins in May 1990 when the Yeltz played Aston Villa at The Grove.
Defender Penn, who joined Halesowen in the early 1980s from Lye Town, went on to make over 500 appearances for the club.
He also played in all three of the club`s FA Vase Finals at Wembley, the 1983 defeat to VS Rugby and then the victories over Fleetwood Town in 1984 and his last appearance for Yeltz at the old stadium - a 3-0 triumph over Southall in 1986.
Mark`s son Russell is the current player/assistant-manager of Kidderminster Harriers having previously played for Burton Albion, Cheltenham Town and York City.
Malcolm Hazlewood has the honour of appearing in two FA Vase Finals and also an FA Trophy Final.
A vastly experienced midfielder, he played for Halesowen in the 1983 and 84 finals before being signed by Conference side Kidderminster Harriers, with whom he appeared in the 1987 Trophy final – but not at Wembley!
He missed out when Harriers drew 0-0 with Burton Albion under the old Twin Towers but came on as a substitute when they beat the Brewers in the replay at West Bromwich Albion`s Hawthorns.
Hazlewood began his career as an apprentice at Walsall before having his first spell with the Yeltz along with two seasons with Dudley Town and then Kidderminster.
After he returned to Halesowen, he played a major part in their rise to the Southern League Premier Division, captaining the side on many occasions.
He went on to have spells with Blakenall and Bilston Town.
In May 2011, Sean Flynn announced his retirement from football at the age of 43.
Flynn, who for the previous two seasons has played at South West Peninsula League side Falmouth Town, made the decision to quit the game following their final match of the season at home to Dartmouth.
He enjoyed an impressive career in football spanning more than twenty years.
He began his career with Southern League Premier Division side Bromsgrove Rovers.
However, it wasn`t until moving to league rivals Halesowen that he began to attract attention.
He signed for Coventry City in December 1991 and made his debut in August of the following year in a 2-1 Premier League victory over Middlesbrough at Highfield Road.
In August 1995 his then manager Ron Atkinson told him he was no longer needed at Coventry and he moved to Derby County for £225,000.
Flynn got promoted with Derby by finishing in second place in the First Division in 1995/96.
After a short loan period with Stoke City, Flynn signed for the club he had supported as a boy West Bromwich Albion for £260,000 in August 1997.
In July 2000 Flynn moved on a free transfer to Tranmere Rovers and spent two years there before leaving to sign for League Two side Kidderminster Harriers in August 2002.
He played 436 games and scored 34 goals in his years as a professional footballer.
He continued playing non-League football after leaving Harriers in 2003 with spells at Southern League sides Evesham United and Redditch United and then, after moving to Cornwall to run his caravan park, he played for Bodmin Town, Penzance, Mullion and Falmouth.
He had announced his retirement from football in the summer of 2010 but was talked into playing another season for Falmouth.
However, still unable to kick the habit, he returned to Falmouth as a player in March 2012!
Goalkeeper Tim Clarke came through Halesowen`s own ranks to become one of the best around in non-League football for a time.
He made the senior side at The Grove in 1989 but his potential was attracting attention and it was Coventry City who won the race for his signature in 1990 for £25,000.
However, he failed to settle at Highfield Road and was sold on to Huddersfield Town a year later for £15,000.
He went on to play over 70 times in the Terriers` first team and also spent time on loan with Rochdale.
His League career continued at Shrewsbury Town, York City and Scunthorpe United before he had a couple of seasons in the Conference with Kidderminster Harriers
One of Clarke's more notable achievements came in 2001, when he was a part of Welsh Premier Barry Town`s side that won in Azerbaijan against Shamkir.
The match marked the first ever occasion that Welsh club would progress in the UEFA Champions League.
Clarke also played in goal against Portuguese giants FC Porto in the next round.
He returned to Halesowen and added 74 games to his tally for the club before having brief spells with Evesham United, Weston-super-Mare, Bromsgrove Rovers, for whom he played 25 games in 2005/06, Willenhall Town and Halesowen for a short period.
Clarke went into goalkeeping coaching back at Halesowen before joining Evesham and Hinckley AFC, also as keeper coach.
It was whilst with Evesham in 2013, that Clarke made an unexpected playing comeback at the age of 48!
At half-time in the opening Southern League Division One South game of the season between Evesham and Taunton Town, the Robins` keeper was unable to continue due to injury.
Fortunately, Evesham had named their goalkeeper coach Tim Clarke on the bench and had to go between the sticks.
He conceded three goals as the ten-men of Evesham – they had Neil Barnfield sent-off after 37 minutes – shared a 4-4 draw!
Jim Rodwell was a towering and commanding centre-half who is now commanding the Boardroom at League One Sunderland!
He began his playing career as an apprentice with Darlington and he made one Football League appearance before going to play in Malaysia for the Sabah State team.
He returned in 1990 and had spells with Bury, Boston Town, Boston United, Bedworth United and Nuneaton Borough before signing for Halesowen in 1995.
His form for the Yeltz attracted attention and he spent the summer of 1996 on trial with a number of League clubs before being transferred to the blossoming Rushden & Diamonds in August 1996 for a record fee of £40,000, which wasn`t bad business for Halesowen for 47 games!
During Rushden’s promotion season in 2000/01 he was a regular starter in but was released in February 2002 after a short loan at Dagenham & Redbridge having played 150 times for Diamonds.
Moving to Boston United, he again became a regular starter in a side that went on to win the Conference but moved to Farnborough Town before the Pilgrims started life in Division Three the next season.
In 2003/04 he played with both Aldershot Town, Tamworth and Havant & Waterlooville in January 2004 but left after just four games when he was appointed caretaker manager of Boston United before taking up a role as director of football and eventually becoming chairman of the Pilgrims in June 2006.
In July 2007, after a turbulent time, Rodwell resigned as chairman in the wake of the club being sold to Chestnut Homes.
In February 2010 Rodwell became chief executive of Notts County after a buy-out of club.
But he left County in March 2015 to take up the position of chief executive at Scunthorpe United and then, in April 2020, he was announced at chief executive of Sunderland.
Rodwell has sat on the Board of both the Football League and the FA Council.
Rob Shilvock had two spells with Halesowen, having started his senior career with the club.
He spent eight years with the Yeltz and played in the 1983 FA Vase Final and won three West Midlands (Regional) League titles before being transferred to Bromsgrove Rovers in 1984, winning Southern League Midland Division and League Cup honours before spending three years in the Conference with Kidderminster Harriers.
He returned to Halesowen in December 1990 but the Yeltz had to shell out a then-record fee of £4,000 to get him back!
He left the club for the last time for a second spell with Bromsgrove before ending his playing days as player-coach back in Halesowen but with Midland Alliance neighbours Harriers.
It was six years later that Halesowen had to beat the record fee paid for Rob Shilvock to sign centre-back Stuart Evans from Southern Premier Division rivals Gresley Rovers for £7,250.
He began his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers before signing for Gresley in 1992, where he became a firm favourite and was player of the year in 92/93, 93/94 and 94/95.
He made over 270 appearances for the Moatmen before moving to the Yeltz.
He spent just over a year at The Grove – ironically his first season saw Halesowen finish fourth behind champions – Gresley!
He moved to Hereford United in 1998 and then to Hednesford Town in May 199 before returning to Gresley in August 2001.
He finished up in the Midland Alliance with Alvechurch in 2003/04.
Eric Smith became recognised as being one of the most experienced and respected defenders in non-League football.
He began his playing career with West Midlands (Regional) League side Tipton Town where he spent nine seasons before moving to Southern Midland Division Halesowen in 1988.
He spent six years with the Yeltz, helping to establish them as a Southern Premier Division side.
He finally moved on to Southern Midland neighbours Bilston Town in 1994.
Frankie Bennett (pictured) is another player nurtured by Halesowen for whom they then received a fee for.
He was spotted by Halesowen playing up front for a local Sunday League side when they signed him in 1990.
He impressed almost immediately and had trials with Coventry City and Birmingham City in 1990/91.
Then in February 1993, Southampton paid out a fee of £10,000 to take him to The Dell.
He went on to play 20 times for the Saints, scoring just the one goal, and also had a spell on loan with Shrewsbury Town in October 1996.
He moved onto Bristol Rovers a month later and stayed for four years, making 44 appearances and netting 4 times.
After a short stay with Exeter City, he signed for Conference outfit Forest Green Rovers in March 2000 and came on as a substitute in the 2001 FA Trophy Final against Canvey Island, which the Gulls won.
Moves to Welsh Premier side Aberystwyth Town, Weston-super-Mare and Bath City followed before he finished his playing days in the Western League with Brislington.
Another player who earned Halesowen a healthy profit was Dean Spink, who only had a couple of seasons with the club in the Southern Midland Division.
However, the big man soon attracted the scouts and in the end he didn`t have to move far as it was Aston Villa, then managed by Graham Taylor, who won the race for his signature in exchange for a substantial £30,000 fee – the biggest for the Yeltz until Jim Rodwell`s move to Diamonds.
He failed to make the grade at Villa though and had loan spells at Scarborough and Bury before moving to Shrewsbury Town where he spent seven years.
In his first year with the club, despite apparently being told by manager John Bond that he`d never make it as a professional, he was switched from centre-forward to centre-back by the former Norwich City and Manchester City boss, and won the club's player of the year award!
He had played over 300 games for Shrewsbury before moving across the border in 1997 to local rivals Wrexham, where he spent three seasons.
Whilst at Wrexham he returned to Shrewsbury on a month's loan, and when he left the Welsh club in 2000, he didn't travel too far to his next two clubs, Chester City and Telford United, who were both in the Conference at the time.
His spell at Chester saw him have a very brief spell as joint caretaker-manager with Owen Brown and Andy Porter, between the departure of Steve Mungall in December 2001 and the arrival of ex-Liverpool and England defender Mark Wright in January 2002.
He later had short spells with Kidsgrove Athletic (where he was assistant manager to Porter) and Colwyn Bay.
After retiring as a player, he eventually returned to Shrewsbury initially as youth team physiotherapist before getting promoted to first-team physio.
In 2004, Spink was voted Shrewsbury's all-time cult hero by the BBC Football Focus viewers.
Going back into Halesowen`s days in the Birmingham League and West Midlands (Regional) League, Bill Morris turned out for the club in the early 1930s after being released by West Bromwich Albion.
He was signed by Wolverhampton Wanderers in May 1933 for £100 and went on to make almost 200 appearances in defence and won three full caps for England and played in the 1939 FA Cup Final at Wembley.
Another to lose six years off his playing career due to the Second World War, he was 34 when it ended and, after a year back at Wolves, he left to see out his playing days with Dudley Town in the Birmingham Combination
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