To general astonishment, Hamilton Academical ended a winless run of 76 years versus Celtic this very afternoon. Noteworthy in itself, but I mention this mostly because of their magnificent name.
As a long-suffering fan of Tottenham Hotspur, I’ve always had a soft spot for teams with slightly unusual names. In the westcountry of my childhood, I’d keep an eye on Plymouth Argyle’s results. I was always intrigued by Sheffield Wednesday (originally a cricket club who played all their games on that day). In these days of ever more rampant corporate branding, and proud and ancient stadiums being renamed after retailers of cheap trainers or ethically dubious airlines, the slightly odder names are a reminder of football’s more ramshackle past. Hamilton are named Academical, for example, because they were originally a school football team. Aston Villa derive their name from the Church team they once were.
My own beloved Spurs (also originally a cricket club) are named after Sir Henry Percy, a 14th century knight nicknamed “Haatspore” by Scots he fought due to his speed and prowess; his family owned land in the area which eventually became Tottenham. Likewise Accrington Stanley are named for the Lancastrian house of Stanley (can’t move for Stanley Streets and Stanley Arms in Lancashire).
As football becomes an increasingly homogenised “entertainment product”, it behoves us to remember where it came from, so nice one the Accies, and good to remember that in a world where Uniteds and Cities are ten a penny, there’s only one Hotspur.
(Acknowledgements due to Ben McAleer's excellent Sabotage Times article about how the super Spurs got their name)
As a long-suffering fan of Tottenham Hotspur, I’ve always had a soft spot for teams with slightly unusual names. In the westcountry of my childhood, I’d keep an eye on Plymouth Argyle’s results. I was always intrigued by Sheffield Wednesday (originally a cricket club who played all their games on that day). In these days of ever more rampant corporate branding, and proud and ancient stadiums being renamed after retailers of cheap trainers or ethically dubious airlines, the slightly odder names are a reminder of football’s more ramshackle past. Hamilton are named Academical, for example, because they were originally a school football team. Aston Villa derive their name from the Church team they once were.
My own beloved Spurs (also originally a cricket club) are named after Sir Henry Percy, a 14th century knight nicknamed “Haatspore” by Scots he fought due to his speed and prowess; his family owned land in the area which eventually became Tottenham. Likewise Accrington Stanley are named for the Lancastrian house of Stanley (can’t move for Stanley Streets and Stanley Arms in Lancashire).
As football becomes an increasingly homogenised “entertainment product”, it behoves us to remember where it came from, so nice one the Accies, and good to remember that in a world where Uniteds and Cities are ten a penny, there’s only one Hotspur.
(Acknowledgements due to Ben McAleer's excellent Sabotage Times article about how the super Spurs got their name)
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