Football Badges

Sports Kerlectables

In 1888, two years after the formation of Arsenal FC the club who were known as Royal Arsenal adopted its first crest. At the time Arsenal played their home games at Plumstead Common.

Arsenal began as a works team for the Woolwich Armaments. They were founded in 1886 as Dial Square. The name soon became Woolwich Arsenal and they played their first match at Plumstead Common. They soon joined the old Second Division playing regularly against professional clubs.

The original Arsenal FC badge comprised of three columns pointing northwards. These columns have occasionally been mistaken for chimneys, but the presence of a carved lion’s head and a cascabel (a knob at the breech end of a cannon) clearly identify the objects as cannon.

The cannons on the original crest are obviously a reference to Arsenal’s early association with the Borough of Woolwich which is steeped in military history.

In 1922, the club adopted its first single cannon crest, featuring a cannon pointing eastward. This crest was used until 1925 when the cannon was reversed to point westward, its barrel was slimmed down and the club's nickname, The Gunners, was inscribed to the left of it. In 1949, the club unveiled a modernised crest featuring the same style of cannon, the club's name set in black letters above the cannon, and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly adopted Latin motto, Victoria Concordia Crescit (meaning "victory comes from harmony"). For the first time, the crest was rendered in colour – red, green, and gold – which varied slightly over the crest's lifespan.

Arsenal’s association with Woolwich was severed in 1913 when the club found a new home in Highbury, North London. However, the cannon theme remains prominent on Arsenal’s club crest, including the new design.

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Everton FC was founded in 1878 as St. Domingo Church Sunday School Club.In 1879 they changed the name to Everton FC. The name was adopted at a meeting at the Queens Head Hotel in Village Street close to the Toffee House operated by Old Ma Bushell the original Toffee Lady and the person who created Everton Toffees.
In 1884 the team moved to Anfield Road and a new club president was elected, John Houlding he was the landlord of Sandon Hotel and owner of the field. Unfortunately John Houlding kept increasing the rent on the field which led to a disagreement with George Mahon a member of the St-Domingo Church which was the owner of the Football team. Consequently, the clubs owners voted to leave Anfield Road and return to Stanley Park, namely Mere Green Field. Having settled at Mere Green Field the club renamed the site Goodison Park.

Meanwhile another contest was taking place and this competition concerned the supply and manufacture of the famous Everton mint or toffee.

The toffees had always proved popular with the crowds who watched Everton play in at Stanley Park, later Priory Road and at Everton’s third ground Anfield. However, after the move from Anfield in 1892 to Goodison Park sales of Everton Toffees from Old Ma Bushell’s Ye Anciente Everton Toffee shop started to decline. This was in part due to the long distance that now separated Old Ma Bushell's tasty goods from the crowds around Goodison Park and the added competition of Mother Noblett’s Toffee Shop located near to Goodison Park. Realising the importance of this opportunity Mrs Noblett created a new toffee or mint and the Everton Mint was established. The now familiar black and white stripe sweets reflected the colours of an earlier football strip that Everton FC had worn.

This might have been the end of the story except Ma Bushell did not take the new competition lying down. Using her business acumen Ma Bushell gained permission from the clubs management to distribute Everton Toffees to the crowd inside the ground prior to the kick-off. Wearing a broad hat and carrying a basket Ma Bushell’s grand-daughter performed the task of distributing the individually wrapped toffees a tradition which continues to this day.

The establishment of an Everton crest was initially considered at the end of the 1937-38 season by Everton’s secretary Theo Kelly who later became manager. Initially it was to be used as part of a design for a necktie the colour of which was to be blue.

Having spent many months contemplating the actual crest Kelly chose to utilise an image of the tower or beacon on Everton Brow which was constructed in 1787 and used as a bridewell to incarcerate criminals. After some further refinements and the inclusion of the club motto: ‘Nil Satis, Nisi Optimum (only the best is good enough) a tie was produced and first worn on the opening day of the 1938-39 season.

The crest has since been used in the design of football badges produced for fans of Everton Football Club. Sports Kerlectables stocks a selection of contemporary and vintage enamel football badges associated with Everton FC and regularly reviews its stocks.

Should a collector choose to focus on enamel football badges there are many categories of badges to choose from. Areas of interest include: Premiership football clubs, Championship teams, Division One, Division Two, FA Stewards badges, referees badges, Football Association badges (County FA’s etc). Alternatively, you may choose to collect Welsh or Scottish enamel badges. Another option is that of Non-league clubs, these enamel badges can be socially and historically interesting they often highlight connections between sport and local industry. Many older badges can now fetch a premium price while later additions remain affordable.
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FA Stewards Badges
Football badges are increasingly popular to collect and FA Stewards badges are no exception.
FA Stewards badges are not generally as decorative as club badges but this does not detract from their popularity. Prices fluctuate considerably between £50.00-£150.00 dependent on age, condition and the competition for which they were issued.

Steward’s badges by definition were only issued to officials and this adds to the rarity. The design changed frequently and they are often dated.

Football memorabilia is a popular genre for collectors. Those who choose to collect often focus on items such as football badges, shirts, scarves, programmes, tickets etc.

Enamel football badges are a popular item to collect they are less likely to suffer wear and tear if they have been looked after, and they can be extremely decorative. As a bonus to new collectors newly issued or contemporary badges remain in an affordable price bracket of between £2.50 and £5.00 however this can increase for older and much rarer badges.

It is unfortunate that many clubs in the premiership etc have now chosen to overlook this market consequently good quality official hard enamel badges are rarely available. It would appear that the income generated from such sales is not considered effective when commissioning a badge. While this may prove frustrating to some collectors it does mean that the value of older vintage badges will undoubtedly continue to rise.

Fortunately for the new collectors Non League football offers a good hunting ground for badges. Many Non League football teams recognise that enamel football badges can still offer a source of income. Additionally, through researching the teams and badges a collector can acquire knowledge of Britain’s social history.

Many Non League sides owe their existence to works teams and industries devastated by lack of investment and overseas competition. Personally I feel that this is an aspect of football badge collecting that is overlooked.