Stanley, Albion and Argyle... Great Football Names

Last week we began to look at some of the reasons why football clubs have the names they do. This week we will continue this interesting little project, and look at some of the less common team names. Why is Accrington Stanley, Plymouth Argyle or West Bromwich Albion?

Accrington Football Club was one of the 12 founding members of the Football League when it was formed in 1888. At the same time there was another football team playing in Accrington, called Stanley Villas, which was so called because the team was based at the Stanley Arms pub, on Stanley Street. Accrington FC resigned from the Football League after only five years, and Stanley Villas took the opportunity to adopt the name of its home town, and became Accrington Stanley. So the next time you are at a sports quiz, and the quizmaster says that Accrington Stanley was one of the founder teams of the Football League, you can now challenge him with confidence!

There is some confusion over the origin of the name Plymouth Argyle. The club was founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club, and there was speculation that the name came from an army regiment, the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders. This regiment was renowned for having a very strong football team. However, the geographical separation between Plymouth in the south of England, and the Highlanders from Scotland suggests that this may not be the real reason. Far closer to home, there is a pub in Plymouth called the Argyle Tavern, on Argyle Street. As many amateur teams started off playing from pubs it is much more likely that this was the source of the name. But this is not quite as romantic as being named after one of the most illustrious regiments in the British army!

Albion is not an uncommon name in football. West Bromwich, Brighton and Hove, and Burton all use the term. The word Albion comes from the old name for Great Britain, and is considered to be patriotic. The first football club to use the name was West Bromwich Albion. The team started life as the West Bromwich Strollers in 1878, but changed its name to Albion in 1880 as this was a district in the town of West Bromwich where a number of the players lived. By comparison, Stirling Albion, a team in the Scottish League is reputed to have taken the name from the Albion make of heavy lorries that were provided by the club’s first owner, a coal magnate, and used as temporary grandstands for the fans. However this story may be apocryphal! There is even an Albion FC in Uruguay. Founded in 1891 this is the oldest football club in the country, and was started by students from the English High School in Montevideo.

Don’t forget, if you would like any help with your written English, visit our website www.writtenenglishcorrected.com