Fulham
Formed 1879
Elected to Division Two 1907
Kit History
Fulham St Andrews
1879
1886-1887 a
Fulham
1888
1898-1899 n
1900-1901 a
1903-1904 a p
1904-1908 a p
1908-1914 p
1914-1915
1920-1927 a
1928-1929 m
1945-1946 p
1946-1947 p
1951-1952 m
1956-1957 m
1957-March 1958 a
April 1958-1959 a p
1959-1960 m n
1960-1961 a e
1970-1972 a c k p
1972-1973 a
1977-1981 d g h i
1983-1984 g h
1984-1985 a d g
1985-1987 g j
1988-1990 g
1990-1991 g
1991-1992 g
1993-1994 g
1995-1996 g
1997-1998 g
1998-1999 a
1999-2001 a f h
2001-2002 f h
2002-2003 a h
2003-2005 f
2005-2006 e
2006-2007 e
2007-2008 e
2008-2009 e
2009-2010 e
2010-2011 e
2012-2013 e
Background
With a history going back to 1879, Fulham are one of the oldest senior
clubs in London. They started out as a Sunday school team, leading a nomadic
life as Fulham St Andrews before they became known simply as Fulham in
December 1888. In
1892, Fulham joined the West London League and won it
at the first attempt and two years later they moved into Craven Cottage
which is still their home today. The ground was in such a state that it
was not until 1896 that the first match was held there. One year later
Fulham joined the Second Division of the Southern League and in December
1898, the decision to turn professional was taken. In 1903 the club was
promoted to the Southern League First Division and adopted their now traditional
white shirts and black shorts. The hooped stockings worn at the time were
highly unusual if not unique. After winning the championship in 1906 and
1907, Fulham were elected to the Football League, replacing Burton
United
in the Second Division.
Fulham hardly set the world alight although they generally finished in the top half of the table. During the 1920s they endured a gradual decline and were relegated to Division Three (South) in 1928 although four years later they returned to the Second Division.
The first time a crest appeared on the team's shirts was in 1931, a slightly comical representation of Craven Cottage, which appeared until the outbreak of war in 1939.
After the Second World War,
Fulham began to enjoy greater success. For a start a new
crest was introduced, basically the coat of arms of the old London Borough of Fulham. The earliest versions were gigantic but after 1951 these were replaced by smaller ones in white and black without the legend below the shield. This classic design was worn until 1973.
In 1949 they won the Second Division
championship and spent three seasons in the First Division before being
relegated in 1952. In 1959
they were promoted again and remained in the
First Division for the next nine seasons, albeit constantly struggling
against relegation. Disaster struck finally when successive relegations
took Fulham down the Division Three in 1969. In 1971, they were promoted
back to the Second Division.
By this time the old coat of arms was looking
distinctly old fashioned by the standards of the time so it was duly replaced by a a more up to date monogram in an unusual script.
In 1975, with former England players Bobby
Moore and Alan Mullery in the side, Fulham reached the FA Cup final where
they lost to West Ham. In the following years, George Best and Rodney
Marsh joined the club. While the football was attractive to watch,
success
proved elusive.
The monogramme was replaced in 1981 by a simplified version of the Hammersmith & Fulham coat of arms. This was replaced after just one season by a circular badge but
was reinstated in 1984.
During the 1980s Fulham moved between the Second and Third Divisions but they found themselves in the basement in 1994 after a succession of owners came and went, all with their sights set on aquiring the valuable Craven Cottage real estate. Thanks to a vigorous campaign by supporters co-ordinated by former player Jimmy Hill, the club secured their future at the Cottage but their very survival was now in doubt. In January 1996, Fulham, attracting a mere 4,000 spectators to their home games, were bottom of the League and had debts spiralling out of control. With former player, Micky Adams in charge, they lifted themselves to finish in 17th place and the following season, they won promotion to Nationwide Division Two (previously the Third Division).
During this turmoil a new crest was introduced that was effectively identical to the 1945 version optimised for digital reproduction.
In May 1997, Harrods owner Mohamed al Fayed bought the freehold of Craven Cottage and the majority shareholding in Fulham FC. Al Fayed dismissed critics who predicted that he would asset-strip the club and laid out his plans to take Fulham into the Premier League within five years. After persuading Kevin Keegan out of retirement, al Fayed opened his cheque book to bring quality players to the club. In 1999, Fulham ran away with the Nationwide Division Two championship, finishing 14 points clear. Keegan's departure to become England manager proved a setback but in summer 2000, Jean Tigana, a member of the great French side of the 1980, was appointed. Tigana brought modern coaching methods and revolutionised squad management.
In 2001, al Fayed's five-year plan reached fruition a year early as Fulham
won the Nationwide First Division championship. A smart new crest was introduced for the first Premier League campaign that broke with tradition and emphasised the new, forward-thinking approach.
Having established themselves in the Premiership, Fulham announced plans to redevelop Craven Cottage but these were stalled by local residents. With legal and building costs spiralling out of control, the board abandoned plans for the new stadium in favour of a more modest refurbishment, completed in 2004.
After qualifying for the new Europa League in 2009-10, Fulham enjoyed a remarkable run that saw them reach the final where they were narrowly beaten by Atletico Madrid in Hamburg.
Sources
- (a) Fulham FC - The Official 125 Year Illustrated History (Dennis Turner 2004)
- (b) Doncaster Rovers FC - Images of Sport (Peter Tuffrey 2001)
- (c) Football Cards
- (d) Football Focus
- (e) Fulham FC Official Website
- (f) Sporting Heroes
- (g) True Colours (John Devlin 2005)
- (h) Pete's Picture Palace
- (i) Pete Pomeroy
- (j) David King
- (k) Football League Review provided by Simon Monks
- (l) Peter Bird
- (m) Simon Monks
- (n) Christopher Worrall
- (o) The Lord Price Collection
- (p) Keith Ellis (HFK Research Associate)
Old crest images sourced from Vital Fulham and Friends of Fulham.