Queens Park Rangers
Formed 1882
Founder member of Division Three 1920
Kit History
St Jude's
1882
1882-1886 a t
Queens Park Rangers
1886
1886-1892 a s t
1892-1899 a w
1899-1900 s
1900-1901 s
1901-1902 a
1903-1905 a s
1905-1915 a r s
1920-1922 a
1922-1925 p s v
1926-1930 a s v
1930-1931 s
1932-1933 a q
1935-1937 a v
1938-1939 a s
1946-1947 s
1947-1948 a s
Sept 1948-1949 a g s
1949-1950 a
1950-1953 a s
1953-1954 a
1955-1958 b
1958-1959 s
1959-1960 a
1960-1961 s u
1961-1962 f s
1962-1963
1963-1964 s
1964-1974 a s
1974-Jan1975 c k o u
Jan 1975 late d u
August 1975 c k u
Nov 1975-76 c u
1975-76 late k
1976-1977-1 k u
1976-1977-2 u
1976-1977-3 u
March 1977 u
August 1977 u
Sept 77-Aug 78 c k u
Sept 1978 u
Oct 1978-1980 c
1980-1982 n
1982-1983 a k
1983-1985 a i
1985-1986 a u
August 1986 u
Sept 1986-1987 a u
1987-1988 q u
1988-1989 d f u
1989-1990 a i u
Aug-Dec 1990 a i m u
Jan 1991-1992 a h i
1992-1993 a h i l
1993-1994 c
1994-1995 c
1995-1996 c
1996-1997 c
1997-1999 a
1999-2000 c
2000-2001 c
2001-2002 c
2002-2003 c
2003-2005 c
2005-2006 e
2006-2007 e
2007-2008 e j
2008-2009 e
2009-2010 e
2010-2011 e
2011-2012 e
2012-2013 e
Background
In 1882 a group of former pupils from Droop Street
School formed themselves into a football team named St Jude’s FC after
the Institute where they had their headquarters. In 1886 the club merged
with Christchurch Rangers and adopted the name of Queens Park Rangers (without an apostrophe),
after the Queen’s Park district where most of the members lived. At the time the team played at London Scottish RFC's Brondesbury ground but after this became unplayable in the middle of the 1889-90 season, Rangers were forced to finish the season playing their home matches at their opponents' grounds. After this the club led a nomadic existence for almost 30 years.
In 1892 QPR adopted green and white hoops and entered the West London League. In 1894-95 they won the London Cup and entered the FA Cup for the first time. Faced with their top players being poached by other clubs, Rangers decided to turn professional in December 1898 and the following season they were admitted to the Southern League. In 1908 they won the Southern League championship and, in anticipation of being elected to Division Two of the Football League, they resigned. When Tottenham Hotspur were elected instead, Rangers had to go cap in hand to be readmitted. Although they were successful, they had to play all their games in midweek as the fixture list had already been drawn up.
In 1919, having played on no fewer than eleven grounds, Rangers took over the Loftus Road stadium of Shepherds Bush FC and this has remained their home ever since. The following season, Rangers joined the Football League when the old Southern League Division One was incorporated as Division Three. Having finished bottom twice and survived two re-election campaigns (1924 and 1926), a new manager was brought in and the broad blue and white hooped shirts that have become firmly associated with the club were adopted. In 1931 the club moved to the White City but this proved a financial disaster and a year later they were back at Loftus Road.
Success finally arrived in 1948 when Rangers were promoted as champions
of Division Three (South). With
rationing still in force, the club appealed
to fans to donate coupons to replace their kit and in 1948-49 they played
in blue shirts with white sleeves as a result. Hoops were restored in
1949-50 but after Rangers were relegated in 1952, they were dropped in
favour of plain white shirts. The club crest, based on the coat of arms of the London Borough of Hammersmith, featured on these shirts but was dropped when hoops were reinstated in 1959.
The 1966-67 season was the club’s most successful season to date.
They not only won the Third Division championship, but also the League
Cup beating West Bromwich Albion 3-2 after trailing 0-2 at half-time.
In 1968 they were promoted to Division One but were relegated at the end
of the season. In 1973 they were promoted back to the top flight.
A new crest was introduced in 1975, with the initials QPR superimposed on a football. This appeared in blue or white depending on which hoop it appeared out of.
In 1976 Rangers finished as runners-up in Division One to qualify for
Europe for the first time but 1979 brought relegation once again.
In 1981 Rangers became the first English club to install an artificial playing surface. Having reached the FA Cup final in 1982, they won the Second Division in 1983, having introduced a very stylish new crest at the start of the season.
The plastic Loftus Road pitch proved deeply unpopular with visiting sides and in 1988 it was replaced with turf.
In 1996 the club was relegated from what was now the Premier League and
at the end of the season Chris Wright, the club’s chairman and owner
of Chrysalis Records took a controlling interest in the club. After buying
Wasps RUFC and relocating them to Loftus Road, Wright restructured the
two clubs under the banner of Loftus Road plc and floated the new company
on the stock exchange, realising £12m. On the pitch, however, results
were poor and the club was relegated to 
Nationwide Division Two (the old
Third Division) in 2001.
In 2001 the club was forced into administration and were only rescued when a high interest £10m loan was negotiated and, after a period of austerity, the club returned to the Championship (second tier) in 2004. Boardroom scandals in 2005-06 and the tragic deaths of two young players in 2006 and 2007 threatened to overwhelm the club. After Rangers were bought by Formula One tycoons, Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore in 2007, their finances stabilised and, as a symbol of what they hoped would be a new era, the crest was replaced with an heraldic design that incorporated the club's traditional broad hoops.
In 2011 Rangers won the Championship title to return to the Premier League. In March 2011 Bernie Ecclestone indicated he might be interested in selling his 69% stake in the club for £100m. Ownership passed to Malaysian businessman, Tony Fernandes in August 2011 for a fee rumoured to be in the region of £35m. Controversy over financial arrangements made by previous owners continued to plague the club and legal action from previous investors remain unresolved at the time of writing.
Sources
- (a) Queen's Park Rangers FC (Images of Sport: Tony Williamson)
- (b) Southend United FC (Images of Sport)
- (c) empics
- (d) Sporting Heroes
- (e) QPR Official Website
- (f) Football Focus
- (g) Barry Thompkins
- (h) John Lewis
- (i) David King
- (j) Football Shirt Culture
- (k) Alick Milne
- (l) Craig Sully
- (m) Simon Ståål
- (n) Simon Wise
- (o) Steven Browne
- (p) Simon Ståål (Pathe News clip)
- (q) Simon Monks
- (r) The Lord Price Collection
- (s) Keith Ellis (HFK Research Associate)
- (t) The Book of Football, a Complete History & Record of the Association and Rugby Clubs 1906 provided by Richard Essen
- (u) Christopher Worrall
- (v) Michael Gluck
- (w) The Football Sun 8 April 1899 found by Richard Essen
Modern crests are the property of Queen's Park Rangers FC.