Bristol Rovers FC

The Black Arabs, The Poachers, The Pirates, The Gas…

@IpswichTown  #FACUP opponents are @Official_BRFC

They have an iconic badge and a great history. We also share a love of Marcus Stewart, a hero at both clubs. Let’s #GetTheBadgeIn for tomorrow’s visitors to Portman Road.

Let’s start with the nickname, The Black Arabs. When the club was founded in 1883 by five schoolteachers, they named themselves after a local rugby team, the Arabs. Wearing black kits with a yellow stripe, they became the Black Arabs.

Later, they renamed themselves Eastville Rovers after their area of the city. Playing on Purdown Hill, they gained the unflattering nickname "Purdown Poachers" for allegedly stealing players from rival clubs.

So, where does the pirate on their badge come from? Bristol’s port played a significant role in British history, launching both adventures and atrocities. (It was in Bristol that protesters famously threw Edward Colston’s statue into the harbour.) Much of the city’s wealth came from the Empire, through goods, maritime services, and slavery. Its high standards gave rise to the phrase “shipshape and Bristol fashion.” With the port’s massive tidal range, ships would rest on the muddy seabed when the tide was out. To survive this, they had to meet the strictest standards.

But why a pirate, and not just a sailor or anchor?

Bristol was home to many pirates, especially in the Elizabethan era. Early English "privateers" were state-backed insurgents who attacked enemy ships for plunder. Bristol’s port and skilled shipbuilders made it a prime base for these ventures, and streets brimmed with wealth when privateers returned to spend their riches.

Edward Teach, aka "Blackbeard," was a Bristol local who later moved to the Caribbean and became a notorious pirate. Another famous privateer, Peter Easton, attacked Spanish gold ships under Elizabeth I but later turned full pirate when peace was made under James I. He set up a base in Newfoundland, commanded a sizeable fleet, and retired wealthy in Italy under the protection of the Duke of Savoy.

Then there’s Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, which became a pirate haven in the 1600s. Most famously, it was controlled by Moroccan "Barbary" pirates for five years, who preyed on Bristol-bound ships and even captured locals for slavery. While this was on a small scale compared to the transatlantic slave trade, it may explain the origins of the Arab nickname.

Ok, pirates, Arabs, empire… that all tracks.

But why are they now called The Gas? Their Eastville Stadium was next to Stapleton Gas Works, whose smell earned them the taunt "Gasheads" from visiting fans. The name stuck, and Rovers fans embraced it. Eastville was also notable for a greyhound track around the pitch. In 1939, Rovers sold the ground to the Bristol Greyhound Company, leasing it back to stay afloat. It later hosted the Bristol Bulldogs Speedway team and the Bristol Bombers American Football team.

In another strange twist of history the club today is owned by an Arab with very different intentions to the ones seem before. Kuwaiti investor Hussain AlSaeed now owns the club and has been channeling in money to upgrade facilities and keep the team afloat - in Bristol fashion.

Let’s welcome the Gasheads to Portman Road on Sunday.