Crystal Palace FC

This year's FA Cup winners (yes, you read that right...) So let's #GetTheBadgeIn!

First, why the Eagle? Why Crystal Palace? Why do they sound like they’re from the Wizard of Oz? Let’s take a moment to #GetTheBadgeIn #CPFC 

Palace themselves aren’t entirely sure when they began, if we’re honest. Until two seasons ago, their badge read 1905, with the story being that the team was formed by workers from the Crystal Palace in Sydenham, London. However, local historian Peter Manning unearthed evidence suggesting the team dates back to 1861. If true, this would make Palace older than Notts County (@Official_NCFC, 1862) and allow them to claim to be the oldest team in England.

So, what is their claim? The story of Crystal Palace Football Club begins, unsurprisingly, with the Crystal Palace itself. The Palace originated with the Great Exhibition of 1851, a visionary project led by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband. Nicknamed “The Crystal Palace,” it showcased British industry and ingenuity, at the height of our Imperial heyday. Visitors could marvel at treasures like an Egyptian mummy, the Koh-i-Noor diamond (still controversially part of the Crown Jewels), mini steam engine rides, and Charles Goodyear’s rubber tyre technology. Ransomes of

@IpswichTown

exhibited their "artificial stone" material, while Richard Garrett III’s visit inspired the development of Leiston’s Long Shop assembly line. The exhibition drew 6.2 million visitors in six months—a staggering number given Britain’s population of 27 million and the relatively new railway system. However, controversy surrounded the Palace. Built in Hyde Park, it faced local opposition, leading Parliament to order its removal by June 1852. To preserve it, the Brighton Railway Company bought, dismantled, and relocated it to Sydenham, Surrey (at the time).

The new Crystal Palace, much larger than the original, opened in June 1854 with 200 acres of parkland (now Crystal Palace Park). Today, you can run around its foundations at a Park Run each weekend. My boys did it during the summer. The Crystal Palace Company turned it into London’s premier attraction and used the parkland for sport. Archery and cricket were introduced first, with a cricket pitch laid in 1857. That same year, football was played on the grounds for the first time. By 1859, the company established the Crystal Palace Cricket Club, whose players formed a football team in 1861.

Like many others, these cricketers sought fitness during winter. They were nicknamed The Glaziers, referencing the Palace’s plate glass, and played in claret and blue. So, that’s the Palace and the team. What about the eagle? That’s a more recent invention. In 1936, tragedy struck—the Crystal Palace burned down, possibly due to an electrical fault. Strong winds spread the flames, and the Palace collapsed in cascading sheets of glass and flame. Fast forward to March 1973. New manager Malcolm Allison decided the club needed a reboot. Taking inspiration from Barcelona, he introduced red and blue stripes (@FGRFC_Official

copied Barcelona’s badge at the same time). The bird, initially imagined as a phoenix rising from the Palace’s ashes, became a bird of prey symbolising speed and aggression. The Glaziers became The Eagles. New plans for a stadium renovation look mighty impressive, with echoes of the original Crystal Palace architecture built in. So, a club that captures the best of British: imperial industry, collapse, and rebirth through the community organisation of the worker's entrusted with working in a theme park paying homage to the nation's former glory. If that isn’t British history in a nutshell, what is?