FC Astoria Walldorf

Absolutely had no intention of doing this one. But. Sometimes you come across a team that just demands a deeper dive behind the scenes, and FC Astoria Walldorf – competing in the Regionalliga Südwest (the German fourth tier) – are just such a team.

One of my all-time favourite history stories is that of John Jacob Astor, and this team, and this badge, pay homage to that man.

So let's #GetTheBadgeIn and see what is behind this badge and the team's name...

To begin this tale, we need to go back to 1763 and the small town of Walldorf in western Germany (near the French border). Wald means forest and Dorf means village – so literally a small woodland village.

It was there that a child called John Jacob Astor was born to the local butcher (a butcher's boy – just like Ipswich legend Thomas Wolsey...). He began learning his father's trade from a young age but wasn't happy with his lot and spied opportunities elsewhere.

In his late teens, Astor moved to London, where one of his brothers was already established in business. He learned English and worked in the musical instrument trade.

After the end of the American Revolutionary War, opportunities opened up in the newly independent United States. In 1784, at the age of 21, Astor boarded a ship and sailed to New York City with little money and few connections.

Legend has it that during the voyage he met a fur trader who explained the enormous profits that could be made in the North American fur trade. That conversation may have changed his life.

Astor began by selling musical instruments but quickly moved into buying and selling animal furs. At the time, European demand for beaver hats was enormous. Beaver pelts from North America were highly prized, and traders could earn huge profits transporting them across the Atlantic (think: The Revenant).

Astor built trading relationships with Native American communities, frontier traders and European buyers. He proved exceptionally skilled at logistics and negotiation.

By the early 1800s, he had created the American Fur Company, which became one of the largest businesses in North America. His network stretched from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains. He even sold vast quantaties of furs and other goods to China and Russia - one of the first American businesses to really profit from the cross-Pacific trade. The company owned its own large cargo ship, appropirately called The Beaver, that sailed the route between America and Canton (today's Guangzhou).

For a time, Astor effectively monopolised the American fur trade.

Unlike many wealthy merchants, Astor realised that the fur trade would not last forever. So he struck upon his next great breakthrough and began investing his profits in land around New York City. At the time, much of Manhattan north of the settled city was farmland and countryside. Many people thought he was wasting money. "The city will never grow that big," they said.

Astor was right. They were wrong.

As New York grew, the value of his land increased dramatically. By the 1830s and 1840s, much of his wealth came not from furs but from real estate.

And, just as if he were playing real-world Monopoly, Astor upgraded his property empire by building hotels... and not just any hotels...

The world's best hotels.

His most famous was the Astor House, opened in 1836 (pictured). It was knocked down in 1967 to make way for One Astor Plaza - a 54 storey office block.

The Astor House quickly became one of the finest hotels in America. Politicians, businessmen, foreign visitors and celebrities stayed there. It helped establish the Astor name as a symbol of wealth and prestige.

Later generations of the Astor family would become even more famous in the hotel business, eventually helping create the legendary Waldorf-Astoria, which dominated the city and stood near Central Park.

Despite becoming America's richest man, Astor never forgot where he came from.

He sent money back to Walldorf and supported local projects. His success became a source of pride for the town. The connection was so strong that when later generations of Walldorf residents came to think of a name for their football team, there could only be one choice, and FC Astoria Walldorf was born.

Imagine a small town in South Africa calling themselves Musk FC in honour of all the help that Elon sent to the... oh... oh yes... poor example. He's never helped anyone. But if he were a decent human being, you could understand someone doing it.

So that's the origin of the club's name.

The tree on the badge comes from the coat of arms of the town of Walldorf, which, as we've already seen, was a heavily forested area – hence the name.

And as if one multi-billionaire son wasn't enough, Walldorf now boasts two.

Dietmar Hopp was born in nearby Heidelberg. After training as a computer engineer and working for IBM, he and three colleagues left the company and formed their own little outfit called Systeme, Anwendungen und Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung (Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing) – or SAP.

Today, SAP is Europe's most valuable company by market value and the largest software company in the world outside the USA. It is headquartered in Walldorf and has been the long-term shirt sponsor of FC Astoria Walldorf.

So there you have it.

From beaver furs to luxury hotels to software titans, this little German town – and its football club – represent an incredible past.

The team are looking to build an even more exciting future every Saturday on the pitch. I wish them all the luck in the world.