Hull City AFC

Hull City. The Tigers. A club whose amber-and-black stripes have been part of the football landscape for over a century, rooted in a city with 800 years of maritime history. This is a team shaped by its port, its industry, and its people – and one that has roared its way from the lower leagues to the top flight. So, let’s #GetTheBadgeIn.

Founded in 1904, City started out playing friendlies at The Boulevard – home of the rugby league side – before joining the Football League’s Second Division a year later. The “Tigers” nickname came quickly, lifted from their amber and black striped shirts. Wrexham’s American fans may be excused for thinking the Cincinnati Bengals are in town – especially with this season’s striking tiger-stripe kits.

In those early years, they were nearly a First Division side. In 1909–10, they missed promotion to Oldham by just 0.29 of a goal on goal average – one of the slimmest margins in history.

The First World War saw league football suspended and City turn to guest players, but one man – “Magical” David Mercer – played 218 consecutive games including every wartime fixture. The post-war years brought mid-table stability but also financial strain, with directors often selling star players to survive in a city still dominated by rugby league.

The 1960s brought one of Hull’s most famous backers – Needler, of Hoveringham Gravel. The Nottinghamshire-based sand and gravel firm – which famously used a mammoth logo after finding mammoth remains in its pits – pumped £200,000 into the club in 1963. With that money came one of the most exciting forward lines in club history: Ken Wagstaff, Chris Chilton, Ken Houghton, and Ian Butler. In 1965–66, they scored 109 goals, won the Third Division, and set new club attendance records.

Fast forward to the 1990s and Dean Windass was the name on everyone’s lips. A local lad, he was prolific in the 1993–94 play-off push, attracting Premier League scouts. Financial trouble soon followed, forcing his sale – along with other key players – and by 1995–96 the club was relegated to the fourth tier.

Hull’s revival came in spectacular style. In 2007–08, under Phil Brown, City reached Wembley for the first time. In the play-off final, Windass – back for a second spell – volleyed home the goal that took the Tigers to the top flight for the first time in their history. The 2008–09 Premier League debut brought famous wins over Arsenal, Spurs, and West Ham before a late-season slide into a relegation battle. They survived on the final day.

A yo-yo period followed. Relegation in 2010 was followed by financial rescue courtesy of the Allam family. Steve Bruce’s arrival in 2012 brought promotion and, in 2014, an FA Cup final – their first – where they led Arsenal 2–0 before losing in extra time. That cup run earned them a first taste of European football, beating Slovakia’s AS Trenčín before falling to Belgium’s Lokeren. Another promotion in 2016 under Bruce was sealed at Wembley by Mo Diamé’s wonder strike, though Bruce left weeks later.

Since 2022, Hull City have been owned by Turkish media mogul Acun Ilıcalı and his Acun Medya empire.

The club has had an eventful history – one almost as eventful as the city itself. Hull began as Wyke on Hull in the 12th century, renamed Kingston upon Hull by Edward I in 1299. It became a Hanseatic League port – part of that medieval “free trade zone” alongside North Sea and Baltic cities like Lübeck, Hamburg, Bergen, and Ipswich. Wool exports made its fortune, and fishing and whaling kept it prosperous for centuries.

In the English Civil War, Hull was one of the first flashpoints. In 1642, Sir John Hotham, acting for Parliament, denied Charles I entry to the city, triggering a siege. The city’s Parliamentarian loyalty, and its vast arsenal, made it strategically vital.

The whaling era peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries, with Hull sending fleets to Arctic waters. Later, the Wilson Line shipping company grew into the world’s largest privately-owned fleet, connecting Hull to every corner of the globe. The Second World War hit Hull hard – 95% of homes were damaged or destroyed in the Blitz – but the city rebuilt, even as whaling and later deep-sea fishing declined.

Hull’s most famous son, William Wilberforce, led Britain’s abolition of the slave trade, his legacy still celebrated across the city.

More recently, modern Hull is often a surprise inclusion on lists of top places to visit in the UK. It blends history and culture – from the Old Town’s cobbled streets and museums to the striking aquarium, The Deep. Named UK City of Culture in 2017, Hull has also been dubbed “Hullywood” for its growing role in film and TV.

The badge, with its fierce tiger’s head, is a nod to that early nickname – a symbol of determination, identity, and fight. Hull City’s history, like its port, is one of trade, success, and resilience.