Alphabetically Accrington Stanley top the list of teams included in this work and that is because they also topped the Conference League at the end of the 2005/06 season, so as a result, they have the honour of opening my findings of all the clubs in the English Football League. If they go back down they will remain on my list as I only add to it as and when teams come up from the Conference or as it was known, the Vanarama National League or is now known the National League, or as it is known in the future when you are reading this, The whatever they call it next league. Too much time and effort go into the research to delete them if they leave so as an added incentive for those in the National League they also have the added bonus of being promoted to my pages of what lies behind their badge.
This is not Accrington’s first sojourn into the Football League because after forming in 1891 as Stanley Villa they reached and played in the league from 1921 to 1962. Their removal from the world’s finest footballing elite was not due to any difficulties on the pitch but rather due to difficulties with the bank. Because of some financial problems that I won’t bore you with Accrington had to disband and after wandering around in the footballing wilderness the present-day club rose phoenix-like from the ashes of an ashtray in a working men’s club. After a meeting at the working men’s club and following a few pints of John Smiths, Accrington Stanley was reformed in 1968. Although it has been some time since Stanley graced the football league they are still one of the country’s more famous clubs. Not for any footballing heroics or FA Cup giant-killing acts, no Accrington owe their fame to a TV advert.
In 1989 one of the most remembered ads was a milk advertisement where two young lads in Liverpool kits and scouse accents open up a fridge and one of the lads asks for some lemonade but the other lad drinks some milk and says: “It’s what Ian Rush drinks, he says if I didn’t drink lots of milk when I grow up I’ll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley”! First boy: “Accrington Stanley, who are they”? Boy with milk: “Exactly”! Well back in the league Stanley now have the opportunity to be known for the skill they obviously showed to top the Conference and become known for their footy. On to the reason Stanley has made it on to these hallowed pages and that’s the club badge they play behind and run their hearts out for when the whistle blows. The badge is, in fact, the town’s coat of arms situated inside a circle bearing the club’s name. (PIC 1) The arms themselves are made up of a shield in the centre of which is a shuttle. The shuttle alludes to the cotton spinning industry a common trade not just in the area but throughout Lancashire. This is due to the fact that the dank and damp climate is favourable to the cotton and keeps it workable. (PIC 2) In the lower part of the shield on the red background are two cylinders out of which rolls a sheet of printed calico and is a symbol of the printing on the fabric after it has been spun. The pattern is described as Paisley, a pattern you would be more likely to see on your granddaddy’s Jim Jams. The top of a shield in heraldry is usually called the chief and here it is halved. In one half on a green background is a stag and the other half displays a lion. The stag come from the arms of the local Hargreaves family of Broad Oak who were connected to the calico printing industry. The lion which is described as rampant because of its position, stood upright on its hind legs, is from an old family coat of arms, that of the De Laceys. The De Laceys were the daddies in Accrington thanks to a grant by King Henry VII. The top of a coat of arms is referred to as the crest and the emblems are usually displayed above a helmet and visor as worn by a knight in shining armour. This is due to the fact that when a knight had his full kit on you could not see who it was so emblems relating to the family were worn on the helmet and were called crests. These would identify the wearer. Of course, if you have just read the England page then you know all this. The crest here has an oak branch with leaves and acorns with the branch shaped into the initial A meaning oak. It signifies the first letter of the tree’s name in Anglo-Saxon which is Ac. The acorns allude to the town’s old name which was Akerenton. The motto reads “INDUSTRY AND PRUDENCE CONQUER”. The arms in full were granted to the town in 1879. The previous badge was the coat of arms but with the club’s initials in place of the motto. (PIC 3)
So there you have it, a detailed account of the badge and town’s name new and old. I can hear an almost deafening chorus of “What about the Stanley”? So where in the great scheme of things does that part of the name come from? Well, it took some digging and I found an explanation in the Wikipedia free encyclopaedia on the net. It’s a very useful research and information site so I don’t mind advertising the fact. Anyway, it says that there are various theories relating to the name but the most likely is the fact that the family name of the Earl of Derby was Stanley. It follows that Stanley was a major landowner in the North West of England and many streets and pubs were named after him. One such pub was the Stanley Arms in Accrington and the founders likely met in the pub or lived in Stanley Street, so the resulting club was named Stanley Villa in 1891. Stanley is used as a nickname along with “The Reds”. At the ground is a sign that you run under on the way to the pitch and it quite aptly says: “This is Stanley the club that wouldn’t die”, in reference to their troubled past. That ground was The Interlink Express Stadium, then the Wham Stadium and is now the Crown Stadium. It has a 5,450 capacity and may, like other grounds change its name again as sponsors change names quicker than football shirts. Accrington is sandwiched between Blackburn and Burnley, who are the local rivals. To cream more from this club then drink all your milk and Rush to www.accringtonstanley.co.uk
