The badge of Bristol Rovers reflects the club’s nickname of “The Pirates” and lends itself to the seedier side of Bristol’s wealth of maritime history. This history includes the incoming of cargo from around the world including, sugar and cocoa beans for the making of chocolate and sweets in the area, less sweet was the cargo of slaves. Bristol being the hub of the slave trade in England and the city shipped slaves wherever they could sell them. In 1750 alone, Bristol ships transported some 8,000 of the 20,000 enslaved Africans sent that year to the British Caribbean and North America.
Bristol in the 18th Century was the busiest port in the country and along with it came the high seas version of the highwayman: the pirate. As I mentioned it’s the pirate that gives Rovers its badge. (PIC 1) In the 1930s Rovers had a manager whose name would not look out of place in an Errol Flynn swashbuckler, Captain Albert Prince-Cox. Prince-Cox, the name itself sounds like a nickname. Anyway, the captain decided that the club needed a change of image, so lending ideas from the city’s history, Prince-Cox decided on a new nickname for the club and called them “The Pirates”. To add to the intimidation, he changed the strip to quartered shirts, as he argued: “It makes the lads look bigger”. Thus Rovers were the first in the league to wear quartered shirts.
One of Bristol’s most infamous sons certainly did not need to be made to look bigger as at 6’4″ the most famous pirate of them all, Blackbeard, is accepted to have been born in Bristol around 1675 to 1680 as Edward Drummond. Edward Drummond later changed his name to Thatch, then to Teach to protect the Drummond family name. Edward Teach served aboard privateers operating out of Jamaica during Queen Anne’s war between 1701 and 1713, later joining the crew of pirate Benjamin Hornigold, operating from New Providence in the Bahamas. He gained a reputation as being a hard drinker and was never known to pass out. Teach captured a French ship called The Concorde and renamed it Queen Anne’s Revenge. Edward Teach started to create an already growing image by growing a big long black beard and plaited it into braids tied with multi-coloured ribbons. He dressed in a black hat, frock coat and boots, with a sling across his shoulder containing two or three pistols and daggers stuck in his belt. To add to the effect he would tuck slow-burning fuses under his hat so that wisps of smoke encircled his head. (PIC 2) Most of Teach’s or Blackbeard’s foes gave up without a fight and went belly up due to his fierce reputation, appearance and flag. (PIC 3) He died on Friday, November 22nd 1718 at the hands of a pair of sloops belonging to the Royal Navy acting under the orders of the Governor of Virginia. Although he could have outrun and evaded the two ships he fought a running battle, outgunned and outmanned he finally fell victim to five pistol shots and at least twenty serious knife and sword wounds. Is this the pirate that adorns the Bristol Rovers badge? Methinks it is. The striking resemblance, black hat, frock coat and sling over the shoulder certainly suggest it is.
The badge has the club’s name in the roundel, the blue and white quarters of Prince-Cox’s shirt and the pirate with his foot upon a football. The year 1883 suggests the year the club was founded. Pirates don’t like stowaways, so it is interesting that the name Bristol is Olde English from Brycgstow meaning bridge and stow as in place, like stow it away somewhere. So Bristol means the place by the bridge. Bristol Rovers play at the Memorial Ground or Stadium as it now called. The memorial is to the memory of Old Rugby players that died during WWI. When they moved in they had to share it with the local rugby club. The Memorial Stadium opened in 1921and has a capacity of 12,300. Rover’s rivals are Cardiff City and of course Bristol City, who is sung about during most games, wings of a sparrow etc. For more on “The Pirates” steal your way up to and board www.bristolrovers.co.uk
