Grimsby is made up of the stuff of legend, not the football club, but the town itself. Legend has it that a chap called Grim, fled to England after surviving a Viking raid, storms in the North Sea, and saving a young infant called Havelock. Havelock was the sole heir to Denmark’s throne, and after the North Sea crossing, Grim built a home from the wreckage of his ship, around which a town grew. As for Havelock, he grew to fight many battles to reclaim his crown, which he eventually went on to do. Grim went on to become a fisherman, and the town became the biggest fishing port in the country. It may sound fishy, but that’s the legend of the birth and name of the town.
What follows are the facts of the birth of Grimsby Town FC, and its badge. Grimsby Pelham was the original name of the club and they were founded in a pub called the Wellington Arms, on 20th September 1878. Grimsby’s badge and previous badges have all given reference to the towns fishing industry. An email arrived from Martin Copass, to apologise for the lack of information, but providing me with that fact, thank you, Martin. The badge, as Martin says, does give reference to the fishing industry, as under the scroll giving the name of the football club is a shield, and at the top of that shield is a fishing boat. The shield itself does appear to look like the hull of a boat from the front elevation. The black and white stripes are the club’s colours, and the three fish on the right is a symbol of er, well, fish again a reference to the town’s fishing industry. The football club does have an unofficial web site called “Cod Almighty” so the fish could well be cod, but don’t quote me on that one.
The top of a shield is called the chief in heraldry, and in the chief of this ship-shaped shield is a fishing trawler, completing the fish symbolism. The club’s previous badge dates back to the 1970s and also consists of a shield in the club’s colours. It has a football, beneath three fishing trawlers, instead of three fish, and the club’s name in a banner above and below the shield. (PIC 2) The clubs nickname is “The Mariners”, a mariner being a man of the sea, and again a reference to the town’s fishing industry. Blundell Park is the home of “The Mariners”, and has been since 1899. A 9,052 capacity ground whose fans welcome with open arms local rivals like, Scunthorpe United, Hull City, and Lincoln City. If you want to fish for more on Grimsby Town FC then cast your nets to www.grimbsy-townfc.co.uk
