The Leicester City badge has evolved from the City coat of arms, and Leicestershire’s love of fox hunting. Bearing this in mind you would think they would use the name, The Hunters, or The Huntsmen for a nickname, but they chose instead to adopt the name of the furry little creatures that get hunted down, and ripped to shreds in the name of sport, or did before it became illegal. As Oscar Wilde said: “The unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable’. So the nickname is “The Fox’s”. Gary Line acre’s Leicester, as the great Mick Channon once called him, started out as Leicester Fosse in 1884, by members of a Bible class at the old Emanuel Church in New Parks Street. Football was becoming more popular and accessible to the working classes, who were taking to it en masse both as players and supporters. This was, of course, the start of football becoming the country’s national and most beautiful game.
It wasn’t long before the toffs were left in the shade with their dull and dreary cricket. Today, compared to football, only a few share the so-called thrill of leather against wicket! Leicester Fosse (a fosse, by the way, is a ditch or trench) played all over the place, to begin with including a field near Fosse Road, a racecourse called Victoria Park, Belgrave Road, and on to Mill Lane. When Mill Lane closed, the local cricket club came to the rescue, obviously hoping a little of the growing support would rub off on them, and hired out the ground at Aylestone Road. Around November 1891 Leicester Fosse found a more permanent home at Filbert Street. In the summer of 1894 Fosse were elected into Division Two of the Football League. Leicester Fosse continued on with mixed fortunes until financial problems meant they had to wind up in 1919. There was, however, a club waiting in the wings to take over and fill the gap left by Fosse. Leicester had been elevated to city status in 1919 and so the new club was duly christened Leicester City.
Leicester City initially used the coat of arms of Leicester, as a badge or emblem for the club. (PIC 1) These arms were made up using the motifs of the Earl of Leicester, and Robert De Belmonte. On the shield is his Cinquefoil, and on the crest above the helmet a Wyvern. A Cinquefoil is a plant with leaves of five leaflets, and a Wyvern is half-dragon and half-serpent. These arms go back to 1619. In 1919 when city status was granted, two supporters were added. These are the two Lancastrian lions on each side of the cinquefoil, and underneath Elizabeth I’s motto “SEMPER EADEM” which translates as, Always the Same. In 1946 the fox head was introduced in a shield, surrounded by the clubs initials. (PIC 2) About 1950 it was changed, and the old shield badge used the present club colours of blue and white with a golden fox head. (PIC 3) This changed in 1984, for what can only be described as a deal with Fox’s Glacier Mints. (PIC 4) In 1991 designers and supporters were asked to submit ideas for a club badge and corporate logo, which could then be protected by copyright. The present design was submitted, and it must have won as that is what they use. (PIC 5) It was revamped in 1999 with a modernised typeface and more print-friendly colours. The badge retains the cinquefoil from the old coat of arms, and the fox’s head which looks slightly meaner than Basil Brush, and which of course represents the club’s nickname, and the club’s name is in the roundel.
Like most clubs, the logo is used on all merchandise, like mobile phones and credit cards, but I must say on milk cartons is a first. Gary has somehow managed to get the ground named after his favourite snack, The Walkers Crisps Stadium, although I think they dropped the crisps from the name. That’s like Southampton naming St Mary’s, The Pepperoni Hot Stadium in honour of me! A few weeks ago, Leicester equalled their biggest Premiership win by beating us 0-9 at St Mary’s. Last week at the return fixture as the players warmed up on the pitch, the club played every goal on the big screen and turned the volume up to eleven to intimidate both players and supporters alike. The result of all that intimidation, was that we got our three points back in a 1-2 away win, but it could have been much more with Schmeichel making some great saves, the ball being cleared off the line, a penalty being ruled out for being a fingernail offside, and Danny Ings hitting the bar twice. Revenge is not a dish best served cold, as they say, but on a plate by a red-hot Danny Ings. All last season it was referred to, but not a word of the return fixture. The name Leicester originated from the people on the River Ligor, which is now called the River Soar and Ceaster, taken from the Roman for a fort or fortified town, which in turn is from the Latin, Castrum. The Walkers stadium has now been renamed the King Power Stadium and holds some 32,500. Local rivals include Derby County, but you won’t hear them get slagged off because all the supporters are as nice as Gary. Thank you, to the source at Leicester who replied to my letter with plenty of info, but failed to put their name on the complimentary slip. For more on this club get your feet in the stirrups, shout “Tally Ho” and hunt down www.lcfc.com
