The worst drought on record hits Britain, forcing the use of standpipes following a long hot summer, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Rocky released, Fidel Castro becomes The President of Cuba, Palestinian extremists hijack an Air France plane and take it to Entebbe, Uganda. Soweto riots in South Africa mark the beginning of the end of apartheid, Eccentric American billionaire Howard Hughes, who had been a recluse for 20 years dies at the age of 70, The President of Argentina, Isabel Peron, is overthrown by a military coup. Aged just 14, Nadia Comaneci wins 3 gold medals at the Montreal Olympics with seven perfect scores, The Apple Computer Company was established, Punk Rock hit the music scene, Second Division Southampton win the FA Cup, beating the giants of football at the time Manchester United 1-0, and Stevenage Borough FC was formed. Just the tip of an iceberg as far as events in 1976 are concerned. As David Bowie sang at the time, Golden Years indeed.
The borough has been dropped from the name since 2010, and Stevenage FC as they are now achieved greatness by making it onto my hallowed, or as some might say hollowed site, due to gaining promotion to the football league in 2010. The badge Stevenage proudly wear on their shirts is one of the newest in the football league only being introduced in 2019. (PIC 1) The club website gives a detailed explanation of the badge and reasons for the change. Supporters of the club collaborated on the badge, which is nice, and hopefully will catch on as clubs go through this badge-changing fad. The ever-present Hertfordshire hart takes pride of place and the site says of the hart: “A hart is an animal of power, intuition, vigilance and holds the ability to change directions quickly”. I can’t see Watford’s hart doing anything quickly, but this hart looks like it can live up to the site’s description. The six stripes have a threefold meaning. Firstly, they are the club’s colours. Secondly, the town is well known for being the first-ever new town. New towns were a series of towns built near London after World War II, and the Queen opened the town centre in 1959. The stripes represent the six neighbourhoods of Stevenage built at that time. Thirdly, six Roman burial mounds can be found nearby and the six stripes also represent this ancient site. The club’s name and formation date are in the roundel. As far as new badges go this is one of the better ones, and that is probably due to the club’s inclusive attitude towards its members, supporters and staff. The moody badges of today have probably been designed by rugby-loving, bearded, brown brogue wearing, high earning designers, in windowless offices, in-between bouts of table tennis, having consulted with no one but Ralph, the invisible fan of American football, and friend since infant school.
The badge the new one replaced was also a nice badge. (PIC 2) It is based on the coat of arms. The coats of arms were actually used before this badge and by explaining them I can explain both, as the stripes have already been accounted for. (PIC 3) The arms were officially granted in March 1958. The oak tree represents the woodland in and around Stevenage, and the acorns symbolise the town’s steady growth and its prosperity, as well as the town’s Saxon name. Stevenage began as a Saxon village in 7th Century Hertfordshire, and likely began as a tree! You see, trees were used as meeting places if they stood out and were easily recognizable, and then a few dwelling places would be built nearby. Followed by a church, public house and duck pond. The name Stevenage came from the Anglo-Saxon stith ac, which means strong oak. The sword in the oak tree is taken from the Bishops of London, who owned Stevenage during the middle ages. The red band across the middle of the shield represents the Great North Road running through Stevenage, and the six stars on it are for the six neighbourhoods, Old Stevenage, Bedwell, Broadwater, Shephall, Chells and Pin Green. The crest has a gold panelled and riveted crown indicating a planned area. The hart is taken from the Hertfordshire coat of arms. It is resting its foot on a cogwheel, which represents the modern industry carried out in the new town. The fact that it is a new town is also represented in the motto, as it is in English instead of the usual Latin and reads: “The Heart of a Town Lies in its People”. How true that is, but I would have spelt ‘heart’ as ‘hart’ but I am like that, and it is both a blessing and a curse.
It has been nice researching this pleasant club, and I wish it all the best for the future. Stevenage play at Broadhall Way, but like most grounds these days will undergo many name changes due to sponsorship deals, but to the fans it is and always will be Broadhall. It has a capacity of about 7,300. Watford are the local rivals. Stevenage is in need of a nickname as the only one I could find is “The Borough”, and that was dropped from the name over 10 years ago, but change is one thing us football fans find hard to accept. Maybe “Steve” would be a good nickname. If you want to find out more on this club then leap to www.stevenagefc.com
