Manchester United is a popular football team with millions of fans. The team can be seen in films, advertisements and even online casinos with free spins add bank card. Do you know the history of the emblem of this football club?
“Newton Heath”
“Manchester United was founded in 1878 as Newton Heath Football Club. The club was founded by the transport department of the railway depot in Manchester’s Newton Heath area.
“Manchester United”
In 1902, Newton Heath were £2,670 in debt and creditors obtained a winding up order for the club. Captain Harry Stafford and 4 local businessmen each invested £500 and thus saved the team from dissolution. To mark the beginning of a new page in the team’s history, the name was changed to Manchester United.
The first logo
Back then, it was not a tradition in football to put logos on players’ shirts. Special logos were put on the jerseys only to emphasize important matches, like cup finals. The Lancashire Red Rose was worn on the jerseys of Manchester United in the very first cup final for the club. This match was the FA Cup final of 1909 and Manchester United won the trophy when they beat Bristol City 1-0.
Second emblem
Manchester United’s second emblem was based on the coat of arms of the Manchester Army Consulate and was first introduced in 1948, when MU played in their second FA Cup final against Blackpool (a 4-2 win). The same emblem was on the United players’ uniforms in the 1957 cup final against Aston Villa.
Third emblem
After the 1958 Munich air disaster United played again in the FA Cup final against Bolton Wanderers and wore the same logo on their jerseys. Contrary to popular belief, it did not depict a phoenix rising from the ashes. It depicts an eagle and is based on the new coat of arms of the town council. The eagle was recently used on the emblem of Manchester City.
The fourth emblem
When United reached the FA Cup final in 1963 (against Leicester City), the club reverted to the emblem of the Manchester City Council, but slightly modified. This emblem was also used in the 1968 European Cup final.
Fifth emblem
In the 60s this new version of the emblem appeared in the club documents. The flower, ship and stripes were taken from the old coat of arms of the city council. The stripes symbolise Manchester’s three rivers, Madlock, Irwell and Irk, although it is more likely that the stripes are a reference to the ancient coat of arms of the Grellie family (Manchester’s first baronets). A ship with an inflated sail symbolises trade and enterprise. There are roses on this version of the emblem, which presumably symbolise the red roses of Lancashire (Manchester was part of that region in those days), but for some reason were not painted in that colour, so they could be confused with the Yorkshire White Rose.
Sixth emblem
In 1971 the updated emblem was permanently affixed to the players’ uniforms. This is the first version of the emblem, featuring a red devil, denoting the nickname the club had acquired by this time. Here and here are two more versions of the logo.
Seventh emblem
Adidas replaced Admiral as the technical sponsor in 1980. The emblem was updated again – Adidas added a pair of boots with three stripes to the top ribbon of the emblem. The logo didn’t change until 1992.
Eighth emblem
In 1992 the AFL was created and Umbro became the technical sponsor. The logo was revised again with boots and white background removed.
Ninth emblem
In 1997 the emblem underwent the most dramatic change. The words “football club” were removed and the colours were changed. The logo was shrunk horizontally and a black outline was added. This is what the new logo looked like. It is still the official emblem to this day. A few more examples.
