Or Jesus Hominum Salvator - Jesus H Christ!Sadly, for so many of the seasons since I started watching in 1967 a more appropriate motto would be, 'God, give me strength'.
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The Argyle badge
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Go,on then, I’ll play.I feel a ‘Life of Brian’ moment coming on!
Anyone for Latin grammar?
Ryan Lowe - he’s not the Messiah. He’s a very naughty boy!
So it's your fault! I started going regularly in 58-59 - promoted. By 61-62 we were good enough to finish 5th in the old Second Division (the year Liverpool went back up). 62-63 the side was improved and we were 3rd on Boxing Day, with no defeats and 3 draws in the 13 home games. Then came the big freeze and we sank as quickly as the mercury. Its a slide we never got out of until Tony Waiters (and new badge) arrivec.18 months of struggle saw Big Mal arrive. Lots of talk but little substance, then it was over to you and Derek Ufton.Sadly, for so many of the seasons since I started watching in 1967 a more appropriate motto would be, 'God, give me strength'.
Absolutely! Poor old Derek...So it's your fault! I started going regularly in 58-59 - promoted. By 61-62 we were good enough to finish 5th in the old Second Division (the year Liverpool went back up). 62-63 the side was improved and we were 3rd on Boxing Day, with no defeats and 3 draws in the 13 home games. 18 months of struggle saw Big Mal arrive. Lots of talk but little substance, then it was over to you and Derek Ufton.
Although my first match was Huddersfield towards the end of 66-67, (lost 3-2 - I should have stopped there!) in my first full season of watching Argyle they were relegated (67-68).
It has been slim pickings ever since but you just keep going, don't you?
Green Army!
Sadly, I don’t think we can ever label Lowe as ‘meek’No! He’s meek!
Let’s get those meek barstewards!
. He does however, fit neatly into the very naughty boy trope - allegedly.
Better late than never, here's a piece that I wrote for the club back in 2018. Not sure if this will work, but worth a try.
A Brief History of the Plymouth Argyle Badge
A badge first appeared on Plymouth Argyle's shirt in 1911, eight years after the professional club's formation. Based on the town's coat of arms, it included a green saltire for St Andrew, patron saint of Plymouth, between four black towers for the town's fortifications, and surrounded by the club's namein a black ring.
New players wore the new shirt for their portraits in the club's 1911-12 handbook and the 1911 team photo clearly shows the badge, at least for most of the players. The badge was worn on the shirt in the four seasons before the First World War, but not again until 1949. However, the 1911 emblem appeared regularly in the annual handbook throughout the 1920s and 30s, and was also adopted by the Supporters' Club, with the 'Football' changed to'Supporters'. That use in the handbook until the Second World War, its adoption by the Supporters Club to the present day and its prominence on the cover of W.S. Tonkins' celebrated book, All About Argyle, has ensured its deserved place in history.
In 1949, a controversial new shirt, which included white on its collars and sleeves for the first time, also reintroduced a badge, again with a municipal theme but this time for the city. After the merger of the Three Towns in 1914 and the Royal Charter that granted city status in 1928, a new coat of arms for the City of Plymouth was unveiled in 1931, with a naval crown and anchor for Devonport and lions and boars' heads for East Stonehouse added to the former town's saltire and towers. This coat ofarms, still Plymouth's official emblem, is prominently displayed on the pillars of the Tamar Bridge. Argyle's 1949 badge was essentially this coat of arms on a dark background. Oddly, the background changed to a much lighter version two years later, and then changed from one to the other irregularly throughout the fifties. Some team photos for this decade even show different coloured backgrounds in the same season (1958-59).
A badge was now firmly established as a feature of the shirt, but the most significant turning point in its history came in 1964 when the theme changed from the city's coat of arms to The Mayflower, the ship of the Pilgrim Fathers. A new board of local businessmen, chaired by Robert Daniel, introduced a radical new club strip with the Mayflower badge an integral feature and the club handbook displayed it prominently on its front cover for the rest of the decade.
The Mayflower-based designed lasted on the shirt for nine seasons and was then replaced by a hotchpotch of initial-based badges between 1973 and 1982, together with a Pilgrim's hat, which also represented the local shirt manufacturer. However, the Mayflower crest was not completely lost; it appeared on the front cover of the match programme throughout this period, apart from 1981-82. Thankfully the Mayflower returned on the shirt in 1982, and whilst there have since been many variants, the ship has been the central theme.
Amongst the variations, a surrounding ring was introduced by a new board of directors in 2009, similar to that of the original badge 98 years before, but subsequent events (company administration and the near-demise of the club) ensured that no tears were shed when the feature was dropped in 2011 to make way for a celebration of the club's 125 years.
Another variation has been the direction of the flags atop the ship's masts. In most designs, the flags have flown in the direction of travel (to the right), and this is logical because, assuming a following (tail) wind, the necessary strength of wind to drive a sailing ship forward would also blow the flags forward. However, in some of designs in the 1970s (in the programme) and 1990s, the flags are pointing to the rear (as can be seen in some images in figure 19). Perhaps the designers were affectedby the classic image of a fast-moving steam train, with smoke trailing in the wake of the engine, but of course the forces involved in the movement of a sailing ship are very different. However, there is no clear conclusion here; it could be argued that in the rear-pointing examples, the Mayflower was at anchor in a headwind. That said, the Mayflower is normally portrayed with billowing sails, indicating a strong tailwind, andtherefore it makes more sense for the flags to point forward. This is the case in the original design, most variations in the last 54 years including the current badge, the central plaque of Pilgrims'Way, and the official club plaque that was erected in the Grandstand's main entrance in 1964 (the same year as the first Mayflower badge), and this too depicts the ship in full sail with flags blowing forward.
And finally...... they're travelling in the opposite direction, but who would dare argue with Westward Television and Blue Peter?!
A badge first appeared on Plymouth Argyle's shirt in 1911, eight years after the professional club's formation. Based on the town's coat of arms, it included a green saltire for St Andrew, patron saint of Plymouth, between four black towers for the town's fortifications, and surrounded by the club's namein a black ring.
New players wore the new shirt for their portraits in the club's 1911-12 handbook and the 1911 team photo clearly shows the badge, at least for most of the players. The badge was worn on the shirt in the four seasons before the First World War, but not again until 1949. However, the 1911 emblem appeared regularly in the annual handbook throughout the 1920s and 30s, and was also adopted by the Supporters' Club, with the 'Football' changed to'Supporters'. That use in the handbook until the Second World War, its adoption by the Supporters Club to the present day and its prominence on the cover of W.S. Tonkins' celebrated book, All About Argyle, has ensured its deserved place in history.
In 1949, a controversial new shirt, which included white on its collars and sleeves for the first time, also reintroduced a badge, again with a municipal theme but this time for the city. After the merger of the Three Towns in 1914 and the Royal Charter that granted city status in 1928, a new coat of arms for the City of Plymouth was unveiled in 1931, with a naval crown and anchor for Devonport and lions and boars' heads for East Stonehouse added to the former town's saltire and towers. This coat ofarms, still Plymouth's official emblem, is prominently displayed on the pillars of the Tamar Bridge. Argyle's 1949 badge was essentially this coat of arms on a dark background. Oddly, the background changed to a much lighter version two years later, and then changed from one to the other irregularly throughout the fifties. Some team photos for this decade even show different coloured backgrounds in the same season (1958-59).
A badge was now firmly established as a feature of the shirt, but the most significant turning point in its history came in 1964 when the theme changed from the city's coat of arms to The Mayflower, the ship of the Pilgrim Fathers. A new board of local businessmen, chaired by Robert Daniel, introduced a radical new club strip with the Mayflower badge an integral feature and the club handbook displayed it prominently on its front cover for the rest of the decade.
The Mayflower-based designed lasted on the shirt for nine seasons and was then replaced by a hotchpotch of initial-based badges between 1973 and 1982, together with a Pilgrim's hat, which also represented the local shirt manufacturer. However, the Mayflower crest was not completely lost; it appeared on the front cover of the match programme throughout this period, apart from 1981-82. Thankfully the Mayflower returned on the shirt in 1982, and whilst there have since been many variants, the ship has been the central theme.
Amongst the variations, a surrounding ring was introduced by a new board of directors in 2009, similar to that of the original badge 98 years before, but subsequent events (company administration and the near-demise of the club) ensured that no tears were shed when the feature was dropped in 2011 to make way for a celebration of the club's 125 years.
Another variation has been the direction of the flags atop the ship's masts. In most designs, the flags have flown in the direction of travel (to the right), and this is logical because, assuming a following (tail) wind, the necessary strength of wind to drive a sailing ship forward would also blow the flags forward. However, in some of designs in the 1970s (in the programme) and 1990s, the flags are pointing to the rear (as can be seen in some images in figure 19). Perhaps the designers were affectedby the classic image of a fast-moving steam train, with smoke trailing in the wake of the engine, but of course the forces involved in the movement of a sailing ship are very different. However, there is no clear conclusion here; it could be argued that in the rear-pointing examples, the Mayflower was at anchor in a headwind. That said, the Mayflower is normally portrayed with billowing sails, indicating a strong tailwind, andtherefore it makes more sense for the flags to point forward. This is the case in the original design, most variations in the last 54 years including the current badge, the central plaque of Pilgrims'Way, and the official club plaque that was erected in the Grandstand's main entrance in 1964 (the same year as the first Mayflower badge), and this too depicts the ship in full sail with flags blowing forward.
And finally...... they're travelling in the opposite direction, but who would dare argue with Westward Television and Blue Peter?!
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Yep can see it too and I've also just put in the article text to your post Steve, for anyone who can't currently download. Which is still interesting without the pics.
The word Argyle really is the main constant throughout the club's history, with the Mayflower only coming on board in 1964. I definitely think that word has to be on the badge if there's an elegant way to do it.
The word Argyle really is the main constant throughout the club's history, with the Mayflower only coming on board in 1964. I definitely think that word has to be on the badge if there's an elegant way to do it.
Not in any rush to do that myself, 60+ years is pretty established.
But if it were to be canned the only kosher replacement must surely be the 1911 iteration, image 1.
Can't believe something 114 years old looks so contemporary.
I am with you x isle. The 1911 all day long for me or anything up till the 1930s. Fiddle with the font a little and you'd get a cracking badge
