Chelsea FC - The History Of The Crest - A Thread

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1905 – 1952: When Gus & Joseph Mears formed the club in 1905, the area of Chelsea was well known for its Royal Hospital. The Royal Hospital was a nursing home for the veterans of the British Army. However, it came to a point where they couldn't home anymore veterans.

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1905-1952 (Continued): A policy was then created were pensions were given out to the veterans. The Mears brothers, out of respect, designed the first logo featuring a Chelsea pensioner. The Crest wasn’t used on the kits, but was used for match day programmes.

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1952-1953: Even though the 1905-52 crest was designed out of respect, many wanted a change in the crest. Ted Drake, a former player who played for Southampton & Arsenal, became the coach of Chelsea in 1952 until 1961.

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1952-1953 (Continued): One of Drake’s first decision was to change the design of the crest. The new logo was still in the works so a temporary one was made. Like the 1905 logo, this wasn’t used on the shirts.

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1953-1985: The crest was designed in a way that included elements that defined Chelsea as an area. The Lion came from the Arms of Earl Cadogan. The staff represents the ‘Abbot of Westminster’. The Roses for England and the Footballs to represent the game.

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1953:1985 (Continued): This crest was the first to be used on the shirts. However, due to the complexity of the crest, a simpler version was sewn onto the kits.

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1986-2005: The reign of Ken Bates. When in 1982, he purchased the club for £1 he felt the club needed a new crest after 33 years. The reason being was he felt that a simpler one would be easier to keep up with merchandising.

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1986-2005 (Continued): A French sportswear company, “Le Coq Sportif” designed the new crest. Interestingly, depending on the colour of the kit, different variations of the crest were used. However, many Chelsea fans thought it resembled Millwall..

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2005-Present: Once Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2004, many fans petitioned a change in the crest. At first the club were going to use Ted Drakes old design, but the Earl of Cadogan demanded Chelsea pay for the usage of the design.

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2005-Present (Continued): Chelsea therefore made some amendment to the classic crest and created the crest we all know and love today. The crest is now known around the globe and hopefully, will be here for many more successful years.

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Credit - @madhousebridge for picture 1.