west bromich albion?

Question

why do wba have the nickname "the baggies" please?

Answer 1

One of the most commonly asked questions about West Bromwich Albion. Originally, and up until around the Eighties, our "official" nickname was the Throstles, but it then changed to the unofficial one that had already been in use for many years. But read on and you'll find that nobody seems to have a definitive answer as to why...

From Tony Matthews, Official WBA FC historian:

"Most people imagine WBA are nicknamed the Baggies because of the Baggie shorts they wore in their period of glory around the turn of the century, but baggy shorts were worn for many years before fans started calling their team by this nickname.

"When the club was formed in 1878 it was known the The Albion. In its first 22 years the teams was based at five different grounds around West Bromwich before settling at The Hawthorns in 1900. The new ground bought with it the team nickname The Throstles, the Black Country word for Thrush, commonly seen in the hawthorn bushes from which the area took its name.

"In its early days The Hawthorns had only two entrances, one behind each goal. On match days the gatekeepers would gather up the takings at each end and be escorted by policmen along the sides of the pitch to the centre line where their was a small office under the stand. The gate money, mostly in pennies, amounted to a considerable sum and was carried in large cloth bags. It wasn't long before some wag in the crowd started shouting "here come the bag men!" at their appearance in front of the main stand, and this developed into a chant of "here come the Baggies!", giving the team its unnofficial nickname"

However, as Mick Jones points out, in "The A-Z of Albion" Tony gives some alternative reasons for the nickname:

A corruption of 'Magee' - a popular full back in the 20's. Unlikely, since Baggies was in use in the 1900's

The name of protective trousers factory workers used in the area

From supporters who took bags (baggies) round to local pubs to save the club from extinction in 1905

When the club was nearly bankrupt in the 1900's, a number of the larger players left to have not only their shoes, but their kit filled by smaller players. 'Spotting their voluminous drawers, a wag in the crowd is supposed to have shouted 'up the Baggies'.. the rest is history

Former club secretary Eph Smith gave his explanation in a Throstle Club News as going back to 1904 and a stocky back known as Amos Adams. 'His thickness of hips made his baggy pants look even more huge, and one day when he was not playing well, a fan shouted 'Baggy'. Albion and Adams recovered quickly, the name stuck.'

Dave Morgan has a copy of a booklet, issued by the Club in 1950 to celebrate 50 years at The Hawthorns, which mentions the first possibility described above as follows:

Signed in the Trenches

It was in 1918 that a stocky little 18-year old Lancashire lad from Widnes signed a league form for the Albion while actually in the trenches in France. Previously a Rugby player, he had only taken up soccer while in the Army, but he played it to perfection. He first appeared in the Albion's League team as inside right to Claude Jephcott, then took the latter's place after his first injury and eventually became a right half back, in which capacity he, like Buck, and McNeal, completely disproved the theory that the best halves are big 'uns. He gained an International cap and a Cup Winner's medal and it is said that the Albion nickname of "Baggies" is derived from a corruption of Magee, pronounced like "Maggie".

From Will Mann:

One of the most plausible explanations I have heard for our unusual nickname appeared in the sports section of The Independent on Sunday a few years back, when the sports section ran a 'Questions and Answers' page. Someone wrote in asking why West Bromwich Albion were called the Baggies, and (presumably) an Albion fan wrote back to say that the name actually stems from the fans. In the early days of the club's history, many of the supporters worked in the local ironworks and because of the intense heat, tended to wear very loose, baggy clothing. Since most of them would go straight to the match after work, it resulted in a very oddly attired bunch standing on the terraces at the Hawthorns, and led to the nickname of 'Baggies'. Has anyone else come across this one?

Yes - well, nearly, says Dave Neale:

I've just read another explanation for where the term The Baggies derived, courtesy of "The Baggies" newspaper. They take their story from an explanation given by Joe Stringer, described as a "walking compendium of Albion history" in 1963:

"The name Baggies was given to Albion's ironworker fans by Villa supporters [our traditional rivals, NOT Wolves] over 60 years ago. They used to put on their moleskin trousers on Saturday afternoons, with belts worn instead of braces, and periodically they would give a sailor's hitch to their unmentionables when they began to sag over their boots. When Albion and Villa clashed at the old Perry Bar Ground (pre 1897) large numbers of Albion fans walked to the game. The ironworkers kept together in groups many of them with their trousers at three quarters mast, and when near the ground, they were greeted with cries of `Here come the Baggies of Bromwich'"

The newspaper then goes on to note: All labourers in the Black Country wore trousers from a thick material called `duck'. When new, it was snow white, but with frequent washing went a dark hue. When repairs were necessary, at knees and back, the dark trousers were repaired with snowy white `duck'. This gave a bulky appearance to the patch, so labourers with these patches were generally called Baggies, as they looked like flour bags, and hence the taunt from Villa supporters back in the last century

There is, however, no truth in the slanderous accusation made by some of our local rivals that the name "The Baggies" comes from the team choosing to play in blue and white stripes after seeing them on a Tesco's carrier bag.

Answer 2

in short they were the last club in the fashion stakes to stop playing in big baggy shorts.

Answer 3

Their Shorts were too big