Millwall F.C. - Colours, Crest and Nickname

Colours, Crest and Nickname

Millwall's traditional kit has predominantly consisted of blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks throughout their 125-year history. For the first 50 years, up until 1936, they played in a traditional navy blue, similar to the colours of Scotland national team. This colour was chosen because it paid homage to the Scottish roots of the club, with the nucleus of the first Millwall Rovers squad being from north of the border, primarily Dundee. In 1936, newly appointed Millwall manager Charlie Hewitt opted to change the kit colour from navy blue to a lighter royal blue, and the team have played in this colour for the best part of 74 years, with the exception of 1968–75 and 1999–2001, in which the team played in an all-white strip. Their kit for the 2010–11 season celebrated the 125th anniversary of the club, with Millwall adopting the darker navy blue of their first strip. The club retained this colour for the current season. As for change colours, yellow has been a frequent choice. The club had a grey away kit for the 2002–03 season, and also a green and white striped away kit for the 2003–04 season.

The club crest has been a rampant lion since 1936, which was also introduced by Charlie Hewitt. There have been many variations of the lion; the first was a single red lion, often mistakenly said to be chosen because of the club's Scottish roots. The lion bore a striking resemblance to signs used by pubs named The Red Lion. From 1956 to 1974 Millwall's crest was two leaping red lions facing each other. Former chairman Theo Paphitis brought back the badge in 1999, where it was used for a further eight years. The current crest is a leaping lion, which first appeared on a Millwall kit in 1979. It remained until 1999 and was re-introduced again in 2007. The club mascot is a giant lion called Zampa, so named after Zampa Road, the postal address of The Den.

The team nickname is The Lions, previously The Dockers. The original Dockers name arose from the job of many of the club's supporters in the early 1900s. The club did not like the moniker and changed the nickname after press headlined Millwall as 'Lions of the South', after knocking Football League leaders Aston Villa out of the FA Cup of 1900. Millwall, then a Southern League side, went on to reach the semi-final. The club adopted the motto: We Fear No Foe Where E'er We Go. In the 2000s the club started to recognise its unique link with London's docks by introducing Dockers' Days, and archiving the club's dock roots in the Millwall FC Museum. Dockers' Days bring together past successful Millwall teams who parade on the pitch at half-time. Supporters who were dockers are allowed to attend the game for free. In 2011, Millwall officially named the east stand of The Den as the 'Dockers Stand' in honour of the club's former nickname.