Wimbledon F.C. - Club Identity

Club Identity

The club's nickname was the Dons, though the club was also frequently referred to as the Wombles from the mid 1970s onwards. Following the FA Cup victory in 1988, the term Crazy Gang also started to be applied; originally to the players, though over time to the club as a whole. The club's mascot between 2000 and 2003 was a Womble, named Wandle the Womble. However, following the relocation, the owners of the Wombles brand refused to renew the license agreement. Three years later, a deal was agreed that saw a similar character named Haydon the Womble appear at AFC Wimbledon.

The colours most associated with the club were blue and yellow. The club's first colours were navy blue and white, though the kit changed several times soon after the club's foundation, between combinations of: brown and blue striped shirts with navy blue shorts; green and white striped shirts with navy blue shorts; green shirts and black shorts; white shirts with navy blue shorts, and finally green and black striped shirts with black shorts. Royal blue shirts with navy blue shorts and socks were finally settled upon in 1918, initially bearing a "W" (for Wimbledon) in the centre of the chest. Wimbledon players then regularly wore royal blue shirts with black shorts and socks until a shift in the 1950s saw the shorts change from black to white. A combination of blue shirts, blue shorts and white socks was introduced in 1966, before being abandoned a year later in favour of an all-blue outfit. The white socks returned in 1970. A blue and yellow combination was first used in 1975, but was replaced after a year with an all-white outfit trimmed with blue, and this was the kit in which the club played its first season in the Football League. In 1978, Yellow shirts, blue shorts and yellow socks were adopted, before the club made the change to an all-blue strip with yellow markings in 1981. The kit underwent only minor changes until 1993, when the a much darker blue reminiscent of the club's original kit replaced the shade that had been used for the previous twelve years. Wimbledon wore these colours for the remainder of their history. As for change colours, a red kit, with black trim, was a frequent choice in the 1990s. The club had a green away kit for the 2000–01 season.

The first crest the club wore was the emblem of the London Borough of Merton. This emblem appeared on Wimbledon shirts from the late 1920s until the mid 1950s, when no badge was worn. The Merton coat of arms returned in the early 1970s, before the club adopted its own badge on election to The Football League in 1977. The crest was based on the coat of arms of the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon, and was very similar to the badge most commonly associated with the club – the difference being the inclusion of white rather than yellow. Yellow replaced white in 1981, and this logo was used until 2003. After the club's relocation to Milton Keynes was confirmed in May 2002, the College of Arms informed the club in August 2002 that its continued use of the Borough arms was "unlawful". A replacement, given the go-ahead on 12 April 2003, featured a stylised eagle's head – an element from the Wimbledon arms – drawn in navy blue and yellow outline, the yellow forming a rendering of the letters "MK" (for Milton Keynes). Despite being officially adopted in April 2003, the logo's use was inconsistent: the club officially announced that it would be used "on all club kit, merchandise and literature from the start of season", including on a new white away kit and on an amended version of the previous season's home outfit, but both the home and away colours from 2002–03 were retained for the following year with the municipal arms still present. Moreover, the old crest re-appeared on official club statements towards the end of the 2003–04 season, making the status of the new badge somewhat ambiguous.