WHy are we called the Eagles? [Archive]

View Full Version : WHy are we called the Eagles?

maxerix

02-07-2005, 11:27 AM

Ok i know its the bird on the emblem though why is the eagle on it and not a hawk, swallow, bluefinch or even better a kingfisher (which have our colours)? B]Answers on a postcard please.[/B] . Cheers

Incase this is another duplicate thread my apologies in advance, woke up with this curious question? I do have a good life too!

Shipp Ahoy!

02-07-2005, 11:35 AM

Well I can tell you we used to be called Glaziers or something before. As for why we are called Eagles, couldn't tell you but I am sure some smart alec on here will!

Dom303

02-07-2005, 11:35 AM

We were the Glaziers, but we changed when Malcolm Allisson took over as 'Allisson's Eagles' had alliteration. The name just caught on. At least I think that's the reason.

Shipp Ahoy!

02-07-2005, 11:42 AM

Ah hence Alice the Eagle? :)

GreatGonzo

02-07-2005, 11:47 AM

We changed our colours and our name to match a couple of European superpowers at the time i believe.

I could be wrong but it may well be Benfica who are the EAGLES and Allison changed it to copy them.

GreatGonzo

02-07-2005, 11:48 AM

Originally posted by Shipp Ahoy!
Ah hence Alice the Eagle? :)

Nope i think that is more to do with Pete and ALICE sounds a bit like PALACE!

regretnerien

02-07-2005, 11:50 AM

Rev Sands must wonder why he bothers :rolleyes:

Aylesford Chris

02-07-2005, 11:55 AM

We used to play at the NEST.

Daveyboyross

02-07-2005, 11:59 AM

Somewhere there is a huge thread on this.

andy burton

02-07-2005, 12:00 PM

FFS! And the Nest has nothing to do with it!!!! (Plus it would be an Eyrie!)

Someone's going to ask again soon why Claret and Blue!

regretnerien

02-07-2005, 12:04 PM

Originally posted by andy burton

Someone's going to ask again soon why Claret and Blue! Hmmmmm. Something to do with too much red wine and throwing up the next morning wasn't it?

Eagle123

02-07-2005, 04:41 PM

Originally posted by GreatGonzo
We changed our colours and our name to match a couple of European superpowers at the time i believe.

I could be wrong but it may well be Benfica who are the EAGLES and Allison changed it to copy them. This is absolutely correct. Allison felt the clubs entire image needed freshening up so he changed our colours from claret and sky blue (worn in honer of Aston Villa whose board of directors founded the club and provided our first shirts) to the red and blue we know now. This was taken from Barcalona and it was a radical step at the time which was envied by other clubs that we (or Allison) had the courage to break with tradition.
The top team at the time in Europe was Benfica who are known as "The Eagles". Alison also pinched this. Our original name the Glaziers was because many of the players who played for the original "Crystal Palace" (which by the way has nothing to do with the club we support today) were in fact full time glaziers by trade that worked at the Crystal Palace.

maxerix

02-07-2005, 08:15 PM

Originally posted by Eagle123
This is absolutely correct. Allison felt the clubs entire image needed freshening up so he changed our colours from claret and sky blue (worn in honer of Aston Villa whose board of directors founded the club and provided our first shirts) to the red and blue we know now. This was taken from Barcalona and it was a radical step at the time which was envied by other clubs that we (or Allison) had the courage to break with tradition.
The top team at the time in Europe was Benfica who are known as "The Eagles". Alison also pinched this. Our original name the Glaziers was because many of the players who played for the original "Crystal Palace" (which by the way has nothing to do with the club we support today) were in fact full time glaziers by trade that worked at the Crystal Palace.

Well you learn something new everyday! - Thanks Eagle123:p

follow cpfc

02-07-2005, 08:32 PM

they have been so many threads on this subject

maxerix

03-07-2005, 03:40 PM

Originally posted by follow cpfc
they have been so many threads on this subject

My first post apologised if there was already a post on this subject so there was no need to be critical though if you want to go down that route your post should have read 'there has been so many threads on this subject' not 'they have' ok

will hung

03-07-2005, 09:39 PM

I think we should go back to being called The Glaziers, it has a more up-market ring about it

Boyandy

03-07-2005, 09:43 PM

Originally posted by will hung
I think we should go back to being called The Glaziers, it has a more up-market ring about it

There were discussions along those lines recently but Jordan decided it was too much of a pane to change back.

21ec

Jack Regan

04-07-2005, 09:43 AM

Crystal Palace FC. A Brief History.

Crystal Palace were formed in 1973 by an alcoholic. Shortly after taking over as manager, he erased the clubs past by changing the teams colours to red and blue and the nickname to The Eagles.

Crystal Palace celebrate their centenary year in 2073.

Selhurst Celtic

04-07-2005, 09:48 AM

Originally posted by Boyandy
There were discussions along those lines recently but Jordan decided it was too much of a pane to change back.

Could he not find a window in his diary to even discuss it?

Reps AJ

04-07-2005, 09:59 AM

Originally posted by Selhurst Celtic
Could he not find a window in his diary to even discuss it?

Maybe he was worried the fans would see though him

oz_da II

04-07-2005, 10:02 AM

Originally posted by will hung
I think we should go back to being called The Glaziers, it has a more up-market ring about it

I agree.

Let's get it back!

screamingalice

04-07-2005, 10:19 AM

Originally posted by Jack Regan
Crystal Palace FC. A Brief History.

Crystal Palace were formed in 1973 by an alcoholic. Shortly after taking over as manager, he erased the clubs past by changing the teams colours to red and blue and the nickname to The Eagles.

Crystal Palace celebrate their centenary year in 2073.

Blasphemy ! Big Mal was the best thing that ever happened to this club after Arthur Wait and for a long time until Coppell came along.

Yes he may have liked a drink, but please do not insult the guy he is sadly not a well man these days. He was the only one with any sense on the BBC at the semi final in 1990 who did not crawl up Liverpool's a**e.

He gave Palace a glamour that far exceeded the achievements on the pitch up to the time he joined us. He built the greatest youth team we ever had, which became the "team of the 80's" He took us to our first F.A. cup semi final (for the club in its current form) He built a team that played some of the best football that has ever been played at Selhurst Park, in short he created a new club from one that had spent most of its history in the lower depths of the football league. he built on the foundation that Arthur Wait had put down, he created a club with a legend that far outstripped the reality. Big Mal made Palace a Big Club, everything that has been achieved since would not have come about without Big Mal. Yes he may have taken us down two seasons running, but he pruned and sowed new seeds that were to flourish and take us to the very top of the Football League. The guy deserves nothing but respect and thanks for what he did for our club, I hope that he will be fit enough to make it down to Selhurst for at least one game during our centenary season, for when people talk about this player or that manager being a legend, Big Mal invented the words Palace Legend

sydnsteve

04-07-2005, 10:30 AM

Well said screaming Alice. I wasn't a Palace supporter when they played Soton, but had been backing them up to that game, but had a tenner saver on Soton to win the cup, with the intention of doing the same on Man U if Soton unfortunately won. On the day Utd were odds on so I didn't bother and won £56.
Allison was one of those few genuinely larger than life characters, who certainly brought Palace to the fore. I am sorry to hear he is unwell.

Jack Regan

04-07-2005, 10:37 AM

Originally posted by sydnsteve
Allison was one of those few genuinely larger than life characters,

What on earth does that f***ing phrase mean? I keep hearing it along with 'colourful'.

It's meaningless.

Jack Regan

04-07-2005, 10:39 AM

Originally posted by screamingalice
Blasphemy ! Big Mal was the best thing that ever happened to this club after Arthur Wait and for a long time until Coppell came along.

Yes he may have liked a drink, but please do not insult the guy he is sadly not a well man these days. He was the only one with any sense on the BBC at the semi final in 1990 who did not crawl up Liverpool's a**e.

He gave Palace a glamour that far exceeded the achievements on the pitch up to the time he joined us. He built the greatest youth team we ever had, which became the "team of the 80's" He took us to our first F.A. cup semi final (for the club in its current form) He built a team that played some of the best football that has ever been played at Selhurst Park, in short he created a new club from one that had spent most of its history in the lower depths of the football league. he built on the foundation that Arthur Wait had put down, he created a club with a legend that far outstripped the reality. Big Mal made Palace a Big Club, everything that has been achieved since would not have come about without Big Mal. Yes he may have taken us down two seasons running, but he pruned and sowed new seeds that were to flourish and take us to the very top of the Football League. The guy deserves nothing but respect and thanks for what he did for our club, I hope that he will be fit enough to make it down to Selhurst for at least one game during our centenary season, for when people talk about this player or that manager being a legend, Big Mal invented the words Palace Legend

How did you feel on the day we were relegated to Division 3?

DIVISION 3

Honestly.

screamingalice

04-07-2005, 12:32 PM

Originally posted by Jack Regan
How did you feel on the day we were relegated to Division 3?

DIVISION 3

Honestly.

Upset of course, but then I had seen us play in the 4th Division and the third divison before that. We had a terrible start to the 73/74 season but from Christmas we played some fantastic football and only went down because of that bad start. Of course it was not nice to think that only just over a year before we had been in the top division, but the long term prospects were good and without being in Div 3 the FA cup run of 76' would not have been half as special. Anyway in those days football was appreciated across the divisions, it was not like today, premier league or nothing. We had some great matches and good crowds in that period as well as some great players. I would not have changed anything about that time it was a good period to be a Palace fan.

I was lucky enough to meet Big Mal during his time with us and can say that he was a big guy who simply oozed electricity, he could hold peoples attention and you felt you were in the prescence of a someone special. Without him we may never have attracted such players as Sansom, Hilaire, Murphy, Nicholas, Peter Taylor, Ian Evans and of course Terrible Venables, who despite all that happened after 1979 was the only guy to take us forward when Big Mal left. I am sure that he (Allison) was always frustrated that he was not around to enjoy his youngsters come through, just maybe if he had stayed we may have got back in the top divison and stayed a very long time.

Iain Dowie is a very different character to Big Mal, but they do have one important thing in common, players respect them and fans love them and they are both colourful characters who people sit up and take notice of when they speak.

2280

Jack Regan

04-07-2005, 12:54 PM

Trying to have an argument with a fan of Big Nose is like trying to reason with a Jehovahs Witness. They'll stand there all day at your door persuading you black is white. You're wasting your time.

The history lesson from Screaming Alice above, is biased. I was 14 in 1973, and had watched Palace for 4 seasons. Yes we struggled, and yes, we probably needed a change. I never joined in with the chants of 'Bert Head Out' though.

You can't change history, though Allison tried his damndest to erase the clubs identity, and put his own 'mark' on the club.

I have nothing but contempt for the man. The horror of those years in division 3 will stay with me forever.

No amount of glazed over Mooney-like preaching will change that opinion.

We're not Allisons Eagles.
We're claret and light blue.
We're the Glaziers.

That's our real history.

mik59

04-07-2005, 01:01 PM

I heard that the badge was supposed to be a phoenix rising from the ashes of the Crystal Palace but the artist couldn't draw a phoenix and it looked like an eagle etc etc

Might be rubbish but I kinda like the story - fits Palace perfectly!

screamingalice

04-07-2005, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by Jack Regan
Trying to have an argument with a fan of Big Nose is like trying to reason with a Jehovahs Witness. They'll stand there all day at your door persuading you black is white. You're wasting your time.

The history lesson from Screaming Alice above, is biased. I was 14 in 1973, and had watched Palace for 4 seasons. Yes we struggled, and yes, we probably needed a change. I never joined in with the chants of 'Bert Head Out' though.

You can't change history, though Allison tried his damndest to erase the clubs identity, and put his own 'mark' on the club.

I have nothing but contempt for the man. The horror of those years in division 3 will stay with me forever.

No amount of glazed over Mooney-like preaching will change that opinion.

We're not Allisons Eagles.
We're claret and light blue.
We're the Glaziers.

That's our real history.

Nor did I join in with any Bert Head out chants and I have as much respect and appreciation for Bert as I do Big Mal. I also would prefer us to still play in Claret and Blue. We were never Alisons Eagles and I do not think he tried to erase the clubs identity. he was a forward thinking man who could see that a slight change in the clubs image would set us apart from all the other also rans in the lower leagues or indeed teams like Northampton and Leyton Orient who had like us risen quickly from the lower leagues to enjoy a brief spell in the sun then slide back into the depths of the football league.

I would never argue with another Palace fan about their view of the club we all have different opinions of players, managers, matches etc. I would not say that Alison was perfect or that indeed he did no wrong. Certainly the outing of John Jackson contributed much to our terrible start in 73/74. His style was also on occasions to exotic for (then) divisions 2 and 3. He was also ruthless, one of his squad became a very good friend of mine after he had played for Palace and he told me of occasions when Alsion was far from straight with the players and often went off on a tangent which did the team no good at all. However the player in question also told me that as a coach and tactician he was the best.

Where I would disagree with you is that when you say that he tried to put his own mark on the club in a negative way, you forget that all managers and chairman of football clubs put their own mark on a club. Big Mal is a massive part of the history of CPFC for better or worse and I think on the whole it was far more for the better than the worse.

When Palace fans chant "Eagles" it is distictive and provides the press with all the right strap lines to keep us on the back page headlines, which promotes the club. Playing in Red and Blue makes us almost unique in the league, I think only one other club plays in Red n Blue. We can at least in one way compare ourselves to the breat Barca' who also play in Red n Blue.

And we are stil the Glaziers, no one can take that away from us, plenty of clubs have more than one nickname. West Ham are the hammers, but were also well known in the past as the Irons, and some fans today still prefer that name. Charlton other than the Clowns are known as the Valients and the Robins and there are many more.

Palace were once known in the 20's as "Screaming Alice" by some of our fans at the time and other not so friendly football fans in South London.

One thing is certain love or hate the big guy, Palace fans and many other football fans still talk about his time at Selhust almost 30 years on and many of those who were on the Holmesdale and went to Scarboro' Stamford Bridge (twice) Elland Road and Roker Park in the winter/spring of 76' will tell the younger fans of today that then was a great time to be a Palace fan and that Big Mal was one of the best managers this club ever had. You may not share the memory with the same affection, but you cant deny we would not be the same club today if he had never been our manager.

Jack Regan

04-07-2005, 01:27 PM

Originally posted by screamingalice
Certainly the outing of John Jackson contributed much to our terrible start in 73/74.

Was Jacko causing problems in the dressing room showers?

screamingalice

04-07-2005, 01:36 PM

Originally posted by Jack Regan
Was Jacko causing problems in the dressing room showers?

:rolleyes:

big bad John

04-07-2005, 05:53 PM

Allison was very influenced by America. He spent a couple of seasons there at the start of the so called ' Sahccer revolution'. Most sporting teams nicknames in the States are taken from animals or birds. Philladelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and Tigers , Atlanta Falcons, and Chicago Bears just to name a few. So I wouldn't be surprized if the origins of 'The Eagles had more to do with Pennsylvania than Benfica, who were not a European powerhouse in the 70's. Also his idea for the silly nicknames on the back of the players tracksuits came from the U.S.

Neil the Eagle

04-07-2005, 05:57 PM

I always thought he was more into South African football - I seem to recall him managing a team in Durban during Palace's close season.

big bad John

04-07-2005, 06:42 PM

Originally posted by Neil the Eagle
I always thought he was more into South African football - I seem to recall him managing a team in Durban during Palace's close season.

It's years since I read it, but in his book 'Colours of my life??? he has a chapter dedicated to his exploits in the States.
Seems like at that time if Palace couldn't ship you off to Orient they put you on the plane to South Africa. Just skipping through an old scrap book and it is surprizing how many players went there, either on loan or on a permanent move.

Frank Lord the coach had spent years there, so he probably had all the contacts. Allison went to Durban and brought Don Rogers with him. Unfortunately Don decided to bring his mistress along as well. Something that was picked up on by our family orientated Sunday papers.
Other players to appear out there were Budgie Byrne ( from an earlier era) Bobby Bell, Mark Lindsey, Mel Blyth, Trevor Dawkins, Ben Anderson, Tony Burns, Bryn Key and Graham Norris.