Did you know...
Here are some interesting and not so interesting facts about BST, Blackpool FC and Blackpool itself.
Founded in 1887, the club played home games at Raikes Hall and the Athletic Grounds before moving to Bloomfield Road in 1901. The club were founder members of the Lancashire League in 1889 and were invited into the Football League Second Division in 1896.
A historic drainage channel running over a peat bog, which discharged discoloured water into the Irish Sea, gave Blackpool its name. This black pool of water was known as 'Le Pull' due to how the peat lands in which the stream ran through discoloured the water. 'Black Poole' eventually evolved into 'Blackpool'.
Just over a 100 years ago Albert Hargreaves, a director of the Club and referee at the time, officiated a Netherlands vs Belgium international fixture and such was the impression imposed upon him by the home side's shirt, he returned to the Fylde Coast suggesting that Blackpool adopted the colour from that point.
In 2001 Blackpool FC sold Brett Ormerod to Southampton for a then club record fee of £1.75m. To this day, the money has still never been found.
Right-back Jimmy Armfield holds the record for appearances for The Seasiders with 569 appearances between 1954 and 1971. Record goalscorer falls to Jimmy Hampson who scored 252 goals between in 1927 to 1938, Hampson also holds the club record for most goals in a season with 45 scored during the 1929-30 season.
Blackpool FC holds one of the longest endurance records in sport. Between 1987 and 2019 (32 years) the fax machine never worked when we tried to sign players. However amazingly it always worked when we sold players.
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This is another mystery that remains unsolved to this day.
The oldest and longest of the three piers is North Pier, though it was originally named 'Blackpool Pier'.
Originally intended to attract England's upper class to the booming seaside resort, the three piers are now much-loved icons of Blackpool's promenade, boasting a surprising array of attractions.
Given Blackpool Tower’s height, the number of surrounding buildings and the fact that it is built with 2,500 tonnes of iron and 5 million bricks, there were concerns about safety if it were to collapse.
However, thanks to a unique design and some clever construction, in the unlikely event that Blackpool Tower ever did fall down, it would fall into the sea rather than the buildings around it.
Plenty of teams have gone up via the play-offs on multiple occasions, but none have enjoyed more success than Blackpool – who have triumphed six times (thrice in the fourth tier, twice in the third, and once in the second).
Our thrilling 3-2 victory over Cardiff City in the 2010 Championship final saw us make history by becoming the first club to win the play-offs in all three EFL divisions.
We have come out on top in 18 of the 26 play-off ties we've played, giving us a hugely impressive win rate of 69.2%.
Blackpool FC holds the record for being top of the top division for the longest period in the history of English Football. Blackpool were top after the weekend before we declared war on Germany in 1939 and the League was suspended - and there we stayed until 1946.
Blackpool FC is the only team in Football that has had to apply for re-election and then topped the Premier League.
Under the old two points for a win system in the original Second Division, Blackpool FC hold the record for the most points in a 42 game season to be relegated (37) AND the most points not to be promoted (58).
Blackpool FC are the highest scoring team to ever be relegated from the Premier League.
Brett Ormerod is the only player to have scored for the same team in the four top divisions during the Premier League era.
The first ever winner of the Ballon D’Or was Blackpool FC's very own Sir Stanley Matthews.
Blackpool legend Stan Mortensen is still the only player to score a hat trick in the FA Cup final.
In 1879 thousands of people descended upon Blackpool to witness the switching on of eight large electric lights to illuminate the promenade, which is where it all started! Now, the illuminations run for six miles along the promenade and are made up of more than a million bulbs.
Blackpool FC have had two players sent off on debut, Kevin Tully in 1972 and non other than Charlie Adam in 2009.
As far as we are aware we are the only club where a manager has changed his mind during his leaving press conference.
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In 2004 Steve McMahon resigned in the morning and then interrupted the press conference in the afternoon with the memorable line "Can I have a word..."
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The reason why all the final day's games kick off at the same time in a division is down to Blackpool FC.
In the 1977/78 season Blackpool FC's season finished eight days before Cardiff City v Orient was played.
Miraculously these two clubs achieved the only result that would save both teams and relegate Blackpool FC.
The very first live TV league match was on Saturday 10th September 1960 between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers at Bloomfield Road, which Bolton won by a single goal. The match kicked off at 6:50 pm with live coverage starting at 7:30pm under the title The Big Game. 2.3 million people tuned in to watch.
After London, Blackpool is the second most visited place in Britain.
Blackpool FC staged the last Football League match played on Christmas Day, beating Blackburn Rovers 4-2 in 1965.
The Blackpool boardroom was lined with panelling taken from Lord Nelson’s ex flagship, HMS Foudroyant that ran aground on Blackpool beach in 1897. The boardroom was originally in the old South stand but was incorporated into the new new West Stand when it was built. However, the panelling allegedly now adorns a certain company's offices above the BFC Hotel.
Blackpool escaped being blitzed during the Second World War because Hitler wanted to use the resort as his personal playground. The Fuhrer planned to watch his triumphant troops goosestepping down the seafront's Golden Mile before unfurling the swastika flag on top of Blackpool Tower.
Our very own Supporters Club "The Armfield" is not just famous for its name or the odd tipple. Remarkably, part of the building is the very place where the Swallow Sidecar Company started production in 1922, before relocating to Coventry and becoming better known as Jaguar Cars.
Blackpool in Gaelic means Dublin.
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From Dubh-linn, which means black pool in the traditional Irish language, because in the times of Viking settlement, there was a big black coloured water pool on the site. The black pool in question was at the junction where the Liffey and its tributary the Poddle met.
Our very own Gary Briggs was the last person to ever get 50 disciplinary points in a season – bless him.
An animal on the field, the perfect gent off it.
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Rugby tackles at Rotherham anyone?
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...and that song “Briggs is gonna get ya, Briggs is gonna get ya” followed by an opposition player being carried off.
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We loved you Gary!
When Blackpool turned out at Bloomfield Road against Crystal Palace on 29th September 1923, the Blackpool players appeared in jerseys of a new shade of Tangerine.
One rude person who shouted out "Hello, here are the oranges," was frogmarched from the ground.
Blackpool were the first EFL club to play at the Old Wembley, The Principality Stadium and the New Wembley.
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Sent in by John Walsh
During the first World War many people from Belgium migrated to Blackpool for safety, and the club changed the kit to the Belgium national side's colours as a sign of support in the 1914/15 season.
In 2019 Blackpool fans famously and finally helped remove the then owners of our great club.
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It is true that without the help of Valeri Belokon's legal action this may not have happened.
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However, when HRH Justice Marcus Smith made his momentous judgement he stated that "the only way to get true value for our club is with the fans back, therefore to achieve this I must remove the current (as of 2019) owner of any control".
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NOT A PENNY MORE (NAPM) actually got the whole thing over the line.
UTMP always - BST!
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