Baggies

(West Bromwich Albion)

Many stories and myths regarding the nickname "Baggies" for which West Bromwich Albion Football club have been known since the dawn of time, have been written to explain how and why the club came to be known as such!
Some stories tell of the club playing in baggie shorts, but then all players from all clubs of the time played in baggie shorts! some tell of bag pipes and many many more stories too many to tell.
The true story told by a local historian written in 1962 for the then Darwen News tells of the game between Darwen Football Club and West Bromwich Albion in the 1891/2 season which finished 12-0 to the Albion, this score still stands as the biggest win for a game in the top flight of English football!
It was in 1891 that nets were first used to cover the goals, the nickname given to these in those days was "bags over the goal" hence the saying still used to this day when for example: "Shearer bags a couple of goals"
It was whilst the local historian (Mr Howard Peters) was researching the "Salmoners" (Darwen FC) that he came upon a story regarding the West Bromwich Albion's forth coming game with Darwen some two years later (1893/4), the reporter for the then East Lancashire Post stated that the team that had bagged a dozen goals against the Salmoners two years previous were to be the teams next opponents, only he writes that "this time the Salmoners would have their revenge over the Baggies" Hence the Albion became known throughout football as the Baggies!

the final result for the return game was 1-1 honours even!.......nearly