Luton Town F.C.

Did You Know?

• Bob Hawkes became Luton's first international player when he played for England against Ireland on 16 February 1907.
• Eddie Parris became the first Black player to represent Luton when he made his debut on 13 March 1937 against Northampton Town.
• The club's original team colours were pink and dark blue shirts and caps, agreed at the founding meeting in 1885.

History

Luton Town Football Club was founded on 11 April 1885. Before its formation, several other clubs existed in the town, notably Luton Wanderers and Luton Excelsior. George Deacon, a Wanderers player, proposed a 'Town' club to unite the best local players. Wanderers secretary Herbert Spratley arranged a secret meeting on 13 January 1885 at St Matthew's School, where the committee resolved to rename the club Luton Town, a decision unpopular with the community. A public meeting on 11 April 1885, attended by many football enthusiasts, heard Spratley's objections but voted to form a new Luton Town Football Club. Luton was a founder member of the Southern League in 1894–95, finishing runners-up in its first two seasons. It then helped form the United League, finishing second in its inaugural season, before joining the Football League in 1897–98 and moving to Dunstable Road. The club also won the United League title in 1897–98. High travel costs and poor attendance forced a return to the Southern League for 1900–01.

Club identity

Luton Town has often used the town's crest as its own. The first badge, a white eight-pointed star, appeared on deep cochineal red shirts in 1892. Four years later, a crest with intertwined initials was briefly used. From 1933, a straw boater badge was adopted, with initials added in 1935, remaining until 1947. The club then played without a badge until 1970, when the town crest was worn regularly, first used in the 1959 FA Cup Final. In 1973, a new badge featuring a stylised orange football with 'Lt' and navy text accompanied a switch to an orange kit. A derivative of the town crest returned in 1987, with the shield as the badge. The 'rainbow' badge of 1994 placed the town crest below an orange and blue bow with two footballs. A 2005 version similar to the 1987 design added a straw boater and black text; the founding year 1885 was added in 2008. The current badge, introduced in the 2009–10 pre-season, replaced the town crest's red with orange and modernised the font.

Stadia

Luton Town's first ground was Dallow Lane, the former home of Luton Excelsior, located next to a railway line where smoke from trains often obscured players' vision. Financial losses in 1896–97 forced the club to sell the stadium, and it moved across the tracks to a ground between the railway and Dunstable Road. The Dunstable Road site was opened by Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford, who donated £50 toward the £800 building costs. When the land was sold for housing in 1905, the club moved to its current Kenilworth Road site in time for the 1905–06 season. Kenilworth Road has an all-seater capacity of 12,056 and is located in the Bury Park area. The original Main Stand burned down in 1921 and was replaced before the 1922–23 season. Extensive redevelopment in the 1930s raised capacity to 30,000 by the start of the Second World War. Floodlights were installed before the 1953–54 season, but no further modernisation occurred until 1973, when the Bobbers Stand became all-seated. In 1985, the grass pitch was replaced with an unpopular artificial surface. After hooliganism incidents in 1985, chairman David Evans introduced a scheme banning away fans and requiring home fans to carry membership cards from 1986–87. Conversion to an all-seater ground began in 1986; away fans returned for 1990–91, and grass was reinstated a year later. The David Preece Stand was erected in 1991, and the Kenilworth Stand became all-seated in 2005.

Supporters and rivalries

The club's nickname 'the Hatters' reflects Luton's historical connection with the hat-making trade, prominent since the 17th century. Supporters are also called Hatters. In the 2014–15 season, average home league attendance was 8,702, the second highest in League Two. During the 2013–14 Conference Premier season, average attendance was 7,387, more than double the next highest. Average attendances fell from 13,452 in 1982–83 to 8,702 in 2014–15, a 35% drop over 32 years. The Luton Town Supporters' Trust owns shares and elects a board representative; since March 2014, it holds a legal veto over changes to the club's identity. The club's mascot, Happy Harry, wears a straw boater.