History of the Crest
In heraldic terms, the Club crest features a tower with two laurel wreaths resplendent on either side…but where did it come from?
At end of the 1937/38 season, Theo Kelly, Everton's energetic secretary, who later became The Toffees first post-war manager, wanted to design a club neck tie.
It was roundly agreed that the colour should be blue, but Kelly was given the job of thinking of coming up with a crest to be included on the tie.
"I was puzzling over it for four months," he said.
"Then I thought of a reproduction of the 'Beacon' which stands in the heart of Everton."
'The Beacon', or 'The Tower', has been inextricably linked with the Everton area since it's construction in 1787. Originally used as a bridewell to incarcerate criminals, it still stands today on Everton Brow in Netherfield Road.
According to the College of Heraldry and Arms in London, Mr. Kelly chose to include the laurels, as they were the signs of winners in classical times. Indeed, a wreath is still given to the winner of each Formula One Grand Prix.
Accompanied by the club motto, 'Nil Satis, Nisi Optimum' - which means 'Nothing but the best is good enough,' the ties were first worn by Kelly and Everton's chairman, Mr. E. Green on the first day of the 1938/39 season.
On that day, Everton were at Bloomfield Road for a Division One clash with Blackpool and won 2-0 with goals from Tommy Lawton and Alex Stevenson.
That was on the 27th August, 1938 - and four days later the ties and the crest made their first appearance at Goodison. Everton triumphed again…registering a 3-0 win over Grimsby Town!
Indeed, the ties and the crest were proclaimed as lucky, as Everton raced to six consecutive wins in their opening games…and, in May, the league Championship!
However, the Toffees rarely incorporated a club badge of any description on its shirts.
The interwoven 'EFC' design was adopted between 1922-1930. However, no badge was adopted until 1973 when a bold 'EFC' design was used. The shield design with the latin text was first used on club shirts in 1980. Since that original use on the shirts the crest has been modified and re-designed - with the current evolution of the design first introduced on shirts for the 2000/01 season. The '1878' wording and 'Everton' were added as permanent elements on the crest in 1998 but due to an ongoing kit deal, it was not added to the shirts until 2000.
And the rest, as they say, is history!
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