Among the various emblems that make London vibrate, the Crystal Palace is perhaps the one that stands out most due to the peculiarity of its name: crystal palace. Curious, historical name and brand image of what is the oldest club in the English league. So old, that it is necessary to go back to the middle not of the last century but of the previous one (19th century) to understand the origins of the club. Created in 1861 by cricket players, it owes its name to the historic building designed by Joseph Paxton and built in crystal and iron in the English capital, in Hyde Park, to host the great exhibition of 1851 (intended to display industrial and cultural achievements from several countries). Crystal Palace London -Exhibition of Industry 18513x the size of St Paul's Cathedral (last picture for comparison)Occupying some 18 acres it had 294k panes of glass covering 84k m2. Who were the manufacturers? Not to mention just how much prefabricated cast iron it used?.... pic.twitter.com/x1tbu8mDcq— WhatdoIknow (@Earstohearyou) January 6, 2023 Exhibition Palace was built in 1851, mostly made of crystal, and destroyed in a fire in 1936 (IMAGO) The building changed location, was rebuilt and reopened in 1954 on Sydenham Hill, in the south of the city, with even larger proportions, and the area was renamed Crystal Palace. And it was the sports facilities that dominated the attention: three years later, in April, the Crystal Palace Company inaugurated a new cricket pitch in its park. Thus, Crystal Palace Cricket Club was born. A month later came the announcement that another foundation was on the way. Team origins date back to 1861: oldest existing league club (Crystal Palace) Although 1905 prevailed, for years, as the date of origin of Crystal Palace, history began to be written a good few years earlier, as football was king in those lands, despite that sport not being the starting point. Cricket was more popular, but it was football where players killed free time, which led them to join a club to practice the sport. And so the Crystal Palace Football Club was born in 1861 — on March 15, 1862, it played its first game, in Leytonstone, Essex, against the Forest Club, and the following year the two clubs became members of the English Football Association, launching the body's first rules. The turn of the century represented a change: from an amateur team with its origins in cricket players, who dressed in blue and white, Crystal Palace became a professional team that played in blue and red. «The magnificent Palácio de Cristal building, its land and the company that owned it have always been an integral part of the club's identity. We need look no further than the words of William Pickford, journalist, president of the English Football Association and vice-president of FIFA, who, in 1905, wrote that Crystal Palace had revived their club 'with an appearance which the original members would never have dreamed of'. I see no reason to doubt the greatest of all sports historians,” said football historian Guy Oliver, quoted by Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire on 30 November 1936, which spread after a mysterious explosion in the women's cloakroom.Its wooden flooring & the flammable exhibits fueled the fire until it was unstoppable. The Assyrian Court of the Palace went up in flames with the… pic.twitter.com/NTg0ls5A9p— Bronze Giant (@RjNol) June 12, 2025 After the club's professionalization, the construction that was at its genesis would be destroyed by flames, in a fire in 1936, however the structure would remain immortalized in the symbol. In addition to the logo, the famous crystal palace also had an influence on the original nickname of the London emblem — glaciers (glassmakers, in reference to workers in the glass industry). Years later, the nickname would be replaced by another, eagles (eagles). And it was... Benfica's fault? Symbol evokes nickname 'Glaziers' (Crystal Palace) It was definitely Malcolm Allison's fault. The coach, who led Sporting to the double in 1981/82 (he also coached Vitória de Setúbal and Farense in Portugal), arrived at Crystal Palace in March 1973, faced relegation and decided to launch a revolution. Crystal Palace symbol (imageBROKER LogoxFactory) The starting point was to adopt the red and blue stripes on the shirt, which had already been used at the club from 1937/38, and change the nickname to a more appealing name. The inspiration, in the first case, was associated with Barcelona, a history of world football, in the second with Benfica, which in the 60s was two-time European champion and had Eusébio as a reference. Bad Evil I wanted a team reborn from the ashes, like a phoenix, and the eagle would be that symbol of strength, aggression and vision for the future. Much more than glassmakers. Malcom Allison celebrated winning the League with Sporting in 1981/82 (PHOTO: A BOLA) “Allison’s eagles will fly high,” predicted the TheMirror. It didn't happen like that, with a new blow resulting in a new relegation. However, the nickname lived on, which is still known today as the group at Selhurst Park, which once had the eagle Kayla flying over the stadium before games. He died in 2020 from a heart attack. Article originally published in August 2025