Any reason St Helens and Hull Fc don't have any second name?

[Scott Sinfield]

For example Warrington have Wolves after their name and Castleford have Tigers. Hull and St Helens don't have any. Is there a reason for that?

[GUBRATS]

Cheaper badges , saves stitching

[Man of Kent]

Because everyone calls St Helens, Saints and Hull FC, Hull FC. No need for American-style nicknames.

[Hela Wigmen]

I thought Saints had a vote about taking on a nickname and it was unanimously declined. Now, I can’t find any information backing that up, so it could be rubbish. 

[wiganermike]

Hull did adopt a nickname, they were Hull Sharks during the late 90s. They were in financial trouble (or heading for it) when they were merged with the original Gateshead Thunder club. The resultant club stayed based in Hull and dropped the Sharks moniker which was unpopular anyway, reverting to the historic Hull FC. Other clubs such as Halifax, Oldham and Whitehaven also dropped their soubriquets.

As Man of Kent said St Helens having already been long known as the Saints had no need to come up with a new marketable nickname and possibly didn't stick it on the end as a club name beginning with Saint and ending in Saints would look a little silly when written down. I don't think Workington Town ever added a new nickname either.

[M j M]

A better question is why half the teams in the league do have second names when they barely bother to do anything with them apart from employ someone in a mascot costume. It was a fad which misunderstood what made 'Bulls' and 'Cougars' successful and has left an ugly scar on the names of a host of our most famous team.

[Tommygilf]

St Helens were "Saints" at least for a period on their badges.

Hull FC were Hull Sharks. They went bust, relocated and merged gateshead and I think tried to forget about the whole thing.

[Man of Kent]

I can see the advantages of some names like Warriors for Wigan and Rhinos for Leeds to avoid confusion with other sporting clubs in their locale but for St Helens there’s really no need when they have Saints (and Bocklers).

[Womer]

It was part of the deal Super League did with $ky

They insisted on traditional names being junked, Hull KR would have been called Robins rather than Rovers.

The two other leagues didn't have to, but to try and cash in some did, to no effect whatsoever

[Leeds Wire]

We've been here before but here goes:

Catchy names are easier to sell. You can't market a 'Wire' or a 'Northern' or a 'Glassblower' or a 'Roughyed' or a 'Loiner' to a new audience. Therefore it makes sense to have a moniker that you can use as a brand.

That, in turn, doesn't mean you have to abandon your heritage. In fact the most basic of marketing textbooks will tell you that having both a modern brand and an historical identity gives you more opportunities to sell.

Anyone who has ever been to a Warrington game knows that you have definitely not, and probably never will, hear someone shout "Come on Wolves!" and everyone knows even little kids shout for "The Wire!" That is the truth; but it doesn't matter because the modern moniker "Wolves" is a great marketing tool and it works well (there's also a wolf on the town's coat of arms).

I can't explain how the Rhinos (no Rhino on the city coat of arms, but there is an owl) caught hold with fans and it still sounds absurd to me when you hear it, but it works and they are successful, so there you go.

[Padge]

32 minutes ago, Womer said:

It was part of the deal Super League did with $ky

They insisted on traditional names being junked, Hull KR would have been called Robins rather than Rovers.

The two other leagues didn't have to, but to try and cash in some did, to no effect whatsoever

It had nothing to do with Sky, yet another stupid bloody myth.

[Number 16]

45 minutes ago, Womer said:

It was part of the deal Super League did with $ky

They insisted on traditional names being junked,

Source? 

[Tonka]

I dunno if it was Sky driven (irrelevant point I guess) but it was definitely about the advent of SL.  Some clubs obviously felt they had a strong enough brand without a name.  Quite a few clubs have dropped the names they created - eg Wakefield, Hull, Halifax, Oldham.  As a Wigan fan the Warriors branding has never done anything for me.  Wigan RLFC, with the town crest and Ancient and Loyal is far more compelling in my view.

[Eddie]

7 hours ago, Leeds Wire said:

I can't explain how the Rhinos (no Rhino on the city coat of arms, but there is an owl) caught hold with fans and it still sounds absurd to me when you hear it, but it works and they are successful, so there you go.

Leeds Owls would be a great name  

[Lowdesert]

1 hour ago, Eddie said:

I’ve always assumed it’s distinguish themselves from Hull KR. 

People in and around Hull call Hull FC ‘Hull’ and Hull KR ‘Rovers’.

Only outside of east Yorkshire are they mentioned ain’t their full titles.

 

[Gooleboy]

There was no mention of FC on the front of the 1983 Cup Final Programme, it just said, Featherstone Rovers v Hull.

[Mr Smeaton]

I remember the late Peter Deakin returning to his grassroots club St. Anne’s in 1995 and he had some merchandise in his car from America and he introduced the club to purchase polo shirts and caps. After a few months he moved to Bradford and he suggested that the club change their name to the Bulls. And the rest is history. He did a similar job at Saracens with the Fez. 

[DimmestStar]

1 hour ago, Gooleboy said:

There was no mention of FC on the front of the 1983 Cup Final Programme, it just said, Featherstone Rovers v Hull.

Correct.

Even in the all Hull final of 1980, the programme said Hull V Hull KR. Hull's Boulevard stadium was emblazoned with Hull R.L.F.C.

[meast]

Huddersfield were, and are, still known as "Fartown" especially by lots of fans over 35, some older fans even refer to both the senior football and rugby clubs as just "Town", however, the younger element know the club as Giants, and most people in and around the town know the club as The Giants so i guess the moniker has worked.

Incidentally, the club gave the fans the option of the new nickname and from memory it came down to Huddersfield Rams or Huddersfield Giants, rams because it's on the coat of arms, due to the area being owned by the Ramsden family for centuries, Giants because of the club's history making them a 'Giant' of the game, as there was already an American football team named Huddersfield Rams, ironically, at the time playing on Fartown's cricket pitch, it was the Giants that was adopted in 1996, although originally we were known as the "Fartown Giants"

I'd love to know how some teams' names came about, Leeds for example, why Rhinos? Wigan, didn't Whitehaven already use "Warriors"?

[Damien]

As far as I recall clubs were basically forced to have the cheesy American style name added at the start of Super League. St Helens were exempt as their town name practically encompasses their nickname.

[Dunbar]

3 hours ago, Eddie said:

I’ve always assumed it’s distinguish themselves from Hull KR. 

I've always assumed it was to ###### off the football (soccer) team and show them they can't be FC.

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

4 hours ago, Eddie said:

Leeds Owls would be a great name  

I agree; it would be an absolute hoot!

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

I always thought the most ridiculous was Wakefield's.  Why add a third word to an already excellent and historically relevant name?  Dropping 'Wildcats' was an excellent move!

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

21 minutes ago, Wiltshire Warrior Dragon said:

I always thought the most ridiculous was Wakefield's.  Why add a third word to an already excellent and historically relevant name?  Dropping 'Wildcats' was an excellent move!

The Trinity bit was actually removed.  The Wildcats moniker and logo was awful. Still see a few unfortunate tattoos about.  

Had the three Wakefield area clubs merged, Trinity would have been an excellent name for the new entity.  

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

As far as I recall clubs were basically forced to have the cheesy American style name added at the start of Super League. St Helens were exempt as their town name practically encompasses their nickname.

No one was forced and St Helens were definitely introduced as St Helens Saints on the TV at the time - whether anyone actually called them that or not.