Our ‘Ever Wonder’ series will run throughout the 2022-23 Premier League season and focuses on key stories behind the history, tradition and culture of all 20 Premier League clubs.
[ MORE: Check out our ‘Ever Wonder’ series in full ]
Have you ever sat there and wondered why certain chants became iconic at a club? Why a team has a certain nickname? Why they play in those colors? How they were founded? Yep, us too.
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This season we will be digging deep to tell the stories of the rich history, tradition and culture from around the Premier League and give you the answers to things you want to know more about.
Wulf from the start
The reason Wolverhampton Wanderers FC are nicknamed Wolves is not because there are packs of them roaming the streets of England’s West Midlands.
But the streets around Molineux were named after a Wulf. Of sorts.
Let’s go back to 985 AD to explain...
A royal beginning
The then King of the English, Ethelred the Unready, granted lands to Lady Wulfrun by royal charter.
That area then became known as the City Wolverhampton.
Over the years the name of the city was often shortened to Wolves, so having an actual Wolf as their team badge and “Wolves” becoming their official nickname was an obvious choice for their football club.
Kit and badge showcase the city
Also, the black and gold colors of Wolves’ kit refer to the motto of the City of Wolverhampton: “Out of Darkness Cometh Light” with the black shorts representing darkness and the gold shirts representing light.
A wolf appeared on their club badge for the very first time in the 1960s and since 1979 it has been a single wolf head.
The Wolf gives the team a distinct identity across the world.
