There was a time when Rangers would’ve been called the oldest club in Scotland, having been formed in the March of 1872. Whether that remains the case today will depend largely on whether you think it is the same football club or not. On the first of June 2012, the Rangers Football Club plc was liquidated, reforming as RFC 2012 plc. The Scottish Football Association allowed the club to maintain its trophies and overall history, so it is probably fair to say that it remains the same club it’s always been. Even so, it is a matter of debate. We will be writing about the badge as if it’s always been the same entity.
Two Official Crests
There is something slightly unusual about Rangers, insofar as the club has two different official crests that are in use. The scroll crest is one, often used on the club’s kit, whilst the Lion Rampant is the one that tends to be used by the media and features on the club merchandise. That information hopefully helps to clear up any confusion that you might experience when considering the explanation that we provide here around the club’s badge. The scroll crest was believed to be introduced when the club was formed in 1872, although the oldest piece of memorabilia that displays it dates from the 1881-1882 season.
That was stamped on a Member’s Ticket book, which sees a scroll saying ‘RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB’ above a shield. Within the shield are stylised versions of the letters ‘RFC’, along with a ball standing on top of the shield. Beneath it are the words ‘KINNING PARK’, whilst underneath that it states ‘SEASON – 1881-1882’. Although that isn’t an official badge and wasn’t ever used on a club kit, as far as research shows, it was a design that remained in place for more than 70 years and informed most of what was to follow, but can it be called the club ‘badge’?
The First Badges
There is an argument that the club’s first badge was introduced in 1904. It features the letter ‘R F C’ in a stylised font sitting above the word ‘READY’, which has been associated with Rangers ever since. Around the outside of it was a banner, which was blue with a white border and red markings. Inside the banner were the words ‘RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB’, each sitting on a different part of the banner. The background and the ‘R F C’ letters were in a light blue, whilst ‘RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB’ was written white, to allow it to stand out.
That remained in use until 1959, which was the point at which something slightly closer to what we’ve come to expect from Rangers was brought in. That is thanks to the presence of the Lion Rampant, which faced to the left and stood on a shield with a dark blue background. The shield had a gold border, which was also the colour of the Lion Rampant, as well as the word ‘READY’ that was underneath it. A gold football was on top of the shield. The entire thing was surrounded by a red circular border, which had a gold edging and a gold circle in the middle, whilst the words ‘THE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB’ were in gold.
Moving Towards the Modern
In 1968, Rangers introduced a badge that was then used as the basis for every badge that the club has used since. In the centre of it was a blue football with white lines, whilst in the middle of that was the Lion Rampant, in red and facing off to the left. The ball was surrounded by a thin black line, then the words ‘RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB’ in black ran around the circle. Underneath the ball was the word ‘READY’, with the entire thing being surrounded by another black line. The badge remained in usage by Rangers until 1990, setting the precedent for what was to come.
In 1990, a variation on the same theme was brought in. This time, the outer border of the circular badge was light blue, surrounding a gold background. The words ‘RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB’ still appeared internally, still in black but in a thicker writing. There was then a red circular border, with thin black lines either side of it. Inside that was a white background, upon which was a football in a different blue but with white lines still splitting into segments. On top of the ball was the Lion Rampant, continuing to look to the left but seemingly leaning back a touch more, in gold with a black border.
Slight Variations
It is fair to say that the Rangers badge hasn’t changed a huge amount since it was introduced in the form we’ve been describing in 1968. Indeed, the main thing that has been different over the years is the colour scheme used for the badge, which returned to different hues of blue in 1994. The Lion Rampant remained red, still looking to the left but not rearing back as much as it had been for the 1990-1994 period when it was gold. The border was a dark blue, inside of which were the words ‘RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB’ on a white background, with another blue circular border within them.
The football was the same shade of a darker blue, in the centre of which was that red Lion Rampant. The ball also had the white markings that identified it as being a football rather than just a circle. Beneath the ball was the word ‘READY’ in the same shade of blue. That badge was used for three years, then in 1997 things changed slightly when a lighter shade of blue was brought in. That, though, wasn’t the only change, thanks to the fact that the Lion Rampant was made thinner and was rearing back more, although it continued to be looking to the left. Everything else remained largely the same, apart from the thinness of the white lines on the ball.
The Modern Day Badge
The thinner Lion Rampant was introduced in 1997 and that remained the club’s badge until 2003. At that point, a decision was taken to introduce a new look to the Rangers badge, largely thanks to the shade of blue that was used. It has been a darker blue ever since then, with that colour being used for the circular border on the outside of the badge. Inside that is a white background, upon which are the words ‘RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB’ in the darker blue colour that we’ve come to so readily associate with the Royalist football club.
There is then another circular border, which is used to contain the football that has been in place on the badge in one form or another since 1968. The lines are white on the dark blue of the ball, being thicker and clearer than in other versions of the badge. The Lion Rampant remains looking to the left and is in red, but is now thicker and with a longer tail. It is also back in a more centralised position, rather than rearing backwards as it had been in various badges over the years. Underneath the ball continues to be the word ‘READY’. In 2020 the same look was introduced but with a lighter blue being the only difference.
The Scroll Crest
If the description of the Lion Rampant badge doesn’t seem to ring any bells for you, perhaps it is the scroll crest that you’ve grown more used to seeing. It is fair to say that the version of the crest that is perhaps most recognisable to those that don’t know the club intimately is the one that sees the letters R F C intertwined with one another. It was brought in a plain manner, using white letters on a dark blue background, in 1994, with that particular crest remaining in usage until 2003. At that point, the letters were made slightly smaller in order to accommodate five white stars above the letters.
In 2005, the background was changed to white, whilst the letters continued the dark blue colouring that we’ve grown used to seeing from Rangers. Meanwhile, the five stars were made red, with two small ones on the outside, two medium ones on the inside and a large one in the middle. That lasted for five years, at which point the dark blue background was brought back and the letters and stars were back to being white. In 2012, the stars were removed altogether and the stylised intertwined lettering in white went back to dominating over a dark blue background.