“Ah, bugger! It got me again!” yells a man as he quickly pulls his finger back. Inspecting it, he notices a small cut has appeared. “Blast it,” he mutters in frustration, picking up a pair of garden shears. With a grim expression, he starts chopping away at the overgrown bushes, as though seeking some sort of revenge for the paper-thin cut he had received.
This little battle is taking place in West Bromwich, in the early 1900s.
The man is part of the fledgling West Bromwich Albion football club, a team known for being nomadic and lacking a permanent ground. Their lease at their previous ground had recently come to an end. Rather than negotiating a renewal, the club decided to find a better location for their match-day games. They identified a spot a little outside of town, but it was severely overgrown—mainly with hawthorn bushes. So, the club organized a team to clear the area, hence the man with his shears.
This effort would go on to cement West Bromwich Albion’s home ground and eventually their stadium for generations to come. The club cleared the hawthorns and began playing football there. Within a few years, they had managed to buy the lease and finally had a place to call their own. And what better name could there be than ‘The Hawthorns’? It was a fitting tribute to the team's hard work and perseverance. The name continues to serve as West Bromwich Albion's stadium to this day.
Stadiums often have fascinating stories behind their names, and The Hawthorns is one of the more unique ones. In a lighthearted way, one could even say that it’s "rooted" in its origins! For a darker tale, take FC Utrecht’s Stadion Galgenwaard, which has a more grim history behind its name. You can learn more about that by reading our post, The Stadium with a Grim Name, and for more intriguing stadium stories, be sure to check out our Legendary Stadium Stories page.