Formation
The club was formed in September 1883, following a meeting in the Eastville Restaurant in Queen's Parade, Stapleton Road, Bristol, organised by a 19-year-old schoolteacher called Bill Somerton. They later took the name Black Arabs F.C., so called because of their predominantly black kit and the fact that they played on an adjoining pitch to the Arabs rugby team, at Purdown.
| 1883–84 club colours |
On 1 December 1883 the Black Arabs played their first match, a friendly match against Gloucestershire side Wotton-under-Edge, which ended in a 6–0 defeat. As well as two games against Wotton, the Black Arabs also played Warmley, Bristol Wagon Works and Right & Might in a total of ten matches over the course of their first season. The team acquired the nickname The Purdown Poachers, after the area where they played.
Read more about this topic: History Of Bristol Rovers F.C.
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