58 Fun Facts About Crystal Palace

The amateur Victorian-era Crystal Palace football club was set up by members of what?

The local cricketers of the Crystal Palace Cricket Club founded the amateur football side; it was a founder member of the Football Association and reached the first FA Cup semi-finals in 1871-72.

Why did the Crystal Palace Company form a professional football club in 1905?

The club was founded 'To fill the FA Cup final stadium in its grounds and draw crowds': the company relied on visitor income, and the FA had staged the Cup final there since 1895.

Palace's founding secretary Edmund Goodman came from which club, whose colours Palace adopted?

Aston Villa had employed Goodman as assistant secretary, so Palace adopted Villa's claret and blue and wore it until Malcolm Allison rebranded the club.

How did Edmund Goodman find Palace's first chairman, Sydney Bourne?

Goodman found him 'By checking records of FA Cup final ticket buyers': Sydney Bourne had bought a batch every year, and he stayed chairman until his death in 1930.

Which FA Cup holders did Southern League Palace beat 4-2 in January 1909?

Wolves, the 1908 Cup winners, lost 4-2 to Palace in the first round in January 1909; two years earlier Palace had stunned Newcastle 1-0 at St James' Park.

Which group plotted to blow up the stands at the 1913 FA Cup final at the Crystal Palace?

The suffragettes of the Women's Social and Political Union ran a bombing and arson campaign in 1913 that struck sporting venues, including racecourse grandstands.

Palace were forced out of the Crystal Palace ground in 1915 when it was requisitioned by whom?

The Admiralty turned the Crystal Palace into a Royal Naval Division depot known as HMS Victory VI; Palace moved to Herne Hill, then to the Nest after Croydon Common folded in 1917.

What did Crystal Palace achieve by winning the Third Division in 1920-21?

Palace 'Won a title in their debut season as a League club': the Third Division was created for 1920-21 largely from the Southern League, and Palace finished top to win promotion.

The first match at Selhurst Park in 1924 was a 1-0 defeat to which club, in front of 25,000?

The Wednesday, as Sheffield Wednesday were then styled, won the opening game on 30 August 1924; Archibald Leitch designed the ground and Palace went down that season.

In April 1962 Palace hosted a friendly that was which Spanish club's first ever match in London?

Real Madrid won the April 1962 friendly 4-3 at Selhurst Park; the visit prompted Palace to adopt an all-white kit modelled on Madrid's.

In which year did Palace's first top-flight spell end, despite a 5-0 home win over Manchester United that season?

Palace went down in 1973 despite beating Manchester United 5-0 at Selhurst Park that December; Malcolm Allison arrived in March, too late to save them, and took them down again in 1974.

Malcolm Allison changed Palace's nickname from 'The Glaziers' to 'The Eagles', inspired by which Portuguese club?

Benfica, the Lisbon club whose crest carries an eagle, inspired Allison's choice of 'The Eagles' to replace the old 'Glaziers' nickname.

Palace's red and blue vertical stripes, adopted under Malcolm Allison, were inspired by which club?

Barcelona's blaugrana stripes were Allison's model; the centenary season of 2005-06 briefly revived a claret, blue and white design before the stripes returned.

The Palace-Brighton rivalry was cemented in a 1976-77 FA Cup tie when referee Ron Challis ordered what?

Challis ordered 'A successful penalty to be retaken' for encroachment; Brian Horton's retake was saved, Palace won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, and the two clubs have loathed each other since.

The Palace side that won the Second Division under Terry Venables in 1979 was dubbed what by the media?

'The Team of the Eighties' tag followed two FA Youth Cup wins in 1977 and 1978; they briefly topped the First Division in autumn 1979 before money troubles broke them up.

Palace drew the 1990 FA Cup final 3-3 with Manchester United. What was the replay score?

Steve Coppell's side went one better in the league the next year, finishing third.

Palace finished third in 1990-91, their best ever, but missed Europe. Why?

England was unranked in the coefficients that season, and the single place went to runners-up Liverpool.

Palace won the 1991 Full Members Cup 4-1 after extra time at Wembley against which club?

Everton lost 4-1 after extra time at Wembley in April 1991, Palace's first trophy at the national stadium; Ian Wright joined Arsenal that autumn.

How many points did Palace have when relegated from the Premier League in 1992-93?

Palace's 49 points, level with Oldham, were not enough: Oldham stayed up on goal difference, minus 11 to Palace's minus 13, in the 22-team first Premier League season.

What was Eric Cantona's original sentence for his 1995 flying kick at a Palace fan at Selhurst Park?

Magistrates gave Cantona 'Two weeks in jail' in March 1995 for common assault; on appeal it became 120 hours of community service, and fan Matthew Simmons was convicted of threatening behaviour.

Palace lost the 1996 play-off final 2-1 to a last-minute extra-time goal by which Leicester player?

Steve Claridge's shinned volley in the last minute of extra time won it for Leicester at Wembley; a year later Palace went up by beating Sheffield United 1-0.

Which recruitment tycoon bought Palace in June 1998 and took them into administration within a year?

Mark Goldberg, who had made his money in IT recruitment, paid about 23 million pounds for the club but not the ground; Palace went into administration in March 1999.

Whose 87th-minute winner at Stockport on the last day of 2000-01 saved Palace from relegation?

Dougie Freedman's late goal at Edgeley Park sent Huddersfield down instead; he later managed Palace from 2011 to 2012 before leaving for Bolton.

Which manager tried to leave Palace for Birmingham City after four months in 2001 and was put on gardening leave?

Steve Bruce, appointed in summer 2001, was placed on gardening leave when he tried to join Birmingham in November; once released, he was replaced by his Birmingham predecessor Trevor Francis.

Iain Dowie's Palace won the 2004 play-off final 1-0 against which club?

West Ham United lost to Neil Shipperley's goal at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff; Palace went down on the last day of the next season after drawing at Charlton.

How many points were Palace docked when placed in administration in January 2010?

Ten points were deducted, the Football League's standard penalty for entering administration; survival came with a 2-2 draw at Hillsborough on the final day, which sent the hosts down instead.

What did the CPFC 2010 consortium also secure from Lloyds Bank after a fan campaign?

'The freehold of Selhurst Park' was bought from Lloyds Bank by the four-man consortium led by Steve Parish in 2010, reuniting the ground with the club after years of separate ownership.

Which club did Palace beat 1-0 in the 2013 play-off final to return to the Premier League?

Watford lost to Kevin Phillips' extra-time penalty at Wembley on 27 May 2013, sending Palace back to the Premier League after an eight-year absence.

Which manager kept Palace up in 2013-14, then resigned two days before the next season?

Tony Pulis won the Premier League manager of the season award for the 2013-14 escape, then walked out two days before the opener; Warnock returned briefly before Pardew took over.

Frank de Boer, Palace's first permanent foreign manager, was sacked in 2017 after how many days?

Palace had lost their first four league games without scoring; Roy Hodgson replaced him the next day.

How many Palace players were in England's Euro 2024 squad, more than from any other club?

Eberechi Eze, Marc Guéhi, Dean Henderson and Adam Wharton, after Glasner's six wins in the last seven games.

Who scored the only goal of the 2025 FA Cup final as Palace beat Manchester City?

Oliver Glasner's side had lost the 1990 and 2016 finals to Manchester United.

Why were Palace demoted from the 2025-26 Europa League to the Conference League?

UEFA ruled that 'Shareholder John Textor also owned Lyon', breaching multi-club ownership rules at the March 2025 assessment date; CAS upheld the demotion in August 2025 and Nottingham Forest took the Europa League place.

Which NFL owner and former US ambassador to the UK bought John Textor's stake in Palace in 2025?

Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets and US ambassador to the UK from 2017 to 2021, paid a reported 190 million pounds for Textor's 43 per cent stake in July 2025.

Palace's 2025 Community Shield win made them the first debutants to win it since whom?

Derby County in 1975, as reigning champions, won 2-0 on their first Charity Shield appearance; Palace drew 2-2 with the champions in August 2025 and won the shoot-out 3-2.

Who scored Palace's first ever European goal, against Fredrikstad in August 2025?

Jean-Philippe Mateta's penalty won the first leg 1-0 at Selhurst Park; a 0-0 draw in Norway took Palace into the Conference League's league phase.

Which non-league club knocked FA Cup holders Palace out in the 2025-26 third round?

The 2-1 defeat is regarded as one of the greatest shocks in the competition's history.

Palace won the 2026 Conference League final 1-0 in Leipzig against which Spanish club?

Oliver Glasner left when his contract expired and Pierre Sage arrived from Lens.

In June 2022 Palace changed the foundation year on their crest from 1905 to what?

1861 is the founding year of the amateur Crystal Palace club, a founder member of the FA, which the modern club adopted as its own origin on the crest unveiled in June 2022.

Which Dave Clark Five song, played at Selhurst Park since 1964, do Palace fans sing?

'Glad All Over' topped the UK chart for the Dave Clark Five in January 1964, knocking the Beatles off number one, and the Selhurst Park crowd adopted it that same year.

Which bald eagle flew across Selhurst Park before every home game until 2020?

Kayla, a bald eagle flown by a falconer, circled the Selhurst Park pitch before kick-off at home games; the club's 'Eagles' nickname dates from Malcolm Allison's 1970s rebrand.

What are 'the Crystals', who perform at Selhurst Park before kick-off and at half-time?

NFL-style cheerleaders, the Crystals, were established in 2010 and perform routines before kick-off and at half-time at Selhurst Park.

Which Apple TV series filmed its stadium scenes at Selhurst Park?

The IT Crowd also used the ground for crowd scenes in a 2008 episode.

Selhurst Park's record attendance, set in 1979, was officially how many?

51,482 packed in on 11 May 1979 to see Palace beat Burnley 2-0 and clinch the Second Division title under Terry Venables.

The Palace ultras group, based behind one goal since 2005, is known as what?

The Holmesdale Fanatics formed in 2005 in the Holmesdale Road end, bringing flags, drums and continental-style tifo displays to Selhurst Park.

Which Rolling Stone is a lifelong Crystal Palace fan?

Bill Wyman, the Rolling Stones' original bassist, grew up in Penge, near the Crystal Palace, and has been a Palace supporter since boyhood.

The 2021 Amazon documentary about Palace's 2012-13 promotion season was called what?

'When Eagles Dare' followed Ian Holloway's side through the 2012-13 season to the Wembley play-off final and was released on Amazon Prime in 2021.

Which club beat Third Division Palace 2-0 in the 1975-76 FA Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge?

Palace had knocked out Leeds and Chelsea on the way; Southampton went on to win the final against Manchester United.

Who holds the Crystal Palace record for most appearances, with 660 first-team matches?

Jim Cannon, a centre-back who captained the club for years, made 571 of his 660 appearances in the league across 15 seasons before leaving in 1988.

How many goals did Peter Simpson score in all competitions in 1930-31, a Palace single-season record?

Simpson's 54 came from 46 in the Third Division South plus eight in the FA Cup; his 165 goals between 1929 and 1935 made him the club's all-time top scorer.

Palace's record 9-0 league win (1959) and 9-0 defeat (1989) came against which two clubs?

Barrow and Liverpool: the 9-0 win over Barrow came in the Fourth Division in October 1959, and the 9-0 loss at Anfield in September 1989 came in Palace's first season back in the top flight.

Who scored Palace's goal in the 2016 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United?

Jason Puncheon put Palace ahead in the 78th minute of the 2016 final, but Juan Mata equalised and Jesse Lingard won it for Manchester United in extra time.

Which club did Palace beat over two legs in the 1989 Second Division play-off final?

Blackburn Rovers won the first leg 3-1 at Ewood Park, but Ian Wright's two goals in a 3-0 win at Selhurst Park sent Palace up in June 1989.

Why did Palace go down in 1994-95 despite finishing fourth from bottom?

'Four clubs were relegated to shrink the league to 20' that season, so Palace's 19th place and 45 points were not enough, with Norwich, Leicester and Ipswich also going down.

Which ex-Tottenham manager, hired in 1960, took Palace up from the Fourth Division?

Arthur Rowe, Tottenham's 'push and run' title-winner of 1951, won promotion from the Fourth Division in 1961; after he resigned through ill health, Dick Graham and Bert Head took Palace on to the First Division by 1969.

Which property developer took control of Palace in 1981 and kept Selhurst Park after selling the club?

Ron Noades ran the club for 17 years from 1981, sold it in 1998 but held on to Selhurst Park through a separate company and leased it back, later becoming chairman of Brentford.

Which character claims he once played for Crystal Palace but it 'didn't work out'?

Tony in Abigail's Party, Mike Leigh's 1977 play, was played by John Salthouse, who had himself been on Palace's books as a young player before turning to acting.

What are the club's costumed eagle mascots called?

Pete and Alice are the club's two costumed eagle mascots, Pete the Eagle and Alice the Eagle, who work the Selhurst Park touchline on matchdays.