50 Fun Facts About Hull City

Which big cat gives Hull City their nickname?

Hull City are the Tigers, a nickname earned in their first seasons because their striped home shirts were likened to a tiger's coat.

Which two colours make up Hull City's traditional home kit?

Black and amber striped shirts have been Hull City's home colours for most of their history, though plain amber shirts with black shorts have featured in several eras.

In which year was Hull City founded?

Hull City were founded in June 1904 and played their first match that September, a friendly against Notts County at the Boulevard, the home of the city's rugby club.

Which stadium was Hull City's home from 1946 until 2002?

Boothferry Park opened in August 1946 and was Hull City's home until December 2002; by the 1980s a supermarket had been built into the ground behind one goal.

The MKM Stadium is shared with which rugby league club?

Hull F.C., the city's west-side rugby league club, moved into the new stadium alongside the football club when it opened in December 2002; City's first games were played at Hull F.C.'s old Boulevard ground.

Who scored the only goal in the 2008 play-off final that sent Hull City to the top flight?

Dean Windass, a 39-year-old Hull-born striker, volleyed the only goal of the 2008 play-off final at Wembley to send the club into the top flight for the first time.

Who did the Tigers beat in the 2008 Championship play-off final?

Hull beat Bristol City 1-0 at Wembley on 24 May 2008, having thrashed Watford 6-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Who was Hull City's manager when they first reached the Premier League in 2008?

Phil Brown took Hull up via the 2008 play-offs and kept them in the Premier League in 2009, delivering his famous on-pitch half-time team talk at Manchester City on Boxing Day 2008.

Hull City lost their first FA Cup final, in 2014, to which club?

Arsenal won 3-2 after extra time; James Chester and Curtis Davies had Hull 2-0 up inside ten minutes before Aaron Ramsey's 109th-minute winner.

Which manager led Hull City to two Premier League promotions, an FA Cup final and Europe from 2012 to 2016?

Bruce resigned in July 2016 amid an alleged rift with the owners, weeks after winning the play-off final.

Who scored Hull City's first top-flight goal, against Fulham in August 2008?

Geovanni, formerly of Barcelona and Manchester City, scored Hull's first top-flight goal in a 2-1 opening-day win over Fulham on 16 August 2008.

Who is Hull City's record goalscorer, with 222 goals in all competitions?

Chris Chilton scored 222 goals for Hull City between 1960 and 1971, a club record, with strike partner Ken Wagstaff second on the list.

Who holds Hull City's appearance record, with 579 games in all competitions?

Andy Davidson, a Scottish full-back, made a club-record 579 appearances for Hull City, the last of them in 1967, despite breaking his leg three times during his career.

Which owner tried and failed to rename the club 'Hull Tigers'?

Assem Allam, the Egyptian-born owner who bought the club in 2010, argued 'City' was too common a name and said he would have renamed Manchester City 'Manchester Hunter'.

In April 2014, which body rejected the club's application to change its name?

The FA Council voted the name-change application down in April 2014; fans had campaigned as 'City Till We Die', and the owner said they could 'die as soon as they want'.

Which Turkish media mogul completed a takeover of Hull City in January 2022?

Acun Ilıcalı, a television presenter and producer, completed his takeover in January 2022 and sacked Liam Rosenior in May 2024 despite a seventh-place finish, citing differing 'football philosophy'.

Hull City contest the Humber derby with Scunthorpe United and which other club?

Grimsby Town, across the estuary in North East Lincolnshire, complete the Humber derby trio with Hull and Scunthorpe; the Humber Bridge has linked the two banks since 1981.

Why were Hull City and a Lincolnshire neighbour once excused league football on Christmas Day?

Both Hull and their Lincolnshire neighbour were among Britain's biggest fishing ports, and the demands of the fish trade over the festive period earned them exemption from Christmas Day fixtures.

What kind of ground was the Circle, Hull City's temporary home after the Boulevard?

The Circle was the home of Hull Cricket Club; City played there for the 1905-06 season before moving next door, and the club's current stadium was later built in the same corner of West Park.

What was the name of Hull City's first permanent home, opened in March 1906?

Anlaby Road was Hull City's home from March 1906 until wartime bomb damage forced a move in the 1940s; the club's record 11-1 win was recorded there in January 1939.

Hull City's biggest ever competitive win was 11–1 in 1939 against which club?

Hull City beat Carlisle United 11-1 at home on 14 January 1939 in the Third Division North, the club's biggest win in any competition.

Hull have twice lost 8–0, in 1911 and again in July 2020. Who inflicted the 2020 defeat?

Hull lost 16 of their last 20 games that pandemic-hit season and went down to League One.

Duane Darby set a club record by scoring how many goals in an FA Cup replay against Whitby Town in 1996?

Duane Darby scored six of Hull's goals in an 8-4 extra-time win over Whitby Town in November 1996, a club record for a single match.

What did Hull fans throw onto the pitch at Bolton in 1998 to protest the owner?

Hundreds of tennis balls were thrown onto the pitch at Bolton's Reebok Stadium in 1998 in protest at the club's owner, a former tennis player whose plans for the club the fans bitterly opposed.

Which former British Davis Cup captain owned Hull City from 1997 to 1998?

David Lloyd, the former Davis Cup captain and fitness-club founder, bought the club in 1997, sold it in late 1998 but kept the ground, and in 2000 had bailiffs lock the team out over unpaid rent.

Who became Hull City's first manager from outside Britain and Ireland in 2002?

Jan Mølby, the Danish former Liverpool midfielder, was appointed in April 2002 and sacked that October; Peter Taylor then took over and began the climb to the Premier League.

Hull lost English football's first penalty shoot-out in 1970 in which competition?

Hull went out of the Watney Cup in 1970 in the first penalty shoot-out in English football, with Denis Law the first player to miss; Hull later lost the 1973 final to Stoke City.

Which former England international was player-manager when Hull won the Third Division North in 1948–49?

Raich Carter, the former Sunderland, Derby and England inside-forward, was player-manager as Hull won the 1948-49 Third Division North title.

Hull's record home attendance of 55,019 came in a 1949 FA Cup tie against which club?

Manchester United won the 1949 FA Cup sixth-round tie 1-0 in front of 55,019, a Hull City crowd that was never matched again.

Roughly how much did the KC Stadium cost to build in 2002?

The KC Stadium cost about £44 million, most of it provided by Hull City Council from the sale of part of its stake in Kingston Communications, and it opened in December 2002.

Who was appointed Hull City's permanent manager in January 2012?

Nick Barmby, a Hull-born former England midfielder, was caretaker from November 2011 and permanent manager from January 2012 before being sacked that May after criticising the club's transfer policy.

Who scored the first goal at the KC Stadium, in a December 2002 friendly against Sunderland?

Steve Melton scored the stadium's first goal in a 1-0 friendly win over Sunderland on 18 December 2002; the first competitive match was a 2-0 league win over Hartlepool on Boxing Day.

Who did Hull City beat in the 2016 Championship play-off final?

Hull beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Wembley on 28 May 2016 with a second-half Mohamed Diamé strike, the club's third promotion to the Premier League.

Which Hull midfielder celebrated a goal in the 6–0 win over Fulham in 2013 with an on-pitch haircut?

Tom Huddlestone had vowed not to cut his hair until he scored; after his goal in the 6-0 win over Fulham in December 2013 a barber trimmed it on the touchline, his first goal since April 2011.

Hull City's first-ever European match, in 2014, was a 0–0 draw away to a club from which country?

Hull drew 0-0 away to AS Trenčín of Slovakia in July 2014 and won the return 2-1, before Belgium's Lokeren knocked them out on away goals.

Which two players did Hull City sign together on 29 July 2014?

Harry Maguire and Andrew Robertson both signed on 29 July 2014, from Sheffield United and Dundee United respectively; both left in 2017, Maguire for Leicester and Robertson for Liverpool.

Which winger's January 2020 sale to West Ham set Hull's record transfer fee received?

Jarrod Bowen joined West Ham in January 2020 for a fee reported at up to £22 million, then a club record; he had scored 16 league goals for Hull that season.

Under which head coach did Hull win the League One title in 2020–21?

Grant McCann, who had been relegated with Hull the previous season, led them straight back up as 2020-21 League One champions, the club's fourth league title and first since 1965-66.

Which Oscar-nominated actor famously followed Hull City from his home in Paris?

Omar Sharif, the Egyptian star of Lawrence of Arabia, followed Hull City's results from his home in Paris and was given an honorary degree by the University of Hull in 2010.

Which former Deputy Prime Minister was a well-known Hull City supporter?

John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007, represented Hull East for 40 years and was a regular at Hull City matches; his funeral was held at Hull Minster in December 2024.

Which 1961 Elvis Presley song do Hull City fans sing as a pre-match anthem?

Hull fans sing Elvis Presley's 1961 ballad 'Can't Help Falling in Love' as the teams walk out, a tradition that has become the club's signature pre-match ritual.

Which future England manager broke into Hull's first team in the early 1980s?

Steve McClaren, later England manager, made his Hull debut in 1979 and played more than 170 league games for the club before moving to Derby in 1985.

Ian Goodison and Theo Whitmore, signed in 1999, were internationals for which country?

Theo Whitmore and Ian Goodison, both members of Jamaica's 1998 World Cup squad, joined Hull together in October 1999; Whitmore had scored twice against Japan in France.

For which season did Hull switch to blue shirts and white shorts to match the city's civic colours?

The same season the club adopted the three civic crowns of Kingston upon Hull as its first crest.

Hull's 1992–93 home shirt is remembered for what divisive design?

The 1992-93 home shirt carried an all-over tiger print, mocked at the time and later a cult classic among football-kit collectors.

Who was Hull's youngest-ever debutant, at 16 years and 60 days in 1992?

At the other end of the scale, goalkeeper Steve Harper played at 40 years and 60 days in the 0–0 draw that relegated Hull in 2015.

Which Russian coach spent six months in charge of Hull City in 2017?

Leonid Slutsky, the former CSKA Moscow and Russia coach, was appointed in June 2017 and left by mutual consent in December after a poor start to the Championship season.

Which club did Hull City beat in the 2026 play-off final to return to the Premier League?

It came five years after the Tigers bounced straight back from League One as champions in 2020-21.

Which former Crystal Palace and Charlton boss failed to keep Hull up in 2010?

Iain Dowie was announced as a 'Football Management Consultant' in March 2010, and relegation was confirmed by a 2-2 draw away on 3 May 2010 with one game to play.

Under which manager did Hull win promotion as Third Division champions in 1965-66?

Cliff Britton, a former Everton and England half-back, managed Hull from 1961 to 1970 and won the 1965-66 Third Division title, the start of a twelve-season stay in the second tier.