Athletic Club, the Bilbao-based football club, uses a shield-shaped crest that has remained essentially unchanged for more than half a century. The current emblem combines the club’s red-and-white stripes with heraldic symbols drawn from the city of Bilbao and the province of Biscay. The club’s official website describes the design as an emblem that has already reached one hundred years of age, referring to the format first established in the 1920s.[1]
Design and History
The first documented official crest dates to 1902. It was a circle containing a football with the letters A and C intertwined, surrounded by a belt-like border of blue and white bands, the colours the club wore at the time.[2]
In 1910, the club changed its kit from blue and white to the red-and-white stripes that remain today. The crest changed in parallel, incorporating a red-and-white flag while keeping the A and C initials and dropping the outer circle.[2] A transitional version in 1913 added a football to the flag design.[3]
The design that closely resembles the current crest emerged in the early 1920s. It kept the original blue border and the A and C initials, and introduced the vertical stripes of the kit. It also incorporated elements characteristic of the city and province: the San Antón bridge and the wolves of the House of Haro with the Tree of Gernika.[2] This version was in force from at least 1922 until 1941.[3]
Between 1941 and 1972, a Franco-era decree requiring the Spanish translation of names changed the entity’s name to Atlético de Bilbao. The crest was modified accordingly: the initials were removed and the new name was placed on the borders. During this period, symbols that remain today appeared, including the San Antón bridge, the Tree of Gernika, the X-shaped crosses of Saint Andrew, and the two black wolves.[2]
On 26 July 1972, the club recovered its original name, Athletic Club, and the crest regained the format of the 1920s while keeping the symbols introduced during the Franco era. According to LALIGA, the emblem has remained unchanged since then.[2] The club’s official website confirms that the design has now reached one hundred years of age.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The crest incorporates the escutcheons of Bilbao and Biscay. The upper section shows the church and bridge of San Antón, the place where the city of Bilbao was founded, along with the estuary.[4] The two black wolves reference the coat of arms of the Lords of Biscay, the House of Haro, whose member Diego López de Haro founded Bilbao in 1300.[5]
The Tree of Gernika represents the oak under which the Lord of Biscay was recognised and swore to uphold the fueros, the regional laws. The X-shaped crosses of Saint Andrew also appear in the Biscay coat of arms.[5] The red-and-white vertical stripes reference the club’s kit colours, adopted in 1910.[2]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
