Help me out here. Can't remember. What was the original logic in going with purple and green? Was it simply to be different or is there some significance in the choice of colours?

Italian origin... fremantle port

[Edited by seriously on 01-Aug-03 14:18]

The purple is a mystery and I like it that way. The green is another story - mainly it was thought Gavin Mitchell would be easy to hide if he was decked out in green. This was to fit in with Gerard Neesham's chip and draw, ball-carrying game plan. The idea was to have Mitchell as invisible as possible, carrying the ball upfield, but it all proved too successful as poor old Gav couldn't even find himself when out on the paddock. He would freak out as soon as his green strip melded into the grass and all he could see were his disembodied hands. "Where am I?" he would yell and the whole thing fell apart in tears and laughter.

Actually, the green is the result of excellent research into the cultural mores and attitudes of Fremantle. The different cultural groups - from the Hammi Hill bogans, White Gum Valley wannabes, wogs, wharfies, wine-sipping liberal pacifists, ferals, North Freo intellectuals, Hilton aspirants, artists, writers, market gardeners, those with circus skills to the traditional Freo battlers - had nothing in common but an uncommon passion for marijuana.

The whole place was a disparate rag-bag of odds and sods who shared nothing but a love of footy and weed.

The anchor was originally a hydroponic head of unequalled potency. the AFL, in all its shortsighted weirdness, put the kybosh on this.

(try port, starboard/Italian flag, Jeffsagod)

The green and red is in there for a connection to freo being a port city. The red and green are the lights on a ship ie red light represents the port side( left side) while green, the starboard side( right side).

While the colour purple, is either there for something different or because you can make purple from the equal mixing of blue and red ie the colours of WAFL fremantle clubs. Thus showing the clubs history???

The purple represented the blue-ish purple-ish singlets worn by the hard working dockers on the wharf. It was stylised to the purple we now wear with great pride.

Mercury's got it... I think those singlets started out dark blue, but after a few washes and a few weeks in the sun faded to the regal colour of Imperial Purple!!

The purple was meant to signify a particularly cheap deal on overalls offered to the club by Yakka who had mistakenly ordered 2 gross of these peculiar items from their new Korean factory. Problems with translation of a purchase order were blamed.

I like the Prt/Starboard idea- is that for real or just a cute story?

I love the Gavin Mitchell theory on the green. It's nice to be reminded of the deeds of our past players.

Purple would be the colour of the bruises left on opposing players.

Jeff,
no the colours of the port/starboard side is real! If you want to remember which is which remember this saying " There is no RED port LEFT in the bottle" this explains why the red is on the left of the freo guersey.

Hats off to Freo82. I love the whole port starboard thing, but the mixing of Red & blue to make purple is top class! The folks who created the Docker colours are genius.


[Edited by shane on 01-Aug-03 15:19]

as I remember from 95 apart from port and starboard deciding the colours, purple originated because they wanted the colours of both the bulldogs and the sharks on the guernsey however the AFL would not allow them due to the number of clubs with blue as a club colour (west coast, geelong, carlton, north, melbourne etc.) so we choose purple(close to blue) also this is because no other club, professional or amateur had green or purple in their jumper at that time and we wanted to be different I think.

I heard some joker was watching Wimbeldon, thought the purple & green rocked & ran with it!
Don't know where the red came from - maybe the red signified the blood which was required to be spilled to win the premiership!
Or maybe the red on the left (over the heart) was meant to signify ticker!

The truth of the colours is that they were the new clubs way of giving the two fingers up to the masons, who were in control of most of Perth and the West Coast Eagles at the time. They specifically picked the colours of the Catholic Church just to get up their noses. Then they threw the anchor in the centre of it all to mock the Freemason symbol. Sure they'll deny it and throw up crazy theories about the Oxford dictionary but we know what you were up to Gerard.

Purple- because nothing rhymes with purple, and therefore we don't have to sing a ridiculous club song, like...
we are the navy purples, we are the old dark...you get my drift.
(Might have had the same trouble if we were orange).
Also, I love CC's view that it's the only guernsey in the competition that doesn't clash with any other team, and the only one that clashes with itself.
I still love the first green away guernsey- any chance of a permanent revival.
love this footy club!
see yez

You're right Shane!
I remember hearing that someone saw the Oxford Dictionary & liked the colours.
I was a little off with the Wimbeldon line - I knew it was something like that but I wasn't totally sure.
Definitely go the Oxford Dictionary story - that's what I heard!

So they've gotten to you too Matto.

I like the giving it to the Masons theory. Fits in with the Italian and Irish Catholics in Freo. BUT it could also be that as many have said- nothing rhymes with purple.

Papal rhymes with purple. Sort of.

Purple is the traditional colour of royality. It also has long been used to represent madness. Could explain the schizophrenic nature the way some of the games / seasons have been played so far. I think the green & red were just there to provide a splash of colour. You know, market research and all.