Since Orlando Pirates' induction into South African football, their emblem has gone through a number of stages of transition. On this Woza Wednesday I thought it would be fun to take you into a quick blast from the past and explain how our current emblem was formed.
1940
It all started back in 1940 when Bethuel Mokogosinyana left his side called Phiri Phiri and joined the Buccaneers. He was the man to hand our team its first kit which sported a black circular emblem with the letter 'P' in the middle of it.
1950
It took ten years before the famous skull and crossbones were introduced onto our team's jersey, and after it started to become well associated with the team, a resident fan, Rankus Mapgisa, started printing it for the public.
1960
The emblem remained untouched until the mid 1960s where the outline of the shield accompanied the skull and crossbones. That shield remained untouched for 40 years.
1998
After seven years of having Dr Irvin Khoza in charge, the shape of the emblem changed with a cleaner copy and that saw the jagged edges replaced with rounded edges. A star was also added to the shield following the club's triumph in the CAF Champions League back in 1995.
2012
Following 75 years of glory, the club opted for a special emblem in order to celebrate their impressive history. A silver circle well as a gold and red trimming was also added in order to commemorate the successive trebles.
We really do have a beautiful emblem and I love the story behind the evolution of it. What do you think of it?
