Wigan Athletic Personalised Gifts
Our Wigan Athletic Gifts are unofficial products, and are in no way affiliated with Wigan Athletic FC, unless specifically stated in the product information.
Wigan Athletic Memorabilia and Gift Ideas
GoneDigging has a fabulous range of personalised Wigan Athletic merchandise, including unique memorabilia and great gift ideas. Below you will find a selection of our most popular Wigan gifts, in addition to a few interesting facts about the Latics.
Brief History of Wigan Athletic FC
Wigan Athletic FC was founded in 1932 after four former attempts to form a football club in the town had failed. Football had previously struggled to gain support in Wigan due to the popularity of rugby in the area. The Latics caught the attention of crowds in the 1934/1935 FA Cup, as they thrashed Carlisle 6-1 in the opening round - a record victory for a non-league team against a league side. Support grew steadily and Wigan Athletic was finally elected into the Football League in 1978. The club earned their first promotion in 1982, but the Latics remained in the Third Division for the rest of the decade. Local millionaire David Whelan bought the club in 1995 and he spoke of his determination to take the team to the Premiership. Wigan Athletic finished the season in fourteenth place in the old Third Division that year and so Whelan’s ambition was ridiculed. The club purchased ‘The Three Amigos’ – Roberto Martinez, Isidro Diaz and Jesus Seba – from Spain in the summer of 1995 and John Deehan became the Latics’ new manager. The club rose to third place and became champions of the Third Division a year later.
Wigan Athletic pushed for further promotion, but the team was left disappointed in various play-off finals. In 2001, Paul Jewell was appointed manager. Two years later, the Latics reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup and won the Division Two championship with one hundred points. Wigan Athletic FC was promoted to the Premiership in 2005 for the first time in the club’s history. The Latics finished in tenth place in their inaugural top flight season and the club reached its first major final by beating Arsenal in the 2006 League cup semi-final.
Did you know...
Wigan Athletic differs from other sides as their longstanding bitter rival is not another football club, but instead the local rugby club. Wigan Warriors RC begrudged the emergence of football in the area, as football teams competed for their supporters. When Wigan Athletic was struggling financially in 1990, the Warriors refused to host the Latics’ second round League Cup match against Liverpool. This would have given the football club increased revenue, due to the larger capacity of their ground. Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors now share the DW Stadium (known as the JJB Stadium until August 2009) and arguments have continued to rumble in the background. The Latics have been particularly enraged by the Warriors ruining the playing surface.
The stadium was constructed by Alfred McAlpine plc in 1999 at a cost of approximately €35.99 million. Wigan Athletic had previously played at Springfield Park, but David Whelan initiated the move when he became chairman of the club. The new ground has been sponsored by his respective commercial ventures and it has a capacity of over 25,000 supporters.
Wigan Athletic Memorabilia
We offer an exciting range of personalised Wigan Athletic gifts, which include various items of Wigan memorabilia. These presents can be kept for years to come and they are a terrific idea for fans of the Latics.
Our Personalised Wigan Athletic Football Book incorporates a variety of match reports, written by journalists who were there at the time. This reproduced newspaper coverage forms a fascinating record of some of the biggest games in the club’s history.
The Football Book opens with Wigan Athletic’s phenomenal 1-6 victory against Carlisle in the 1934 FA Cup first-round. It goes on to feature the 1985 Freight Rovers Trophy victory, the 1999 Auto Windscreens Shield triumph and the club’s first ever major final in the 2006 Carling Cup. We also include a range of other notable cup matches, such as the 4-2 win against Chelsea in the 1981 League Cup and the 4-2 defeat of Blackburn Rovers in the 1998 FA Cup third-round. A highlight of the Wigan Athletic Book is the transformation of the club from their introduction to the Football League in 1978 to reaching the Premiership in 2005. You can follow the Latics’ journey through a selection of reports on classic matches. These include promotion wins, play-off finals and lower league title victories. There is also an article on the appointment of Paul Jewell and a range of subsequent top flight games, including the 4-3 win against Manchester City in 2005 and the 5-3 victory against Blackburn Rovers in 2007.
Twelve of the best match reports are featured in our Personalised Wigan Athletic Diary and Personalised Wigan Athletic Calendar. Highlights include the Auto Windscreens final of 1999 - played against Millwall - and the dramatic FA Cup win against Leeds United in 2006. We also incorporate the 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace in 2003, plus the 4-0 trouncing of Sheffield United and the 5-0 hammering of Preston North End in 2004. Both gifts can start from the month of your choice and they are a fantastic way to keep track of future events, whilst reminiscing upon former glory days.
If you would like to commemorate the current season, why not sign up to My Wigan Athletic Football Year? This service allows you to create a customised season book, with the option of editing match reports, statistics and photographs from every Wigan game. At the end of the season you will receive your professionally printed and bound book, with up to two hundred pictures included.
More Gift Ideas
Our Personalised Wigan Athletic Commentaries make unusual and entertaining presents for fans of the Latics. A professional radio commentator will record an original commentary, based upon your choice of match highlights. Your recipient could become a hero by saving a crucial penalty, providing a great assist or scoring a stunning last-minute goal. In doing so, they could also be nominated as Man of the Match.
Another fun gift idea is a Spoof Newspaper Headline. Recipients can be voted Player of the Year or score the winning goal in the FA Cup Final. Alternatively, they could be the Star Performer for Wigan in a convincing win against a rival team of your choice.