Portsmouth Personalised Gifts
Our Portsmouth Gifts are unofficial products, and are in no way affiliated with Portsmouth FC, unless specifically stated in the product information.
Portsmouth Memorabilia and Gift Ideas
GoneDigging has a fabulous range of personalised Portsmouth merchandise, including unique memorabilia and great gift ideas. Below you will find a selection of our most popular Portsmouth gifts, in addition to a few interesting facts about Pompey.
Brief History of Portsmouth FC
Portsmouth FC was founded in 1898, when a syndicate of sportsmen and businessmen met to discuss using land close to Goldsmith Avenue for a football club. A local Royal Artillery team had already made football a popular sport in the area and when the team was forced to disband after a breach of amateur rules, many players joined Portsmouth FC.
Pompey reached the FA Cup final in 1929 and 1934, before winning the competition in 1939. By the late 1940s, Portsmouth had become one of the best teams in England. The club won consecutive First Division titles in 1949 and 1950 and Pompey continued to push for trophies during following years. The successful side soon began to age and a combination of the loss of key players and bad management was to prove disastrous towards the end of the decade. Portsmouth was relegated to the Second Division in 1959 and less than twenty years later, the club found itself in the Fourth Division. Many Pompey fans appreciated their time away from the pressure of relegation scraps and enjoyed visiting new places and watching the team win again. The club returned briefly to the top flight in 1987 and was promoted to the Premiership for a longer stay in 2002. Portsmouth won the FA Cup in 2008 and thus qualified for Europe for the first time in the club's history. Pompey almost beat the mighty AC Milan in the group stages of the UEFA Cup in the following season.
Did you know...
Portsmouth is an island city and it was a significant naval port for many centuries. The navy nicknamed the city "Pompey", as a famous vessel named "Pompée" was implicated during the 1797 Spithead Mutiny, which took place close to Portsmouth. The same nickname has been attached to Portsmouth FC and the club's famous "Pompey Chimes"chant is a reference to the original Royal Artillery side of the city. The club is also known as "The Blues"and fans are referred to as "The Fratton Army"in reference to the name of the Portsmouth stadium.
Home games have taken place at Fratton Park Stadium since the club's foundation in 1898. The ground was designed by renowned football stadium architect, Archibald Leitch, and the inaugural match was a 2-0 victory against Southampton. Gradual redevelopments have led to a capacity of 30,000 supporters and the home crowd is famous for creating a fantastic atmosphere.
Portsmouth Memorabilia
We offer an exciting range of personalised Portsmouth gifts, which includes various items of Portsmouth memorabilia. These presents can be kept for years to come and they are a terrific idea for any Pompey fan.
Our Personalised Portsmouth Football Book incorporates a variety of match reports from the past one hundred years. 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 Portsmouth finishing at the top of the Southern League in 1920. It goes on to feature the club's FA Cup triumphs and the First Division wins of 1949 and 1950. Other highlights include reports on the promotion-clinching matches of 1983 and 1987, during Pompey's climb back to the First Division following their fall to the lower leagues. The Portsmouth Book also incorporates terrific wins against local rival Southampton, such as the 4-1 thrashing in 2005, and a wonderful selection of high-scoring matches, including the 5-2 victory against Aston Villa in 1958, the 6-1 defeat of Leeds United in 2003 and the incredible 7-4 win against Reading in 2007.
Twelve of the best match reports are featured in our Personalised Portsmouth Diary and Personalised Portsmouth Calendar. Games include the 4-1 win against Wolves in the 1939 FA Cup final and the 0-5 mauling of Newcastle United in 1949, which guaranteed Pompey their first top flight title. We also incorporate wins against Liverpool, Manchester United and Southampton and feature the dramatic 4-3 victory against Fulham 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 Portsmouth Football Year? This service allows you to create a customised season book, with the option of editing match reports, statistics and photographs from every Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth Commentaries make unusual and entertaining presents for Pompey fans. A professional radio commentator will record an original commentary, based upon your choice of match highlights. Your recipient could become the hero of Fratton Park 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 become Player of the Year or an FA Cup Winner. Alternatively, they could be the Star Performer for Portsmouth in a convincing win against Southampton, or any other team of your choice.