Gastonia Strikers

Gastonia, NC

For Gastonia I took inspiration from a local youth club called Strikers of Gaston County, the 1929 Loray Mill Strike, and the general unrest in our country. Ingrained in the core of football is community. At its best, the sport is for the people by the people. While players negotiate living wages and protesters take to the streets over another African-American slain by police, my mind cannot help but be driven back the power of unions in the hands of the people.

For this club, I took a step back to look at how teams were formed by the working class in the early days of the game: mills. The particular mill for this team in the early days would have been the Loray Mill. In 1929 workers from the mill went on strike demanding a forty-hour workweek, higher weekly wage, union recognition and the end to a system called “stretching-out” that caused workers to tend more stations and reduced pay. While in the end the strike was unsuccessful, news of it caught national attention due to several controversies.

For the crest itself, I wanted to keep neutral in color. I felt adding more color would take away some of the power of the crest. The raised fist is a common symbol for those with less power, which holds true to the premise of this design. I used a stencil typeface to draw from picket signs.

Audrey Soccer Field

Gastonia Strikers

We’re far removed from the Loray Mill of old — the building has since been repurposed as lofts and apartments. In our hypothetical the team would live on and moved their home venue to Audrey Soccer Field. Currently the field sits just off the road with no infrastructure. I like to think that the club, backed by a fan ownership group, would pull together to take an unassuming place like Audrey Field and turn it into a destination for lower league soccer.

The kit features black hoops that resemble prison uniforms. I got to this idea by thinking of ways the team could respond to union members being arrested.

Special thanks to Russell Varner for his help editing.

About me
First and foremost I am an amateur with no formal training. My hope is that this series will spark other creatives to make their own versions. Learn more about the series here. I was born and raised in Middlesex, North Carolina and have spent most of my adult life living in Raleigh. I am a fan of the beautiful game who wants to see it grow at the grassroots level.