The Muckers are a football hooligan firm linked to the football club Blackpool F.C. They take their name from the word mucker, a colloquialism meaning good friend.
Although Blackpool are a relatively small club, there is a long history of hooliganism, which had all but disappeared until recent times. Part of the reasons given for this history of violence is that a feature of Blackpool life is fighting, especially as in the summer months groups of young men would visit the resort, giving the locals ample opportunity to fight whenever they wanted. Benny, one of the leaders of another firm associated with Blackpool, Bennys Mob stated that "Blackpool is full of mobs, especially in the Summer. You could easily be fighting every week." Whilst many other Firms have retained the same name throughout their history such as the Chelsea Headhunters or the Inter City Firm who follow West Ham, there have been a number of names for the various firms who follow Blackpool—Rammy Arms Crew, Bennys Mob, BISONS (or Bisons Riot Squad), and now The Muckers.
History
In 1985, when hooliganism was rife in England, the BBC Six O'Clock News had a special report in which they listed the worst Football gangs creating mayhem across England. They listed the six worst clubs:
Millwall F.C. Chelsea F.C. Leeds United A.F.C. Bristol City F.C. Blackpool F.C. West Ham United F.C.
It was the culmination of years of hooliganism surrounding Blackpool.
Kevin Olsson
On 24 August 1974, seventeen-year-old Blackpool fan Kevin Olsson was stabbed to death at the back of the Spion Kop, Bloomfield Road at Blackpool's home match with Bolton Wanderers.
In 2009, Blackpool supporters raised money for a memorial plaque for Olsson. In August of that year, on the 35th anniversary of his death, the plaque was unveiled on the front of the North-West Corner, beside the club shop.
Rammy Arms Crew era
The first organised Firm, known as the Rammy Arms Crew, began in those years, taking their name from the pub they drank in, the Ramsden Arms, opposite Blackpool North Railway Station.
The Rammys' most famous moment was when they led the England fans charge into Italians in Turin at the Italy versus England match in 1980. As a result of which, at least one member of the Rammy Arms Crew would later adorn the jacket cover of one of the first hooligan books, Hooligans Abroad, by John Williams.
In the late 1970s as punk rock became popular in the UK, football fans would also attend Punk Rock concerts. And in 1978 at a concert in Blackburn King Georges Hall a Skids concert (incorrectly reported as being The Dickies) was the scene of a near full-scale riot as a group of about 50 Blackpool fans (Rammy boys) clashed with over 250 Blackburn Rovers fans, disrupting the concert, before riot police were called in to restore order, as reported in the local Blackpool Evening Gazette. Then on 6 May 1978 at a concert by The Vibrators in Preston a young man from Preston was stabbed to death during clashes between Preston and Blackpool fans. This ushered in a new era of hatred between fans of the two clubs, following the attempts by Blackpool fans to burn down the Town End at Prestons Deepdale stadium the year before, when two fires were lit during a match between the two clubs.
Benny's Mob era
In 1978, Blackpool were relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time. Around the same time, a new, younger gang appeared, known as "Benny's Mob". Led by Benny, they would take on firms from numerous other clubs; in August 1980, a group of about 150 Benny's Mob met up with the Pompey Skins from Portsmouth at Blackpools Coach Park. They also clashed with Sheffield United fans in 1982, when a Sheffield fan was stabbed during clashes between fans in the West Paddock at Bloomfield Road, while police were already dealing with an incident in the South Stand involving the Rammy Arms Crew. The Blackpool Evening Gazette headline ran "Fan sought after Pool stabbing" as the police tried to find the person(s) responsible.
However, it was in 1984 that the Blackpool hooligans started to earn their reputation. In March, Rochdale F.C. were totally overwhelmed when 3,000 Blackpool fans descended on their Spotland Stadium when they usually had crowds of about 1,300. A mob of Blackpool fans went on the rampage causing "A trail of havoc" according to the Manchester Evening News headlines who continued, "21 cars were damaged, two parked vehicles overturned and 4 police cars damaged." By April 1984 according to the Blackpool Evening Gazette, the police were worried about an army of about 200 hooligans and vowed to drive them out.