Pompey

[alscot]

Can anyone tell me the origin of Portsmouth FC's nickname Pompey, is it some naval theme --or is it to do with Pompey, the Ancient Roman ?

[mightyWBA]

Apparently the town of Portsmouth took the nickname "Pompey",from a french ship which was siezed by the locals,during one of Englands regular fall outs with the frogs.The ship 's name was "Le pompe" or something like that!

[Quizmonster]

Click here for two or three suggestions, including WBA's above.

[littleoldme]

That wikipedia article seems to have disappeared, so instead, taken from the book "POMPEY - The History of Portsmouth Football Club" by Mike Neasom, Mick Cooper & Doug Robinson:

Some claim it lies in an 80-gun French warship Le Pompee captured in 1793 which later fought with distinction in the battle of Algeciras in 1801 and then became guardship of Portsmouth Harbour. Others maintain it was the product of a far from sober sailor's interruption of a talk by AgnesWeston, the naval temperance worker. He surfaced from a beery slumber during her lecture on the Roman Empire to hear that the general Pompey had been killed. 'Poor old Pompey' he is said to have shouted . . . . such are the roots of legend. Bu there is another more authenticated potential root in Naval folk-lore. In 1781 some Portsmouth-based English sailors scaled Pompey's Pillar near Alexandria and 98 feet up above Egypt, toasted their ascent in punch. Their feat earned them the Fleet's tribute as 'The Pompey Boys'.

[Quizmonster]

Sorry about the failed link, Alscot. I simply put portsmouth+pompey+nickname into the Google search slot and the Wikipedia site was one of the resulting websites.
I've just done exactly the same and it came up again, precisely as before! Try it. It says much the same as Littleoldme's answer with the additional idea that it came from the French word 'pompier', meaning a fireman. In other words, it was a kind of insult!

[alscot]

I actually meant to post question in Sport ( it's an age thing !!), hence the FC. I noted later several previous answers regarding Pompey FC. Thanks to all, and no need to apologise Quizmonster !

[Linotype]

On the subject of the football club, I've supported them for about 60 years; at junior school the sports master did, I believe, play for them - his name if memory serves me correctly was Churn ... anyone got one of those PlayFair annuals for the early 50s to maybe verify? I live in Cape Town these days, and there's at least three other supporters in my neck of the woods ... Pompey rules, Ok!