In 1963, club officials held a competition for the design of a new club crest / badge. The winning entry - showing a hand holding a sword - went on to become the first version of the current club crest.
It was also at this time that Charlton Athletic adopted the nickname of 'The Valiants' - linking where the club played (The Valley) to the new club crest.After numerous alterations, including the addition of the surrounding ring and club name, the crest as it is known today was first used for a match against near-neighbours, Millwall FC, on 10 August 1968.
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On 1st April 2002, Charlton Athletic ran a full-page article in its match-day programme stating that the local council had questioned whether the image of a sword on the club crest was still an appropriate symbol to use for a 'friendly' club. The article went on asking supporters to vote online, stating their choice for a new club crest from three alternatives (shown below). While the first was clearly very similar to the new Fulham FC crest, options two and three were variations on the current crest design, taking into account two of the club's nicknames ('The Addicks' and 'The Robins').
Many fans were seen debating the new crests before, during and after the match against Arsenal and well over 300 voted online for their favourite. Hundreds more supporters rang or emailed the club to complain about the forthcoming change. What they should, of course, have all realised was that it was April Fools' Day!