The Hudson Street Hooligans (HSH) are an independent

supporters group In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's free choice and were assu ...

for

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. They are named for Hudson Street, which runs adjacent to

Historic Crew Stadium Historic Crew Stadium, previously known as Columbus Crew Stadium and Mapfre Stadium, is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It primarily served as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from 1999 u ...

Old North Columbus Old North Columbus is a neighborhood located just north of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1847 where, at the time, it was a stand-alone city out of the confines of Columbus until it was incorporated into the City ...

History

In 1996, half brothers Grant Thurmond and Cord Andrews and their friend Drew Abdalla were children when they watched

team

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. ...

's first season. When the three men entered

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, they continued walking down Hudson Street to reach the stadium. Their enthusiasm for the team had not waned despite the soccer team's unexceptional performance which dissuaded people from attending their games. In 2006, to reinvigorate Columbus Crew SC's fan base, Thurmond, Andrews, and Abdalla formed the independent supporters' group Hudson Street Hooligans. In a 2012 interview with ''

The Lantern ''The Lantern'' is an independent daily newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, published by students at Ohio State University. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States, reaching a circulation of 15,000. Copies of the paper are fre ...

'', Andrews said, "We called ourselves the Hudson Street Hooligans because we had to walk up Hudson to get to the stadium." Beginning in 2006, the club met at the local bar Ruby Tuesday during game days. In July 2010, HSH had 500 members. In August 2011, the club grew to nearly 1,000 members.

Hudson Street Hooligans Club

In 2009, as HSH membership significantly increased, it was decided that the group's leadership would open a private, member's only bar. The group opened a pub, the Hudson Street Hooligans Club, in June 2010. The pub was formed as a

private club A club is an association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious ...

so that liquor license would be less expensive. In August 2011, the club had around 700 members who supported the group with dues. To drink at the pub, members paid $10 for a social membership and $20 for full membership, which included a

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

and

embroidered patch An embroidered patch, also known as a cloth badge, is a piece of embroidery which is created by using a fabric backing and Thread (yarn), thread. The art of making embroidered patches is an old tradition and was done by hand. During the first ha ...

The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in ...

noted in 2011 that the "Hooligans pub is thought to be the only private, licensed club in the state created solely for the purpose of supporting a professional sports team". Although they opened their own pub, the club members intended to sustain their patronage at Ruby Tuesday. In July 2011, the city of Columbus withdrew the pub's

certificate of occupancy A certificate of occupancy is a document issued by a local government agency or building department certifying a building's compliance with applicable building codes and other laws, and indicating it to be in a condition suitable for occupancy. ...

, citing code violations that rendered the building hazardous for a pub and gathering place. One code violation was the lack of firewalls to stop fires from traveling from the club to neighboring businesses and apartments on top of it. Another was that the club did not have several exits and

exit sign An exit sign is a pictogram or short text in a public facility (such as a building, aircraft, or boat) marking the location of the closest emergency exit to be used in an emergency that necessitates rapid evacuation. Most fire, building, hea ...

s, which could be problematic if there was an emergency.

References

External links

Official website
{{Columbus Crew SC, state=collapsed Columbus Crew Major League Soccer fan clubs Culture of Columbus, Ohio Organizations based in Columbus, Ohio 2006 establishments in Ohio