The Hudson Street Hooligans (HSH) are an independent supporters group for

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

of Major League Soccer. 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 ...

in Old North Columbus.

History

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

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

's first season. When the three men entered

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, 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, 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 free and avail ...

'', 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 (not the restaurant) 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 c ...

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, 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-shirts are general ...

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. The art of making embroidered patches is an old tradition and was originally done by hand. During the first half of ...

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 19 ...

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 Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial p ...

, 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) denoting the location of the closest emergency exit to be used in case of fire or other emergency that requires rapid evacuation. Most rele ...

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