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NOTTINGHAM FOREST HISTORY
14 April, 1973

Tricky Tree badge chosen (1973*)

On this day in Nottingham Forest history in 1973* David Lewis’s Tricky Tree badge gave Forest a modern identity.

Culture and identity

Club crest introduced or changed

Nottingham Forest’s modern identity took shape when David Lewis’s Tricky Tree badge was chosen from an open design competition.

The competition had been launched by the Nottingham Post in February 1973, giving supporters and local designers the chance to create a new club badge. More than 800 entries were submitted, showing how strongly the badge idea connected with the city and the club’s supporters.

The winning design came from David Lewis, a young Nottingham designer. His simple tree, river and starless shield concept gave Forest a clean modern symbol that could work on shirts, programmes, signs and later digital platforms. It moved the club away from older crest-style imagery and towards a distinctive visual identity of its own.

The badge became one of Forest’s most recognisable symbols. It has survived changes in football fashion, shirt design and commercial branding, remaining closely tied to the club’s name, city and supporter culture.

* Date note: Sources confirm that the competition was launched in February 1973 and that Lewis’s design was declared the winner in April 1973. The exact 1973 announcement date was not found. 14 April is used as a cautious calendar placement because Forest marked the badge’s 50th anniversary on 14 April 2023.

Sources

Nottingham Forest official site; Nottingham Post

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Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
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Vitória SC 1–1 Nottingham Forest
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Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
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Udinese 1–0 Nottingham Forest Barcelona 1–0 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Leeds
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Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds
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Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
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Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
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Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
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Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
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Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
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Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
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Sunderland 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Everton
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Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
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Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
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Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
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Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Bournemouth
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Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brentford
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Fulham 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Manchester United
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Everton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
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Tottenham 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Aston Villa
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Leeds 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Liverpool
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Sunderland
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Brighton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Crystal Palace
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Arsenal 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Ipswich
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Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest
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