Who started the first fan club?
The first FAN CLUB was The Keen Order of Wallerites, founded in London by fans of the popular actor-manager Lewis Waller. It was in existence by 1902 and is thought to have been established a year, or possibly two years, earlier. Members wore a badge showing on one side Waller in powdered wig as Monsieur Beaucaire and, on the other, his favourite flower somewhat inappropriately for so masculine an actor–a pansy. The club colours were blue and mauve, Waller’s racing colours. The behaviour of adherents towards Mr Waller himself was strictly controlled by the regulations of the society, which forbade anyone but the Secretary to address him personally, but members were expected to gather in force to support their hero on every first night. A rival fan club, the True-to-Trees, was founded to pay honour to Beerbohm Tree.
Members of the Keen Order did not refer to themselves -as ‘fans’, since the term was at that time unknown in England. In the USA, however, it had been used as early as 1889, the first recorded appearance in print being a reference to ‘Kansas City baseball fans’ in the 26 March issue of the Kansas Times and Star. Its earliest recorded use in Britain was by the Daily Express in 1914, referring to ‘First League football fans’. The word came into general currency the following year, applied to film-goers.
