'El Hattico' and the Wembley final where nicknames clash

Fans at two League One football teams have been locking horns over who lays claim to a nickname they share.

Both Luton Town and Stockport County are known as the Hatters, a nod to both towns' illustrious history of hat-making.

The sides are now due to meet at Wembley in Sunday's EFL Vertu Trophy final, unofficially dubbed "El Hattico".

And while most eyes will be focused on action on the pitch, Luton historian Roger Wash and Stockport fan writer Des Hinks have a score to settle off it.

"We've got the world's only museum dedicated to hat-making, so I think we can rightly claim ourselves as the Hatters," insists Hinks.

But Wash believes he has already pipped Stockport to the post, being the proud owner of the Hatters Heritage website URL.

"A couple of people from Stockport have actually asked us about this, but I said, 'The one thing you can't have is a website that has Hatters in the name'," Walsh laughs.

The pair's friendly joust has been upping the stakes for what happens when their sides clash on Wembley's iconic turf.

The sides drew 1-1 in their warm-up for the final on 21 March, so it is anyone's guess who will come out on top.

In Hinks and Wash's debate, it could be argued that Luton will take an early psychological lead in the form of their mascots.

The Kenilworth Road side is represented by Happy Harry and Happy Hatty, whereas Stockport lost their hat representation when they swapped their Harry the Hatter for a brown bear called Vernon.

Hinks, who edits The Scarf My Father Wore, a website dedicated to Stockport County, says: "Actually, Harry the Hatter's hat was quite scary looking, so we've gone for a more friendly-looking bear.

"He throws sweets at the children, so he's much more popular with them anyway."

Hat-making in Stockport can be traced as far back as the 1600s, where, at its peak, 80,000 people worked in the industry.

From top hats to trilbies, the 30 hat factories in the town - and the extra 20 in the surrounding area - were a major source of income for the local economy.

Its roots can also be found in phrases still said today, such as "mad as a hatter" - a dark reminder that mercury exposure damaged the brains of some hatters.

Hinks says: "There are so many great photos of county fans in the 1940s and 1950s where 90% of the crowd have got hats on.

"County fans are proud of the fact Stockport was such a massive, massive hat-making town.

"The Hatters is a really nice nickname, as some clubs are just 'city' or 'united'."

As for Luton, the industry was much more focused on straw hats and the skill of plaiting them.

Evidence suggests people were crafting the headwear from the mid-1600s, helping to drive the town's main income.

However, the availability of cheaper materials from abroad led to the industry declining in Luton in the 20th century.

The town's football club adopted the Hatters nickname around the time of World War One, having earlier been called the Straw Plaiters.

"The hat trade in Luton may have died off, but the strength of feeling in the town with regards to its legacy remains," Wash says.

He also hints that Stockport's claim to the nickname may not be as strong, alleging they went "a very long time" without using it.

To mark the unique occasion on Sunday, fans of both football clubs have produced a commemorative programme for the final.

It includes written tales and contributions written by both sides.

But the question remains, who are the real Hatters?

Wash says: "I've had friendly arguments with the Stockport historian in the past, even as far back as 30 years ago.

"But as far as I'm concerned, we're both the Hatters. It's all been friendly as life's too short to go arguing about that."

Hinks, however, jokes that he is less compromising.

He says: "On the basis that we have the Hat Works museum, I think we shade it over Luton."

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