Historical Football Kits

31 December: According to an article published recently on the Irish Tribune website and discovered by Denis Hurley, the team that represented the Irish Free State in the 1924 Olympics wore blue shirts rather than green in their opening game against Bulgaria because of a colour clash. The team of amateurs was organised by the Irish Olympic Committee with no support from the Free State FA or government, which regarded association football as a foreign import played only in garrison towns.

Hereford United (1992-93 added): further information provided by Rumwold Leigh has been added to the Renton section concerning the dates that the club was inactive: England's yellow change strip from 1973 now has the correct short sleeves.

30 December: HFK Research Associate, Christopher Worrall, has continued his research into the history of Doncaster Rovers' kits and we can now publish the results of his work along with a comprehensive crest history. Numerous kits have been revised with more accurate detailing while several new items have been added to the gallery (1930-31, 1933-35, 1935-36, 1945-46, Autumn 1948, 1974-75 and August 1993).

The photograph shows the Doncaster team in 1896-97 wearing the red and white halved shirts of the period.

(Replicas of this shirt are currently available in the HFK Shop.)

28 December: Yeovil Town (1985-86, 2001-02 added; 1992-93 sponsorship corrected): Arsenal (1996-97 away kit modified): Motherwell (1934-35 added): Nottingham Forest (minor detailing changes to graphics 1978-84): Scotland (1900-01 amended): Southampton (1990-91 socks corrected).

17 December: Hull City (1931-32 added): Carlisle United (1931-33 added): West Bromwich Albion (1955-56 added; 1894-96, 1934-41, 1968-69, 1969-71 amended): Notts County (1940-46, 1959-61 detailing altered): Bournemouth (1986-87, 1987-88 collar corrected): Nottingham Forest (March 1974-75 added).

16 December: If you have been following our recent extensive updates of the Huddersfield Town section, you may be interested in Roger Pashby's book, available for just £3+p&p from his website. Click the image for more details.

Arsenal (1996-98 jaquard motif modified): Tottenham Hotspur (December 1948 change kit added, Feb 1977 change kit amended): Wolves (1924-25 added).

14 December 2010-11 Updates: Sheffield Wednesday (3rd kit corrected): Blackpool (3rd kit amended): Rushden & Diamonds (H added): Real Salt Lake (3rd added): Portland Timbers (2011 H & A added).

This fine photograph, submitted by Willie Kay, shows Hamilton Academicals wearing the cerise and French grey colours of the Duke of Hamilton in 1910-11. These shirts seem to have been in short supply as a couple of players appear to be wearing older red and white tops.

Peterborough United (1955-56 added): West Ham United (1907-21 collar reduced).

12 December: Keith Ellis has uncovered this photograph of South Shields Adelaide taken in 1905. Although we cannot confirm the colour of the stripes, I believe they are most likely red and white. The club has a complicated history, dropping the Adelaide suffix in 1905 before joining the Football League in 1919. New information that has come to light about the origins of the club have been added to the South Shields/Gateshead section. (1904-15, 1922-23 strips added.)

Third Lanark (1903-05 collar amended): Airdrieonians (1938 added): Heart of Midlothian (1937-40 added): Morton (1922-27 collar corrected): Norwich City (1949-50, 1957-58 added; 1910-11 collar amended): Hull City (1904-05, 1922-23 added, crest added to 1935-36 kit): Lincoln City (1921-22 added): Wimbledon (1986-87 added): Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic (1968-69 socks amended).

30 April: Glossop (1904-05 collar corrected and pictured left), Burton Albion (1994-95 added), Manchester City (1962-63 added, 1960-61 socks changed), Scarborough (1996-97 shirt detailing amended), Notts County (1888-89 added, 1926-34 socks amended), Barrow (1934-35, 1937-38 cuffs corrected), Accrington Stanley (2005-06, 2006-07, 2009-10 detailing amended), Blackpool (August 1983, March 1984, 1985-86, 1988-89 added, 1989-90, 1991-93, amended), Brighton (1987-88, 1988-89 missing sock detail added), Doncaster Rovers (1937-38, late 1952-53, 1970- January 1971, Jan 1971-1972, late 1983-84 added and several dates amended).

Nike's new kits for Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, USA, Serbia and Slovenia have been added to the FIFA World Cup 2010 section along with links to on-line stores where replicas are available.

27 April: Forfar Athletic (1980-81 added), Yeovil Casuals (1905-06 added), MK Dons (2006-07 short detailing added, 2008-10 sock details amended), Lincoln City (1999-2000, 2004-05 detailing corrected), Exeter City (1999-2000, 2000-01 detailing amended), Morecambe (2005-06 sock detailing amended), Burton Albion (2001-02 added), Macclesfield Town (1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-03, 2003-05 detailing amended), Portsmouth (1905-06 added).

25 April: This photograph of Aldershot taken in 1960-61 illustrates nicely the difficulty of interpreting old black and white photographs. Although the shirts appear to be a uniform colour, they are in fact red and blue, but the tones are identical when rendered in monochrome. Some contrast can, however, be discerned on the socks, possibly because these were made from nylon rather than cotton or wool and took up dyes slightly differently. Aldershot (1960-61, 1984-85, 1989-91 detailing corrected).

Dagenham & Redbridge (2000-01, 2003-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 detailing corrected), Cheltenham Town (1997-98 sponsor amended, 2000-02 cuffs corrected), Rochdale (1980-81 shirt trim corrected), Crewe Alexandra (1980-81 added).

23 April: Carlisle United (1934-35 added - pictured left), Grimsby Town (1967-68 added, 1963-66, 1971-73 corrected), Clyde (1959-60 added), Berwick Rangers (1979-80 sponsorship amended), Dundee (crew neck shirt now confirmed for Aug-Sept 1962), Arsenal (1985-86 crest amended), Heart of Midlothian (1985-86 sock detailing corrected, 1986-87 detailing amended), Swansea Town (1960-62 cuffs corrected), Wrexham (1878 knickers now correct), Everton (1960-61 change strip added), Portsmouth (1947-53 collar redrawn, 1962-63 added), Workington (1974-75 more accurate crest), Sunderland (1947-48 added).

2009-10 updates: Southend United (latest Charity Strip added), Peterborough United (away and third kits with charities added), Sheffield United (charity kit added).

St Johnstone's 1996-97 away strip now appears in our Iconic Away Kits section.

In view of Keith Ellis' considerable and continuing contribution, he has been made an HFK Research Associate.

18 April: The shirt shown here on the right was worn by Patsy Gallagher who played for Ireland between 1919 and 1927. The crest clearly indicates that it is his international jersey and proves that the shade of blue was considerably deeper than we previously thought. The evidence for the team wearing pale blue in the 19th century is fairly strong but we have not been able to establish when the darker blue was adopted so we have provisionally dated the change to 1919. Thanks to Jonny Dewart for this information. While we are on the topic, you may like to visit Linden Mack's site where his magnificent collection of match-worn Northern Ireland shirts can be viewed.

Having failed to secure shirt sponsorship for the second season in a row, West Bromwich Albion have instead offered short term deals. Full details are now available in the current Championship section.

Puma's attractive African Unity third strips have been added to the FIFA World Cup section.

This photograph is of Oldham Athletic from 1907-08 and suggests that for this season at least, the team wore plain jerseys, marking a transition from their old red and white striped shirts worn up until 1906-07 and the broad blue and white stripes that we are first recorded in 1911. While we cannot be certain, the jerseys appear to be a lightish shade of mid-blue.

17 April: This photograph of Hull City, uncovered by Keith Ellis, solves a long standing riddle. We have photographic evidence that the kit was worn at Gateshead in the 1965-66 FA Cup even though it is well documented that the Tigers wore plain amber shirts that season. This photograph places the strip in 1963-64 but leaves open the question of why it was worn two years later for just one game. I suspect the reason is that the match was televised and the stripes were needed so that viewers could tell the teams apart on their old 405-line black and white TV sets.

Historical Updates: Arsenal (2004-05 missing sleeve detail added), Wigan Borough (1923-24 missing sock detail added), Wigan Athletic (1952-53, 1957-58, 1974-75 added), West Ham United (1950-51, 1953-55 crests corrected and some alterations made to dating 1955-1960), Walsall (1939-50 socks corrected), Stockport County (1985-86 added, 1982-84, 1984-85, 1987-88 amended).

Chivas USA (new sponsor added to shirts).

16 April: HFK receives many requests for help but perhaps none quite so interesting or eccentric as a recent e-mail from Dr Stefan Stanimirov, who practices at the Medical University of Pleven in northern Bulgaria. Dr Stanimirov enlivens his ward rounds by wearing medical uniforms that he makes himself, based on famous football shirts. Among his collection are the 1970s Aston Villa shirt shown here and replica Leeds United and Levski Spartak/Spartak Pleven tops. With HFK's help, the splendid Dr Stanimirov plans to add classic tops from Liverpool, Spurs and Scotland to his collection.

If you watched Portsmouth's astounding victory in last Sunday's FA Cup Semi-Final, you would have noticed that the team wore a strip provided by Kappa rather than their regular supplier, Canterbury. A club spokesman has told HFK that the change was the result of the New Zealand firm being unable to comply fully with the terms of their contract (Canterbury went into administration last year) so the club decided to introduce a new strip for this match provided by their new kit partner, who will take over the contract next season. The semi-final strip has been added to the current Premier League section.

Chelsea, Bolton Wanderers, and Darlington have unveiled their 2010-11 strips.

Historical updates: Everton (1962-63 added), Queen's Park Rangers (1960-61 added), Newcastle United 1960-63 collar details altered), West Bromwich Albion (1963-64 added), Nottingham Forest (1957-58 added), Exeter City (1966-68, 1968-72 corrected), Notts County (1993-94 socks corrected).

11 April: Leicester City (1961-62 added), Barnsley (1968-71 shorts detailing added, 1975-76 collar corrected), Burnley (late 1892-93, 1934-35, 1935-36 collar details amended), Sheffield United (1948-49 added, 1954-55 & 1955-60 now have appropriate outsize socks, 1967-68 detailing added), Sheffield Wednesday (stockings amended 1955-1964), Carlisle United (1993-95 correct crest applied), Swindon Town (1898-99 added), Stoke City (1966-68 added).

10 April: New strips for 2010-11 have started to come in: Norwich City, Liverpool have been posted today.

This interesting photograph is of Charles Slade who played for Huddersfield Town between 1914 and 1922. A second image of Sidney James, who played for the club 1913-15 shows the same, distinctive jersey with very broad stripes. I believe that this design was probably adopted in 1915 and worn in war time competition. This further suggests that the familar striped shirts were first worn immediately after the Great War.

Wolves (1962-63 variant added, 1985-86 unsponsored kit added).

 

4 April: Chile (1st), Paraguay (1st & 2nd) and Switzerland (2nd) have been added to the FIFA World Cup 2010 section.

I have been reviewing the history of Southampton's strips and concluded that the crest that appears on many early team photographs is in fact the badge of the Hampshire FA and not that of the club. Regular HFK visitors will know that in the 1880s and 1890s, players picked for their county or national representative teams would often have the badges from these games stitched onto their club shirts. The photograph on the left comes from Chalk & Holley's excellent Saints: A Complete History of Southampton FC 1885-1987 and is the first known photograph of the team, then known as Southampton St Mary's YMA. It is interesting to note that some players have the sash sewn into their shirts running from left to right while others have it going from right to left, which is typical of the lack of standardisation in this period, when players provided their own shirts. Rumour has it that the club will wear shirts based on this design in 2010-11, their 125th anniversary.

The Hartlepool United section has been reviewed with reference to the official centenary history pulished last year. The crests have been revised, detailing added and several missing kits added (1922-23, 1924-26, 1926-27, 1963-65, 1973-74, 1982-83 added).

30 March: The photographs presented today illustrate a question raised recently by Keith Ellis about when Liverpool adopted their iconic all-red kit. Both were taken in the 1964-65 season. The first shows the team, wearing white shorts and socks, with the Football League trophy they won in 1964. Photographic evidence indicates that they wore this kit in league games during 1964-65.

The second photograph, (courtesy of the Liverpool Echo on the right), was taken shortly before the FA Cup final with Leeds United that same season. It is not the kit worn in the cup final itself, which had the club crest reversed out, white on red. This confusion had led us to think that the team adopted all-red at the begining of the 1964-65 season but we have been able to establish, with help from Paul Rodgers, content manager for the Liverpool FC website, that this is not the case.

We now know that Bill Shankly sent his team out to play RSC Anderlecht in their second round European Cup match in all-red for the first time in 1964. Liverpool won the tie and continued to wear all-red in European matches and in the FA Cup for the rest of the season. The following season, Liverpool wore all-red in the Football League and have continued to do so ever since.

With additional input from Dave Atkinson, we have added the strips worn in the four European Cup finals Liverpool won between 1977 and 1984 to the Liverpool Away Kits section as well as adding a history of the club's crest to the Home Section.

Now here is a killer trivia question: When did Newcastle United play in red and white stripes and Sunderland in black and white stripes on the same day? The answer lurks in the excellent Saints: A Complete Record of Southampton FC 1885-1987 by Gary Chalk and Duncan Holley. On 27 January 1951 Southampton were drawn to play Sunderland at Roker Park in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The rules of the competition required both sides change in the event of a colour clash but both team's alternate kits also clashed. The Saints borrowed a set of amber shirts from the Hampshire Regiment while Sunderland swapped their usual red and white shirts with a set from their Tyneside neighbours. As a result Newcastle turned out that day against Bolton Wanderers in their arch-rivals' shirts.

After studying the photographic evidence, I have come to the conclusion that the variations depicted of Aston Villa's distinctive double banded collars worn between 1924 and 1956 are deceptive and that the design was consistent throughout the period. The confusion arises because these collars were so big and (being made of wool) subject to being stretched out of shape so they rarely appear the same from one photograph to the next.

Other updates: Notts County (1923-26 amended), Nottingham Forest (1904-06 kits consolidated, 1906-07 added), Swindon Town (1906-07 added), Blackpool (1968-69 monogramme added to shirt), Preston North End (issue with collars and socks resolved), Oldham Athletic (1911 added - this has a peculiar collar), Derby County (1919-1924 kits consolidated with new information about dates), Everton (1945-46 added, collar details on 1907-08, 1909-11 amended, 1930-31 change kit added), Hartlepools United (1966-67 added), Leyton Orient (1964-65 early season added, 1953-54 collar detailing corrected, 1961-62 cuff details amended), Chelsea (1961-62 collar and cuff detailing corrected), Everton (1958-61 change kit amended).

29 March: The featured photograph today, found by Keith Ellis, is of Wigan Borough in the 1923-24 season. Borough generally played in amber and black but we have evidence that they wore red and white when this picture was taken. Borough had an undistinguished career in the old Third Division (North), perpetually struggling to attract support in competition with the town's successful rugby league side. As their debts mounted, players went unpaid and in 1931 the club resigned from the Football League and went out of business.

Other updates: Barnsley (1962 added), Sheffield United (1913-15 corrected), Leicester City (1968-70 badge corrected), Swindon Town (1919-20, 1920-21 added), Chelsea (1950s change kit added), Sheffield Wednesday (sock hoops amended 1935-36, 1936-1939), Stoke City (1937-39, 1945 added), West Ham United (1957-58 added), Bristol City (1954-55 now has correct short sleeves).

28 March: Yesterday was "First Kick" day in North America, the opening of the new Major League Soccer season. To mark the occasion we have posted a new MLS 2010 section. Replica's of the new shirts do not appear to be available in Europe but you can order them direct from our US affiliate partner using the links on the gallery.

24 March: Kidderminster Harriers (1967-68 added), Barnsley (1906-07 added and two missing crests are now included in the narrative section), Middlesbrough (1958-59, 1959-60 added), Hereford United (1994-96 sock detail added), York City (the team have been wearing red shorts and socks since December 2009), Notts County (1935-36, 1947-48, 1963-64 added), Wolves (1893 FA Cup Final strip drawn more accurately).

23 March: Here is a little gem discovered by Keith Ellis, of Huddersfield Town wearing the white strip with light blue shoulders first adopted in 1910. Because of the excellent quality of the print we can clearly make out that the collar and sock turnover details are different to the earlier version of this strip. This information takes this oufit up until the abandonment of the Football League for the duration of the Great War. It is unclear if the club continued to play during wartime (but given the state of their finances it seems unlikely they carried on) so it is possible they switched to the more familiar stripes in 1919, with the resumption of Football League competition. Two months into the new season, Huddersfield's chairman, J Hilton Crowther made an unsuccessful attempt to merge the club with the newly formed Leeds United. When the dust settled, Huddersfield survived and Crowther took over as chairman at Elland Road, where he introduced a playing strip identical to Huddersfield's.

Other updates Scunthorpe United (1949-50 added), Rotherham United (1994-95 added), Newport County (1952-56 collar detailing amended - see photograph left), Luton Town (1909-10 graphic restored), Gillingham (1975-76 detailing added), Grimsby Town (1973-74 amended), West Bromwich Albion (1947-48 added), Newcastle United (1964-65 two versions added, 1972-75 socks amended, 1957-61 change kit modified), Sunderland (1922-23 added), Bolton Wanderers (1934-35 badge removed), Mansfield Town (1935-36 added), Preston North End (1948-49 added), Crewe Alexandra (1958-59 crest added).

22 March: Having consulted with Frank Grande, the official club historian of Northampton Town, I have made some adjustments to the Cobblers' section. The 1909-10 graphic now has black knickers rather than claret, which is consistent with my own observations about the colours available at the time and the 1930-31 strip has been removed, as it is now confirmed that it was a blue and white change strip. Frank has also shed light on the bewildering switches between the old hooped shirts and the new plain ones that occurred in the seasons immediately after the Second World War.

Port Vale (1989-90, 1990-91 collar amended), Bradford Park Avenue (1931-35 shorts corrected), Yeovil Town (1970-71 socks corrected), Wrexham (1956-61 V necks drawn more accurately), Leeds City (1911-13 restored).

21 March: This picture of Derby County taken in 1895 is of interest because it puts their adoption of plain white shirts back one season, to 1895-96. Previously they had worn various combinations of black, white and cardinal red: (1956-57, 1961-62 also added, 1965-66 amended), Brighton (1908-09 added), Lincoln City (1968-69 added), Luton Town (1905-10 neckline amended), Doncaster Rovers (1934-35 added).

20 March: Thanks to Keith Ellis, Tony Sealey and Andy Porter, the official club historian, I have updated the Tottenham Hotspur section. The Home Kits gallery now includes a comprehensive history of the club crest and kits between 1921 and 1951 have been enhanced with the original version of the cockerel badge. The Away Kits section has a number of kits that appeared for just one or two games added.

19 March: Southend United (1919-20 added, 1925-26 socks confirmed), Bury (1973-74 added), Cardiff City (1954-55 added), Preston North End (1950-51 added), Reading (1942-44 socks corrected), Chester (1958-59 stripes drawn more accurately),

Peterborough United are now wearing the Sue Ryder Charity logotype on their home shirts.

18 March: Chelsea (1924-25 added, 1974-75 fourth strip amended, 1998-2000 crest and trademark repositioned), Ipswich Town (1952-53 added), Burnley (1910-15 neckline corrected), Stoke City (1949 added), Derby County (1913, 1945-46 added), Sheffield Wednesday (1962-63 added, 1948-49 corrected), Liverpool (1955-56 added), Tranmere Rovers (1937-39 collar detailing amended), Blackburn Rovers (1937-38 added), Birmingham City (1955-56 socks now correct), Millwall (1936-39 cuffs corrected), Southampton (1903-20 detailing added), Watford (1947 added), Boston United (1947 added).

The player on the left is Jack Reynolds, pictured in 1892. Reynolds won five caps for Ireland before it emerged that he was in fact English. Since qualification rules were rather lax in those days, he went on to play for England eight times and is the only player to have scored both for and against the English national team (barring own goals). One of the highest-paid players of his generation he led a colourful life but died in poverty in 1917 at the age of 45.

17 March: With input from David Wood, we have clarified the timeline for Barnsley's earliest kits. David believes the photograph posted on 15 March was taken in 1887, the year the club was formed, which suggests that references to the team playing in navy blue and maroon are incorrect. The photograph on the left from copacabarnsley shows the Barnsley team circa 1892 although I suspect it dates from a little earlier (Update: David has confirmed it was taken in 1890-91). If you compare the unusual striped tops in this image with the one that appears in the earlier photograph below, you will notice they are identical, a puzzle that I have not been able to solve so far.

A photograph provided by Keith Ellis indicates that the St Patrick's blue worn by the Irish national team until 1922 (and subsequently as Northern Ireland until 1930) was considerably lighter than the shade we had depicted. The 1919 strip worn by Wales has also been added to our International Section.

Historical Updates: Newcastle United 1920-21, West Bromwich Albion (1895-96 stripes more accurately drawn), Crystal Palace (1959-60 added), Sunderland (1923-24, 1924-26 added).

15 March: We are posting this photograph of Barnsley St Peters from 1889 once again because the club historian, David Wood has been in touch. David explains that the embroidery evident on some players' jerseys is not the club's initials, but numbers. This is almost certainly the first example of players wearing numbers corresponding to their position in the history of the game.

Galeria dos Uniformes da Seleção Brasileira has a complete archive of Brazilian national team colours with photographs and colour graphics.

Birmingham City (1949-55, 1955-56 cuffs corrected), West Ham United (1905, 1909-19, 1923, 1959-60 added), Fulham (several dates between 1920 and 1956 amended), Kidderminster Harriers (1986-87, 1996-97 added).

The all-red version of England's new change kit has been added.

14 March: Southampton (1896-1902 detailing amended), The Wednesday (1900-04 detailing amended), Rochdale (1953-54 added and pictured left, 1962-63 badge corrected), Motherwell (1959-60 added), Kilmarnock (1962-63, 1963-64 added), Grimsby Town (1906-08 shorts corrected, 1933-34, 1936-37, 1957-59 detailing amended), Middlesbrough (1946-47 added), Colchester United (1960-61 added), Wolves (1928), Charlton Athletic (1931-32 added), Gillingham (1965-66 added), Aston Villa (one-off change kits from the 1934 and 1953 FA Cups added), Newport County (bands added to sleeves of 1938-45 kits, manufacturer's logo added to Jan-May '89).

13 March: As expected, Chester FC were wound up in the High Court on Wednesday, an ignominious ending to a proud 125-year history. The way is now open for supporters to follow the example of Accrington Stanley and Aldershot Town and form a "phoenix club." The local authority, which owns the Deva Stadium, has indicated that it is committed to retaining professional football in the city so the prospects of a new club making its home there are excellent. Cardiff City and Southend United were also in court but were granted an extension of 56 days to secure the funds they need to pay off their debts. For more coverage visit the BBC Sport Website.

Historical Updates: Chelsea (1914-15, 1945 added, stocking and neckline detailing corrected on 1905-14, 1918-29), Manchester City (evidence found by Keith Ellis that hooped socks were worn in 1950, a year earlier than previously thought).

10 March: Contributions to our new World Cup 2010 section are rolling in: Denmark (2nd), Switzerland (1st), Slovakia (1st), Honduras (1st & 2nd) have been added.

I am continuing to work through Keith Ellis' epic contribution, which has included a good deal of material that helps pin down the confusing period in Blackburn Rovers' history, when blue appeared on both the right and left side of players' shirts. (1910-11 added today). The skinny chap featured here is perhaps the most influential player ever to have played for the Rovers, Fergie Suter. A stonemason from Glasgow, Suter was poached by Darwen from Partick Thistle in 1879 and was later induced to play for Rovers. Unable to pursue his trade in Lancashire because the local stone was unworkable, he nevertheless made a good living from illicit payments made by the club. Suter is now recognised as the first professional footballer.

Stirling Albion (2006-07 shorts corrected), Everton (1895-1901 collar fastening amended), Millwall (1895-96 collar fastening amended), Wolves (1899-1900 added), Portsmouth (1905 added), Liverpool (1905-07 amended - this we now know was a ribbed woolen jersey with a laced polo neck), Leeds City (1905-08 collar detailing amended and shade of old gold revised throughout), Hull City (1904-09 collar detailing corrected), Derby County (1909-10 collar detailing amended - the photographic evidence submitted by Keith Ellis for this, which we unfortunately cannot publish due to copyright restrictions, appears to corroborate Derby wearing black and white striped jerseys that season), Leicester Fosse (1910 added), Third Lanark (1910 added), Northampton Town (1899-1904, 1910-13 collar detailing amended), Preston North End (1884 collar detailing amended).

You can read an interview with your truly on footballshirts.co.uk.

9 March: Burnley (1934-35 socks corrected), Nottingham Forest (1907, 1947-48 added), Rochdale (2009-10 third kit added), Maidstone United (1965-66 added, 1975-78 corrected).

The photograph shows the Stones' team from 1921-22.

8 March: Sunderland (1886-1900 shirts more accurately drawn), QPR (1904-24 graphics now show the correct number of hoops), Hull City (1940 added), Blackburn Rovers (1905-06, 1923-24, 1928-29 added, several dates amended), Woolwich Arsenal (1904 added), Wimbledon (1923-31 dates amended), Huddersfield Town (1920-21, 1922, 1923-24, 1954-55, 1964 added, 1910-11 neck detailing corrected, 1925-26 socks corrected), Halifax Town (1971-72 added), York City (1958-66 dates amended), Hartlepools United (1964-1968 dates amended), Derby County (1923-24, 1926-27 added), West Bromwich Albion (1930-31 added), Middlesbrough (1947-48 added), Accrington (1880-81 added), Barnsley (1928-29, 1960-61 added), Birmingham (1932-33, 1933-34 added), Southend United (1926 added), Crystal Palace (1937-38 stripes now more accurate), Leicester City (1924-25 added). Thanks are due to HFK stalwarts Simon Monks and Keith Ellis for today's contribution.

7 March: New feature - today we are pleased to open our World Cup 2010 section. This is being posted as a work in progress and we call on our regular visitors to let us know as new strips are unveiled. Please note that we will only publish strips that we can confirm from official sources. There are far too many hoax images floating about. The World Cup is now a showcase for the best in design and there are some outstanding new strips on show. For your convenience and shopping pleasure, links are provided so you can purchase any replicas currently available.

Please remember that by purchasing replica shirts through our own links, you are supporting our website because we take a modest commission on each transaction at no additional cost to you.

We congratulate Dave Tomlinson who has uncovered photographic evidence and a contemporary press report that conclusively proves that Leeds City switched from their usual old gold and navy to green shirts in the 1910-11 season, in order to make their five new Irish signings feel at home. The club even introduced green flags at the half way line. Although the team photograph supplied (see left) is of poor quality, we can clearly see that the first team (on the right) are wearing the new green shirts while the reserves (on the left) are in the striped shirts worn the previous season.

Ironically, the Irish national side played in blue shirts at this time due to Unionist domination of the Irish Football Association. Green was the colour of Irish nationalism. History does not record which community the Irishmen recruited by Leeds came from but we can imagine that if they were Ulster protestants, the club's gesture would not have been entirely welcome.

3 March: The special edition kits worn in the Edinburgh derby on 3 January have been added to the SPL 2009-10 section.

2 March: Scotland's new home strip has been added.

I am very grateful indeed to Jeff Whitehead, Colchester United historian, who has provided details of every strip the team has worn since their formation in 1937 as well as missing crests. The U's section has, therefore, been thoroughly reviewed and updated.

28 February: Aston Villa are perhaps unique in that they persisted in wearing heavy woollen jerseys right up until they adopted the new "continental" cotton shirts in 1956. Although it is not evident in team photographs, close ups reveal that these jerseys were vertically ribbed and I have attempted to represent this in the graphics between 1894 and 1956. The photograph (left) shows the 1935-36 team wearing the very distinctive yoked collars worn between 1924 and 1956, which were unique to the club. The oversized collars were sometimes folded over as shown in our new 1947 change strip graphic.

There is a thoughtful article written by Simon Kupar in today's Observer regarding the debt-ridden state of professional football. He describes football clubs as "small businesses that spend like big ones, (that's why) they keep getting into trouble."

Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic (1960-61 added, 1956-57 cuff trim corrected), Barnet (1957-58, 1963-64 added), Swansea Town (1967-68 added, 1956-58 dates amended), Carlisle United (1969-70 crest added, 1964-66 dates amended), Burnley (March 1935 added), Sheffield Wednesday (1935-36 added).

27 February: The main story in the sports media today concerns Portsmouth, who became the first Premier League club to enter administration yesterday. While the survival of this famous club is by no means guaranteed, the prospects of a buyer being found are probably improved. The same cannot be said for Chester City who were yesterday expelled from the Blue Square Premier League. Over 75% of the members voted to kick the club out after the management admitted to breaching five competition rules. Although the club has the right to appeal, it seems unlikely that they will bother - the club was not represented at the meeting and the supporters umbrella group, City Fans United has been calling for the club to be wound up. With no fixtures for the rest of the season it seems doubtful that City will survive long enough for the winding up petition hearing in the High Court on 10 March.

26 February: I have been re-examining the Bolton Wanderers section in the light of several pieces of photographic evidence. First of all various written sources give the club's colours in 1912-13 as red shirts and white knickers. This photograph, however, shows conclusively that this is incorrect and the team wore white shirts with a narrow navy buttoned crew neck and cuffs. Furthermore, we have been able to establish that these shirts were also worn in 1911-12.

The second issue concerns references to Wanderers wearing black knickers with black and red socks sometime after the Second World War, which we have struggled to verify. Earlier information (from match programmes) that this was worn in 1952-53 is not borne out by the photographs we have seen but thanks to Keith Ellis, we now have solid evidence that places this outfit in 1949-50.

More from Keith's mountainous submission: Newcastle United (1894-97 revised, collar details on 1904-07, 1907-14 shirts captured, 1965-66 change added), Arsenal (1935-43, 1962-64 dates amended), Darlington (1950-51 added), Sheffield United (1892-1904 stripes now more accurate), Bradford City (1912-13 added, 1928-29 collars corrected, 1960-62 socks corrected), Carlisle United (1955 added), Oldham Athletic (1951-54 socks amended).

Among my favourite kits of all time are the "epaulette" shirts worn by Middlesbrough in the Twenties and early Thirties. Several different versions appeared - the example pictured on the left is from 1922. The idea was revived in 1964 and, in my view, is well overdue for another revival. (The 1905, 1955-56, 1962-63 Boro kits have been added.)

25 February: Plymouth Argyle (1948-49 alternate, 1963-64 added, 1955-56 corrected), Reading (1910-11, 1911-12 added), Port Vale (1948-50, 1952-54, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1962-63, 1965-66 added), Burnley (1892-93 alternate kit, 1922-23, 1923-24 added). The photograph is of the 1922-23 Burnley side wearing an unusual yoked jersey. A similar design was worn in season 1925-26 but with a laced crew neck.

23 February: Todays updates all come from Keith Ellis once more. West Bromwich Albion (1947-56 detailing amended), Swansea Town (1958 added), Newcastle United (1923-27 dates amended), Tottenham Hotspur (1923-24 added, dates 1919-1923 revised), Huddersfield Town (1963 added, 1952-55 detailing improved), Barnsley (1938-39 collar detailing amended.)

22 February: In the Forties and early Fifties socks were seriously big but perhaps none were bigger than those worn by Aston Villa shown here in 1952-53 (1943, 1958-59 added).

Liverpool (1946-47 socks corrected), Bristol Rovers (1956-57), Blackburn Rovers (1919-20, 1934-35 added, 1957-59, 1959-64 cuff details amended), Hibernian (1945-57 collar corrected), Bristol City (1965-66 added), Stockport County (January 1958 collar details amended), Manchester City (1954-55, 1955-56, 1958-59 stocking details amended), Blackpool's kits from 1927-28 and 1955-63 are now presented in the correct sequence, Tottenham Hotspur (1955-56 added).

21 February: Lots more from Keith Ellis today - Bolton Wanderers (1932-33 added - pictured left. The photograph illustrates the typical laced crew neck tops of the period; players habitually removed the laces. It is also noteworthy that the club crest, worn throughout the Twenties and second half of the Thirties, is absent. The contrast between Wanderers' navy knickers and black socks shows up well).

Huddersfield Town (1937-38 added, dates confirmed for 1927-36), Portsmouth (1956-57, 1957-58 added), Southampton St Mary's (1895-96 added), West Bromwich Albion (1919-25 dates amended), Blackburn Rovers (January 1923, 1924-25 added), Charlton Athletic (1921-22 added), Wigan Athletic (1954-55 socks and collars amended), Preston North End (1956-57 socks corrected and several dates amended between 1922 and 1936), Carlisle United (1950-51, 1959-60, 1963-64 added), Norwich City (1938-39 added), Peterborough United (1970-72 dates amended).

The written evidence I have seen indicates that Leicester Fosse wore navy tops 1904-11 but this picture (left), uncovered by Keith, shows conclusively that for the 1907-08 season at least, they wore mid-blue jerseys. The socks are also noteworthy for the unusual trim for the period. Leicester Fosse/City (1907-08, 1935-36 added).

Chelsea (1949-50 added), QPR (1946-47 added), Notts County (1961-62 added), Swindon Town (1905-06, 1910-11, 1959-60 added, 1923-24 socks corrected), Stoke City (1952-53, 1958-59 added), Walsall (1958-59 added).

Even more from Keith to come...

Andy Porter, Tottenham Hotspur's historian, has uncovered a contemporary club handbook that confirms the team wore navy knickerbockers with their dark chocolate and old gold shirts, 1896-98. The same document also provides evidence that Swindon Town wore navy rather than white knickerbockers 1897-99.

19 February: This intriguing and famous photograph of Barnsley St Peter's shows players wearing three different tops. According to the bbc.co.uk website, the club's original colours were navy and maroon stripes. This team picture is thought to date from 1889-90 and suggests that the team were wearing a much lighter shade than navy at this time. The seated player in stripes may be wearing the chocolate and white shirt that would be adopted in 1890 or perhaps an older one, which would cast doubt on the BBC's account. Careful examination reveals that two players have "BFC" (or possibly BStP) sewn onto their jerseys.

Sheffield United (1906-12 collar detailing added), Halifax Town (1957-59, 1965-66, 1966-67 added, 1960-62 dates amended), Tottenham Hotspur (1957 change strip added, badge on 1970-71 change strip corrected). We have Keith Ellis to thank these contributions as well as many others recently posted. Keith has got the bit between his teeth and has been researching material to fill in some of the gaps in our club sections.

Aston Villa (1998-99, 2004-05 change kit socks amended).

18 February: Sunderland (1958-59 added), Barnsley (1954-55 added).

16 February: The Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, has stepped into the debate we highlighted in our last post, calling on the FA to take a tougher stance against the abuses that have led to spiralling debt in the professional game. "We have challenged the FA, Premier League and the Football League on financial regulation over the last year and they have made some welcome rule changes," Sutcliffe told the Guardian, "but there remain tough questions for the football authorities on what more they need to do to tackle the issues around leveraged debt, takeovers and strengthening the financial governance of football clubs." For the full story visit The Guardian Online.

Darlington (1910-11 added - pictured left). More accurate crests have been added to the Colchester United graphics between 1983 and 2004. Aston Villa (1938 change strip added), Queen's Park (1981-82 added), Dumbarton (1978-1983 dates amended), Ross County (1984-87, 1990-92 added), Rangers (1994-95, 1997-98 away strip socks corrected).

The new England red "away" and The Republic of Ireland's new "home" strips have been added.

13 February: The failure of the football authorities to take action over financial mismanagement at professional clubs has led to a hardening of attitudes at HM Revenue & Customs this season, who are using the January transfer window, when clubs generate new funds from transfers, to force the issue. Portsmouth, Cardiff City and Notts County all face winding up petitions this month while Crystal Palace and Southend United have gone into administration. Accrington Stanley were forced into a change of ownership in the autumn and non-league Kings Lynn have been closed down.

Chester City have again fallen foul of the authorities because of gross mismangement and the City Fans United supporters have called for the club, currently suspended from the Blue Square National Conference, to be closed down.

Football clubs seem to believe that paying tax is optional rather than a legal obligation, blithely paying players tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds every week and not settling their tax bills. No-one likes paying tax but most of us accept that our schools, hospitals, police and armed services have to funded somehow. Why should football clubs be exempt?

Under FA rules, once a club enters administration, football debtors (clubs owed transfer fees, directors and players owed back wages and bonuses) are paid in full while non-football debtors (HMRC, Police Authorites and the myriad small businesses that supply goods and services to clubs) share what's left: if they receive 10p in the pound they are fortunate. Obviously when HMRC force a club into administration most of the tax owed, often millions of pounds, has to be written off but officials have no other sanction to force them to meet their obligations.

It is a scandal that directors who abuse their position are allowed to walk away, having usually extracted large sums of money from the clubs they have mismanaged, leaving the club in ruins and cheating the taxpayer, charities such as St John's Ambulance Brigade and local businesses of the revenue they are owed.

11 February: The excellent Marina Hyde has written a deliciously acerbic article about the new "England Away" shirt, ludicrously launched by Kasabian in Paris this week. Visit The Guardian Online for the full text.

Partick Thistle (2002-02 shorts amended), Luton Town (badge 1973-87 amended), Sunderland (1965 added), Plymouth Argyle (2000-01, 2007-09, 2009-10 details amended). The featured photograph is of Argyle in the kit they wore in the Sixties, for my money, one of the best outfits of all time.

10 February: Queen's Park Rangers (1987-88 added), Dumbarton (1987-88 detail added to sponsor's logotype), Arbroath (1992-94, 1994-95 makers' trademarks added, 1994-95 change kit added to Iconic Away Kits section), Raith Rovers (1995-97, 1997-98 correct makers' logos added), Scotland (1976-79 away kit corrected), Celtic's kit worn at Elland Road in the 1970 European Cup semi-final has been added. Coventry City's new limited edition third strip has been added. Umbro logo added to Rangers 1976-78 kit.

My thanks go to Richard Young for kindly providing artwork for the crests of Scunthorpe United, so I've updated the Irons' section out of sequence. (Similar contributions for lower divsions clubs in England and scotland will be much appreciated.)

Southampton FC historian, David Juson has informed us that the club wore navy shorts until 1950.

Scotland have signed up with Adidas, who will become their kit supplier until 2014.

6 February: Dredging the electric interweb for details of old club crests is turning up some choice pearls. For example, several previously unrecorded strips have been added to our Colchester United section thanks to the expanded historical section on the Colchester United website. Frustratingly, the images posted there are without captions so I have had to estimate dates and I am still searching for details of the crests worn by the team between 1972 and 1994. On the other hand, the official site now includes a history of Colchester Town, the club that folded when United were formed in 1937. This photograph, borrowed from the official club website shows Colchester Town in 1913 wearing extraordinary shirts of myrtle green, dark claret and white. I've added a graphic to our Strange Hues section.

3 February: In the course of researching his new history of Blackpool FC, On This Day (Pitch Publishing Ltd: Nov 2009 ISBN 1905411502) HFK Research Associate Peter Gillatt has uncovered a wealth of historic photographs and detail, which he has kindly shared with us. He has also posted some of these images on the Blackpool On This Day Website, from which this intriguing team group is taken, captioned "Blackpool FC 1881." The modern day Blackpool was not formed until 1887 so this must be a picture of one of the earlier teams that played in the town and folded before the modern club was formed.

Falkirk's third strip, used at Ibrox recently, has been added.

While researching club crests, I have learned that the badge worn by Burnley FC between 1887 and 1895 was the royal coat of arms rather than the Prince of Wales' three feathers crest as I had previously thought. The right to wear this crest was given to the club following a visit to Turf Moor by Prince Edward and it was worn in the 1914 FA Cup final. As far as I know, Burnley are the only football club to have been permitted to wear a royal crest.

29 January: Thanks to Simon Monks we have been able to establish that Yeovil Town, switched from their usual plain green shirts to ones with white sleeves especially for their FA Cup fourth round tie with Sunderland in 1949. The Cidermen's victory over the First Division side remains one of the greatest giant-killing feats in the history of the cup (Yeovil were then still a non-league side). Yeovil retained these shirts for the next decade but we can now reveal that the Yeovil Casuals team (from whom the modern team is descended) wore very similar shirts in 1904-05 (see photograph left).

Other updates: Details missing from Hibernian's current kits have been added, Birmingham City's third kit added, Grimsby Town (1987-89 added). Peter Gillatt, HFK's Research Associate for Blackpool FC has provided details of the crest used between 1987 and 1993 and a missing kit from 1963-64.

28 January: Following on from a suggestion made by Colin Barratt recently, we have started to add images of past and present crests to the narrative section of each club page. To date the Accrington Stanley to Birmingham City sections have been updated and more will be added today.

Further to the item published on 24 January below, Richard Sanders has confirmed that it was the Scottish FA who insisted that JH Forrest wear a differently coloured shirt to the rest of the England team in 1886. The Scottish Football Association was still dominated by the gentlemen-amateurs of Queens' Park FC who objected to playing against a professional. Indeed their hostility to professionalism meant that payments to players remained forbidden in Scotland until 1893. There is no record of just what Forrest wore in this match but I think it quite likely he used his Blackburn Rovers' club shirt.

24 January: Intriguing evidence has come to hand about the shirts worn by England in the late-Victorian period. In his splendid history of the birth of British football, Beastly Fury, Richard Sanders records that the first acknowledged professional to be chosen for England, JH Forrest, was forced to wear a differently coloured shirt to his amateur gentlemen-players in 1886. Glen Isherwood has also uncovered evidence that the England team may have switched to dark shirts for an unofficial international against a German XI in 1901. Further details are in our England 1872-1939 section.

The photograph is of the England team of 1876, probably the oldest existing image of the team, courtesy of bygonderbyshire.co.uk.

Jyll Skinner recently wrote in asking about the terms "football strip" and "football kit," wondering why "uniform" is not used and whether "strip" might derive from "stripe". The term "Football Kit" refers to the players' entire equipment - shirt, shorts, socks, boots, shin pads and (ahem) jock-strap. ("Historical Football Kits" is something of a misnomer but we wanted to avoid "strip" in the title as we thought this might turn up in search engines in a rather inappropriate way.) "Uniform" is American English and is rarely used in the UK where the term "strip" is preferred. I believe this stems from the use of the verb "to strip" to describe players "stripping" before a game. I do not believe there is any connection with the term "stripe."

Bryan Culshaw has threatened to eat his entire programme collection if we don't change Everton's change shorts from blue to yellow between 1979 and 1982. So we have.

Luton Town's 1974-79 Admiral strip has been added to our Classic Kits section.

17 January: Graham Warner has pointed out that Wolves wore a special outfit with fluorescent shirts in their pioneering frendlies against European opposition in the 1950s. The photograph is taken from footage of the team wearing these spectacular strips in action against Spartak Moscow on the British Pathe website.

We have confirmed that Yeovil Town adopted their famous green shirts with white sleeves in 1949. Huddersfield Town's new charity strip has been added.

Other updates: Blackpool (1956-57 added), Swindon Town (1913-14 added), QPR (collars on 1905-15 jerseys now correct), Fulham (1913-14 cadet stripes added to socks), Reading (1897-98 kit now confirmed as adopted in 1894), WBA (1913-14 added), Brentford (1905-06 added), Aston Villa (1905-06 added). The Blackburn Rovers kit listed as "circa1915" has been confirmed for 1913-14.

16 January: Continuing our series on former Football League clubs, this photograph is of Barrow taken in 1934-35 and taken from the informative barrowfc.com website. The point of interest is the V neck shirts worn by the team: this style became almost universal between 1955 and 1962 but was very rare indeed before that. In fact, the only other team we have found wearing V necks in the Thirties is Southport. Barrow were founder members of Third Division (North) in 1921 and lost their place in 1972. They currently play in the Blue Square Premier, just one tier away from recovering their place in the Football league.

14 January: Featured in today's picture is the Ashington team from 1914 when they won the Northern Football Alliance. The Colliers became founder members of Division Three (North) of the Football League in 1921 but failed re-election eight years later, victims of the miners' strike that caused a collapse in attendances. The club still plays in the Northern League and although the town's last deep pit closed in 1988, it retains strong links to the mining industry. Indeed, the current board is led by Ian Lavery, President of the National Union of Mineworkers.

Having looked again at my notes for Dumbarton, I've tweaked the first few entries. Tony Sealey has provided information that allows us to confirm the dates of Spurs' kits between 1919 and 1926 and add a missing 1970-71 change kit. Thanks to Barry McKenna, the background to Kilmarnock's third strip is now revealed in the current SPL section. Portsmouth (1959-61 added), Cheltenham United (makers' logos added to 1997-98, 1999-2000 graphics).

9 January: I know that many visitors enjoy the old photographs that we post here from time to time and we have built up quite a nice collection. Here, for example, is the Glossop team from 1906. They joined the Football League in 1898, were promoted to the First Division at the first attempt, only to drop back into the second after one season. In 1915 they were not re-elected and were disbanded shortly afterwards. The club was reformed after the Great War and now plays under it's original name of Glossop North End.

If you have any vintage team photographs from the Victorian or Edwardian era that you would like to share with us, please get in touch.

Chelsea (1992-93 added), Leeds United (1994-95 away kit now in the correct shade of blue).

7 January: Welcome to our first posting of 2010 and a very happy New Year to everyone. In view of the icy conditions currently affecting the UK, I thought this image of a match between Manchester United and Arsenal from January 1926 might be a good way to kick off, as it were (do you see what I did there?).

Updates: Chesterfield (1945-46 collar amended, 1964-65, 1975-76 added), Everton (1971-72 change kit added), Celtic (1983-84 away kit corrected), Dumbarton (1988-89 restored), Cambridge United (new sponsor's logo added to 2009-10 graphic), the jerseys worn by Old Etonians have been changed to a more accurate shade of Eton Blue in the FA Cup Finalists and Eminent Victorians sections. Southampton (collar on the 1976 FA Cup Final kit amended).