Historical Football Kits

31 May: The English and Scottish season galleries for 2011-12 are now open. As usual we invite all our contributors to let us know about new strips as they are released. Mind your head as you enter the new galleries and please place your litter in the receptacles provided.

29 May: Here is a fine photograph of Bradford City from 1937-38 that sheds light on one of the seasons that are currently missing from our records. City's claret and amber colours are unique in the Football League and they have a long track record of wearing distinctive strips so it is particularly pleasing to add another, previously unrecorded version to the archive.

Scottish team, Motherwell, of course share City's claret and amber colours and on at least two occasions the teams have worn identical shirts. In 1913 'Well adopted Bradford's iconic yoked tops while in 1983 the Yorkshire side, who were facing a severe financial crisis, turned out in a Patrick strip designed for Motherwell. Thanks to Keith Ellis we have been able to add several unrecorded strips (1938-39, 1948-49, 1960-61, 1961-62) and correct detailing on several more graphics.

AFC Bournemouth (1990-92 manufacturer's logo added).

2011-12 additions: Preston North End (H).

27 May 2011-12 additions: Celtic (3rd), Everton (A), Rotherham United (H), Wales (A).

Shane Malia spotted this card for sale on eBay recently. The player is Billy Dunlop who joined Liverpool in 1895 and is wearing one of the blue and white shirts that were inherited (Liverpool fans should look away now) from Everton.

Our second feature is Birmingham City's splendid shirt from the 1956 FA Cup final, made from "silk" (ie rayon) and cream in colour.

Brentford (1949-50 added): Chelsea (1924-25, 1929-30 change kits added): AFC Bournemouth (1932-36 detailing amended): Bristol City (more accurate rendering of 1951-61 crest added): Bradford (Park Avenue) (1911-13 collar & socks amended): Millwall (1958-59 added - last hurrah for shiny rayon): Southampton (1903-04 added).

25 May: Sections for Crawley Town and AFC Wimbledon have been added to the site following their promotion to the Football League.

Wycombe Wanderers (1901-06, 1937-46, 1964-65 added). The Chairboys team of 1898-99 is shown here in shirts that are identical to those worn by QPR a decade earlier and featured yesterday, illustrating how little designs changed over time when compared to the modern era.

2011-12 additions: Notts County (H), Stoke City (H).

24 May: Featured here is Queen's Park Rangers from 1886-87, the first season that they played under that name. The shirts are Oxford and Cambridge blue and are a good example of what the Victorians called "quartered" shirts. (1899-1900, 1900-01, 1958-59 added; 1886-1892 corrected).

Wimbledon (1947-48 added): Everton (1889-90 pocket added to shirt).

23 May 2011-12 additions: Manchester United (H), St Mirren (H).

20 May: York City (2002-03 crest added and kit amended): Grimsby Town (1939-40 added; 1946-47 amended): Derby County (1932-33 added; 1893-94 collar details altered): Lincoln City (1909-10, 1911-12, 1924-25, 1926-27 added): Leeds United (1920-23 socks changed, 1949-53 crest altered): Glossop (1910-14 added).

2011-12 additions: Wolverhampton Wanderers (H), Hibernian (H).

16 May: 2011 FA Cup final details added, Bristol City (2011 special home kit added, 1978-81 shorts corrected): Meadowbank Thistle (1988-90, 1991-92 added; 1985-86, 1986-87, 1990-91, 1992-93, 1993-95 amended): Rangers (1997-99 detailing added): Rochdale (1973-74 shorts corrected.

On the left is a photograph of the Rochdale team of 1955-56, wearing the shiny shirts that were briefly popular in the Fifties. Often described, fancifully, as "silk," these were in fact made of rayon and were the first football kits made from artificial fabric. They were first seen in the 1953 FA Cup final worn by Bolton Wanderers.

I have revised the graphics for Wimbledon from 1919-20 (see photo left) and 1920-21. Although we have no direct evidence of the colour of the shirts worn at this time, I now think they are likely to have green/black, consistent with earlier records of their colours. We do know that the club adopted blue and white in 1923 but are still seeking confirmation of their colours immediately after the Great War.

Crest histories have been added to the Wrexham, Wimbledon, Yeovil Town and York City sections. This completes our long-term project to add crest histories to the Football League/English Premier League club sections (although, as with anything on HFK, we welcome corrections and additions). As time and resources allow, crests histories will be added to the Scottish section over the coming months.

Our Room 101 section is currently featured in the Guardian Online Football Section's Favourite Things.

2011-12 additions: Bolton Wanderers (H), Leyton Orient (H).

10 May 2011-12 additions: Northern Ireland (A), Oldham Athletic (crest), Carlisle United (H), Crystal Palace (H).

8 May 2011-12 additions: Cowdenbeath (H), Leicester City (H), Middlesbrough (H), Huddersfield Town (H).

Lee Gauntlet has sent in this cutting from The Birmingham Post dated September 1889 that illustrates the confusion that sometimes occured in the early years of the Football League. Aston Villa anticipated that Notts County would wear their usual chocolate and blue shirts and so ran onto the field in white only to discover that County had adopted white shirts (with splendid chocolate coloured knickers). A similar incident at Sunderland almost exactly a year later when Wolves turned up in a strip almost identical to that of the home team. At the League AGM in 1891 it was agreed that clubs would in future register their colours and home sides would keep a spare set of white shirts to be used in the event of a clash.

An e-mail from James Watt prompted me to look out this photograph of the 1966-67 Lisbon Lions side. Numbers were introduced in the Scottish Football League after the Second World war but were not compulsory until 1960. Due to the somewhat eccentric views of their chairman, Bob Kelly, Celtic placed their team numbers on the front and back of their shorts rather than on the back of their shirts.

In 1995 the Scottish Football League, demonstrating a typical preoccupation with the trivial, ruled that numbers would have to be worn on shirts. Celtic's response was to move the numbers to the top of their sleeves. (see new graphic on the Celtic page.) The gentlemen at the SFL were not amused and instructed the club to place them on the back of their shirts.

5 May 2010-11 additions: Burnley (H), Newcastle United (H), Aston Villa (H), Ipswich Town (H), NY Red Bulls (A).

Crest history added: Watford, West Ham United.

3 May: On the left is Terry Dyson of Tottenham Hotspur warming up at Old Trafford in April 1957. He is wearing the new style of short sleeved shirt with collars introduced at the beginning of the season but for some curious reason, the crest is in the old style dropped in 1951. Tony Sealey provided this item and has also identified exactly when Spurs switched from their "continental" V necks shirts with short sleeves to crew necks and long sleeves. Meanwhile Andy Porter has confirmed that the striped shirts worn by Spurs against Preston in the 1922 FA Cup semi-final were blue/white (not red/white as we had previously thought). The two teams had met in the 1921 semi as well and on this occasion Spurs wore red shirts, Preston navy blue. (Details now posted in the Tottenham Hotspur Away Kit Section.)

Workington (1966-67 crest added; 1956-57, 1975-76 detailing amended): Tranmere Rovers (crest history added): Walsall (crest history added).

2011-12 additions: Arsenal (H).

2 May 2011-12 additions: Chelsea (H), Liverpool (A), Crewe Alexandra (H), Rochdale (H), Coventry City (H), Swindon Town (H), Chesterfield (H), Dundee (H), Watford (H), Livingston (H).

Crest histories have been added to the Swindon Town & Torquay United sections.

29 April: Crests histories added to Southend United, Southport, Stockport County, Stoke City and Swansea City sections.

26 April: Help wanted! We shall shortly be adding a section for Crawley Town to HFK following their promotion to the Football League and urgently need information about the club's kit history.

I am grateful to Ralph Pomeroy for filling in several gaps in our records for Bradford (Park Avenue). Of particular interest is this photograph of the 1933-34 team, taken from All About Avenue (Tim Clapham & Malcolm Lloyd Hartley 2004) which has allowed us to finally confirm the details of these unique shirts. (1931-34, 1946-47, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1959-60, Jan-May 1960, 1965-66 added.)

2010-11 additions: Rangers (H), Queen of the South (H).

24 April: Reading (crest history added): Sheffield United (1938-39 added; crest history added): Scotland (1905-09 colour of crest corrected): Republic of Ireland (1946-57 accurate crest applied).

20 April: This interesting photograph is of the Chelsea squad and staff from 1911-12. At the time the team were still playing in the Earl of Cadogan's pale blue racing colours. Clearly there were not enough to go round so some players are wearing what I assume are dark red change shirts.

Maidstone United (1983-84, 1989-91, 1990-91 revised): West Bromwich Albion (1920-25, 1955-56 amended slightly): Birmingham City (1970-71 crest amended; crest history expanded): Stoke City (1961-63 cold weather kit added): Burnley (1947 FA Cup final strip corrected): Tottenham Hotspur (borrowed strip worn against Preston NE in the 1922 FA Cup semi-final added): Hull City (2006-07 revised): Workington (1950-51, 1951-52 added).

Thanks to Glen Isherwood and Keith Ellis, a wealth of detail has been added to the England kit history section as well as several previously unrecorded strips from the 1960s and 1970s. Featured here is the English team from 1897 wearing a variety of knickers and socks. At this time the FA supplied the flannel shirts but the players provided everything else. It was not until around the turn of the century that the FA specified that navy knickers should be worn and players continued to provide their own knickers and socks until the mid-1930s.

2010-11 additions: Wycombe Wanderers (third kit): Leyton Orient ( third kit): Crystal Palace (charity strip).

2011-12 additions: Sunderland (H), Coventry City (new crest).

3 April: Maidstone United (1970-73 amended): Philadelphia Union (2011 third kit added): Workington (1884-88, 1921-22 added): Crystal Palace (1911-12 corrected): Torquay United (1993-95 shorts corrected): Stevenage (1996-98, 200910, 2010-11 detailing added).

Those with an interest in the history of the game in Victorian times will be pleased to learn that The Wanderers club has been revived with the endorsement of decendants of two of the original founders, the Alcock brothers. The modern club exists to raise funds for charitable causes and in 2011-12 will enter the Surrey South Eastern Combination. Our photo, provided by the modern club, shows an early Wanderers team from the days before uniform kits.

1 April: HFK would like to warmly recommend Pioneers of the North (Paul Joannou & Alan Candlish, Breedon Books 2009) to anyone interested in the history of the game in Victorian times. The book covers the development of the north-east's "big three" (Newcastle United, Sunderland, Middlesbrough), as well as providing a host of detail on the many smaller clubs that sprang up in the region between 1875 and 1890. As a result we have been able to substantially update the Newcastle United section with additional information and kit history for the East and West End clubs.

In addition we can make the following additions/amendments: Middlesbrough Ironopolis (1889-92 design confirmed): Sunderland (date that red and white shirts were adopted for the first time now confirmed): Berwick Rangers (1881-85, 1885-90 added; 1890-1900 modified): Ashington Rising Star (1883 added).

A number of important and/or interesting North-Eastern club kits have been added to the Eminent Victorians Section and the earliest recorded reference to team colours has been added to Brief History of Football Kits section.

25 March: Featured today is a photograph discovered by Keith Ellis of Wigan Athletic from 1931-32, their first ever season. The team wore red and white halved shirts until competitive football was suspended with the outbreak of the Second World War. Due to shortages, local suppliers could not provide these shirts after the war so the club adopted the blue white we are familiar with today.

Torquay United (1901-02 detailing amended).

24 March: For some time we have been trying to establish the shade of blue worn by the Irish national side prior to the split between the Irish FA and the FA of Ireland in 1921. Now, thanks to evidence from Jonny Dewart of NIFG I think we can confirm that up until the outbreak of the First World War, the team played in pale blue shirts (probably changing against England and Scotland when playing away from home).

The photograph here shows the team before their drawn match with Scotland in 1914, a result that secured the Home Championship for Ireland for the first time. Note the lucky black cat who is shamefully not identified in the list of players and officials.

The second image is of a jersey worn by Patsy Gallagher some time after the Great War, which suggests a much darker shade of "St Patrick's blue" was adopted, probably in 1919. This would have meant the team would only have to change every other year when playing Scotland away. HFK believes they then borrowed a set of green tops from the national Irish amateur side.

Other historical updates: Scotland (strip worn against France in 1958 World Cup added): Bradford Park Avenue (1935-36, 1962-63 added; 1959-60, 1969-70 corrected; the pinstriped green shirt previously shown for 1959-60 now appears in the Iconic Away Kits section): Southampton (2003-04 UEFA Cup strip added).

This fine photograph of Hearts from 1889-90, submitted by John Small, reveals some hitherto unrecorded detail including the narrow stripe added to the side seam of the players' knickerbockers. This sort of detailing was not uncommon in the Victorian period but had disappeared completely by the turn of the century, reappearing in the 1930s. Note also the contrast where the inner fly of the collar is visible' which gives us a clue about how these tops were made. Jerseys of this era were usually made from coarse wool, which was hard wearing and warm in cold weather. The inner fly, however, would have been made from another material, probably cotton or linen, making it strong enough for buttons to be sewn on.

23 March: Toronto FC (2011 home kit added).

19 March: Featured here is a rare photograph, found by Keith Ellis, of Broxburn United from 1913-14, one of many obscure Scottish sides to have played briefly in the Scottish League between the wars. During the five seasons they played in the competition they attracted a fair amount of controversy, which no doubt contributed to their failure to secure re-election in 1926. (1913-14 added; 1910-12 amended).

Montrose (1992-94 amended): Scotland (1914 change kit added): Stirling Albion (1996-98 sleeve detailing added): Wigan Athletic (1973 FA Trophy final kit & crest added): Scunthorpe United (kit worn Sept 2009-May 2010 added): Port Vale (1981-82 added): Hull City (2000-01 corrected): Stockport County (detailing enhanced on various graphics 1979-2000).

What happened when Crewe travelled to Stevenage in September with their away kit? Answer here.

17 March: Major League Soccer gets underway this week in the United States and Canada and our 2011 MLS section is now open.

15 March: Thanks to Rumwold Leigh and Jonny Dewart of NIFG, we have discovered a previously unrecorded crest worn by the Irish Free State between 1926, the year of their first official international match, and 1929. The team photograph here was taken in 1927 before the game against an Italian B team, courtesy of NIFG.

Wales (1920-21 added; detailing on 1946-47, 1950-51 & 1998 4th kit amended): Scotland (1960-62 corrected - strip previously illustrated now confirmed to be of the Scottish League team).

5 March: John Russell has provided a correction to the item below: Villa in fact wore their pale blue change shirts in the first game against Burnley. Also Ralph Pomeroy has identified Bradford (Park Avenue) splendid striped kit featured on 2 March as their change strip so we have moved it to our Iconic Away Kits section.

Paul Brown has identified that this photograph from from David Twydell's Football League Grounds For A Change (1991) and featured on 22 January is in fact Newcastle West End and not East End. The new information comes from "Pioneers of the North" (Paul Joannou and Alan Candlish 2009), which also furnishes new information on the colours of Newcastle United's predecessors as well as several non-league teams now added to the Eminent Victorians section.

3 March: Until 1989-90 the rules of the FA Cup required both teams to change when colours clashed. This led to problems when change strips also clashed leading to many instances of teams playing in borrowed strips. The two big Birmingham clubs, for example would swap strips when the need arose: the last occasion this happened was, we think, when Aston Villa met Burnley in the sixth round in 1957.

Some time ago regular contributor, Ralph Pomeroy, wrote to HFK about the strips worn in the replay pictured here. Burnley player Jimmy McIlroy wrote:

We wore navy blue shirts and navy blue shorts, and with the referee in his customary all-black outfit it was not surprising that he was given more passes than anyone in our team! .... Fortunately, he changed into a purple shirt at half-time, although I am still not certain whether this simplified or further confused the issue!

Now out of the blue John Russell confirms the details:

At Burnley we played in our usual pale blue change shirts, Burnley played in WHITE shirts, black shorts. When Burnley came to Villa Park for the replay they played in ALL BLACK shirts & shorts. Meanwhile Villa played the game in the RED change shirts borrowed from Birmingham City replete with BADGE.  Much was made of this at the time, not least the fact that we then got to play the semi final replay on their ground.

Historical updates: Blackburn Rovers (1941-42 added): Accrington Stanley (1995-96 added).

2 March: Scarborough (1976-77 added; 1998-99 socks corrected): Barnsley (1927-28, 1929-30, 1948-49 alternate, 1980-81 alternate added): Rotherham United (1949-50, 1957-58 added): Bradford (PA) 1962-63 added - see photograph left): Hull City (1909-10 shirts now confirmed as striped and not plain black).

28 February: Ardwick (1890-91 added): Burslem Port Vale (1892-96 amended): Newton Heath/Manchester United (1892-93, 1893-95 variants added; 1923-24, January 1960 added; notes added concerning variants worn between 1907 and 1915 added to text): Tranmere Rovers (1968-69 added): Macclesfield Town (1987-88 added): Aldershot (Aug-Dec 1989, Jan-May 1990, Feb-March 1991 added).

25 February: Cheltenham Town (1951-53, 1953-56, 1959-60, 1965-66x2, 1966-67 added). The photograph is of the Robins team from the early 1930s.

Hereford United (1957-58, 1958-59, 1961-62 added): Yeovil Town (1958-1959 added; 1963-64 amended): Swindon Town (1951-52 added): Peterborough United (1966-67 added): Maidstone United (Invicta emblem added to graphics 1978-92): South Shields (1908-09, 1928-29 added).

Chesterfield (2010-11 third kit added).

24 February: I have just finished Graham Phythian's very informative Saga of the Silkmen - A History of Macclesfield Town FC (Carnegie 2001) and as a result have been able to give our Macclesfield Town section a very substantial revision adding 20 previously unrecorded kits, a crest history and considerable detail to the tangled history of the club between 1873 and 1948.

The photograph is of the 1906-07 team, which was the second incarnation of the club. It is interesting to note that since 2008, the club has been claiming it was formed in 1874 (although the history on the official website is notably vague on the point). Phythian's book tells a rather more complex story, which I have summarised in the club section.

Crest histories have been added to the Newport County, Oldham Athletic, Peterborough United, Plymouth Argyle, Port Vale, Preston North End, Rotherham United and Scarborough sections.

18 February: Crest histories added to Leicester City, Leyton Orient, Lincoln City, Luton Town, Maidstone United, Manchester City, Mansfield Town, Merthyr Town, Millwall.

12 February: Aston Villa (strips worn in the FA Cup 1957 and 1953 added): Tottenham Hotspur (kits worn in UEFA Cup 1983-85 added): Halifax Town (kit adopted part way through 1991-92 season added): Brighton & Hove Albion (2010-11 third kit added): Morecambe (1979-80 added): Forfar Athletic (1948-49 added - photo left; 1955-57 cuffs corrected): Liverpool (kit worn against Ajax in December 1966 added).

Details of the various publications that HFK has provided graphics for are now available in HFK in Print.

8 February: Crewe Alexandra (1974-75, early 1975-76 added; 1908-09, 1909-10 cuffs corrected; various tweaks to modern kit graphics):

2 February: Wolves (1970-72 warm weather strip added): Newcastle United (1967-68 change kit added): Morecambe (2010-11 third added): Bristol City (1986-87 added): Colchester United (1986-87 sponsorship added).

27 January: Shown left is William MacAngus who played for Ross County between 1946 and 1948. The photograph was sent to HFK by William's grandson, Roddy Grey.

Aston Villa (1906-07, 1920-21, 1935-36 change kits added): Doncaster Rovers (1942-45, 1974-75 alternate added; various detailing tweaked on other graphics): Gillingham (1986-87 added): Huddersfield Town (1966-67 added).

26 January: Bradford City (1987-88 modified; crest history expanded): Boston United (1997-98 added).

25 January: Stoke City's 1996-97 away kit now features in our Iconic Away Kits section. Brighton (1959-60 alternate kit added).

23 January: The burly chap shown here is Mr Ransom, who played for Fulham in the 1903-04 season, their first in the Southern League First Division. The photograph, submitted by Keith Ellis, shows very clearly the hooped socks worn at the time. Although there are examples of hooped "hose" worn in the Victorian period, this is probably the earliest example from the 20th century.

Dundee United (1964-65 added): ES Clydebank (1964-65 badge corrected): St Mirren (1960-61 added; 1961-62 crest amended): Clydebank (1990-91 sponsorship corrected; 1997-98 redrafted): Aberdeen (1911-12 added; 1912-14 collar details refined): Montrose (1995-97 redrafted): Forfar Athletic (1999-2001 crest amended): Dumbarton (2000-02, 2002-04 collar detailing added).

Many HFK regulars share my fondness for early Victorian team photographs and here is another gem from Football League Grounds For A Change (David Twydell 1991). It shows Grimsby Pelham in their first ever season, 1878-79, wearing typical "striped" shirts of the period. Football was strictly amateur at the time and players had to buy their own kit from local suppliers who had different stock, which is probably why some players are wearing jerseys with rather broader stripes.

22 January: This image , submitted by Christopher Worrall, comes from David Twydell's Football League Grounds For A Change (1991) and shows Newcastle East End in 1889. After carefully examining the image I've come to the conclusion that the players are wearing halved shirts, most likely in dark red and navy. I have exaggerated the contrast in the thumbnail to bring out this detail. Some players are wearing crests and/or caps, almost certainly awarded for representing the County FA.

Peterborough United (1973-74 detailing altered): Brentford (1932-33 added): Fulham (1946-47 added): Leyton Orient (minor changes to detailing on 1934-36, 1936-39, 1950-51): Shrewsbury Town (1952-53 socks corrected): Norwich City (1927-28 added): Southport (1948-52 added).

21 January: The value of research into primary sources, such as that of Lionel Bird (see yesterday's entry) is illustrated by Kjell Hanssen's latest find of a cutting from the Blackburn Standard from January 1894, which states that Blackburn Rovers adopted navy and white shirts from their formation in 1874. This contradicts the account given in the Book of Football of 1905. Since both accounts were written 20 and 30 years after the event, it is impossible to verify either without examining contemporary newspaper records, a task that HFK hopes a contributor in the Blackburn area may be tempted to undertake.

This interesting photograph from Keith Ellis was presumably taken after the drawn FA Cup final between Barnsley and Newcastle in 1910 and establishes that the Yorkshire club wore a crest. Note the heavy police escort as the players leave the pitch. Keith has also provided material that expands our Barnsley section (1914-15, 1916-17, 1954-55, 1948-49 added).

Scunthorpe United (1983-85 sponsorship added; 1978-79, 1979-82 cuffs corrected): Doncaster Rovers (1932-33, 1996-97, August 1998, 2005-06 minor tweaks to detailing): Brighton & Hove Albion (1917-18 added).

20 January: Our thanks go to Paul Robinson who has forwarded information from the newly published The Teams of Sunderland AFC (Paul Days & Brian Leng 2010) that has allowed us to tidy up our Sunderland records for the late 19th and early 20th century. (1907-08, 1908-09 added; 1904-06, 1906-07, 1909-10 amended and several dates clarified). This intriguing photograph from Days' & Leng's book shows Sunderland lined up with Aston Villa before their match in 1893-94. The players in the thumbnail are both in the Villa team, further evidence that the Villa played in two styles of claret and blue shirts that season and that these sometimes appeared in the same match. (Click on the image to view the full team photograph.)

A short while ago we posted a new graphic of the 1960-61 strip for Queen of the South based on a team photograph that had been sent in. This prompted Bruce Wright to get in touch, questioning if the graphic was correct so we sent him a copy of the original photograph. Bruce was able to identify the team as Collins Boys FC, an amateur side from Dumfries of which he is a member and, by an extraordinary coincidence,Bruce himself appears in the photograph (kneeling far-right and featured in thethumbnail).

Bruce has also supplied a photograph of the Queen of the South team from that season from his collection (left) and our records have now been updated.

Lionel Bird, author of The Vocalists (History of Singers FC 1883-1898), has been kind enough to go through his research and provide HFK with details of several previously unrecorded strips worn by Singers FC between 1887 and 1898, when they became Coventry City. (1887-88, October 1889, November 1889, 1891-92 added). Lionel's book is available from the Coventry City Club Shop.

16 January: Brighton & Hove Albion (1904-05 collar modified; additional crest added for 1980): Aldershot (1981-83, 1987-88 added; 1977-81, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-91 detailing altered): Middlesbrough (1975-76 shorts detail added; 1987-88, 1988-89 jacquard texture added; crest history added).

15 January: Pictured here are Small Heath Alliance in 1882 in their amateur days. Note the mixture of white and navy knickerbockers. Players had to provide their own kit at this time and it was quite common for players of small clubs to turn out in various knickers and slightly different designs of shirt.

Workington (August 1964 added): Southampton (sock detailing added to graphics 1903~1924): Chesterfield (1930-31 added): Bristol City (1956-57 alternate strip added): QPR (1938-39 socks corrected): Wales (1949 change graphic now has accurate crest; 1931-39, 1947-50 cuffs corrected): Rushden & Diamonds (2000-02, 2004-05 detailing amended): Fulham (1908-14 added): Notts County (1936-37 added; 1956-59 amended): Barnsley 1920-21 added): Burnley (1966-67 detailing amended): Macclesfield Town (1969-70 corrected).

Back in December 2009 we featured this photograph of Dumbarton FC taken in 1883 when they won the Scottish Cup. Jim Jenkinson established that the various badges included those awarded to players who represented the Scottish Counties in a series of matches against select teams from the Glasgow, Lancashire and Birmingham FAs. Regular HFK visitors will know that it was common practice for players who won representative honours to have the crests awarded on those occasions sewn onto their club jerseys at this time

We can now update this story with this photograph of the ScottishCounties XI discovered by Chris Whitefield. If you compare the two images you can see that several of the Dumbarton players are sporting the Scottish Counties crest on their tops.

Kjell Hanssen has discovered an interesting set of Victorian postcards from 1894 that feature the colours of leading English and Scottish clubs. Although these images are not particularly accurate, they do suggest that Historical Football Kits had a Victorian predecessor. You can view the complete set on the National Archive Website.

9 January: Third Lanark (1921-23 collar amended): Rangers (1992-94 cuffs amended): Falkirk (1968-70 collar and cuffs corrected): Alloa (1920-27 collar corrected): St Mirren (1965-66 added; 1884-1898 detailing added - see photo left): Brechin City (1988-90 corrected): Gretna (2006-07 sock detailing added): Greenock Morton (1921-22 added): Dundee Hibernian (1913-15 cuffs altered): Raith Rovers (1962-63 warm weather/Scottish Cup final kit added): Queen of the South (1960-61 added): Dumbarton (1991-93 sponsor's logo redrawn): Arbroath (1959-60 warm weather kit added).

3 January: Photographs of West Bromwich Albion's FA Cup winning team from 1888 show one of the players wearing a plain white shirt. This was long before goalkeepers were required to wear distinctive tops, prompting Rumwold Leigh to look into the matter further. The player in the white top is indeed the Albion goalkeeper, Bob Roberts, and he is in fact wearing an England shirt (you can just make out the three lions crest) as well as his England cap. The practice of sewing national or county crests onto club shirts had more or less died out out by 1888 so it appears that Roberts decided to broadcast his international credentials by posing in his England shirt. It is unclear if he wore it during the match itself.

The rest of today's material comes from Keith Ellis and includes several unrecorded strips for South Shields (1905-06, 1910-12, 1912-13, 1923-24 added). The photograph shows the team in 1912-13 wearing red shirts with a green yoke.

Berwick Rangers (1912-13 added): Chelsea (1961-62 alternate home kit added): Swansea Town (1962-63 added): Port Vale (1900-01, 1984-85 added; 1896, 1912-13 altered): Nottingham Forest (circa 1928 added).

Our next photograph is of Derby County and is dated 1889-90. The point of interest is that the team is dressed in white shirts with a large coloured pocket,which I have assumed was cardinal red as this was the most commonly used colour that featured in the team's shirts at around this time.

Leicester City (1960-61 added): Oxford United (1949-50 corrected: additional sponsor logo added to 1984-85 graphic).

2 January: According to the club's official historian, Norrie Price, Dundee FC alternated between the striped shirts of East End and the plain navy of Our Boys in the 1893-94 season. The two had merged to form the modern club in 1893. This rather grainy photograph is of Our Boys taken in 1880. I'm grateful to Donald Gellatly for this nugget.

Barnsley (1962-63 added, 1994-95 sponsorship corrected): York City (1956-57 added): Stockport County (1954-55 added; 1971-72 corrected): Queen's Park (1994-95 added): Brechin City (1995-99 graphics modified).