Blackpool

Kit History

circa 1887 a

Corroboration needed

1890-c1899 a k p v

1900 v

1901 t

1902 a k t

Corroboration needed

1902-1903 alt a

Alternate kit

1903 t

Colour of shirt trim is not confirmed

1904-1908 v

1908-1909 v

1910-1911 v

Corroboration needed

1914-1915 a t

1915-1921 a t v

1921-circa 1923 k

Corroboration needed

1923-c1925 a

1925-1926 v

1928-1929 v

circa 1930 a t

1931-1932 v

Corroboration needed

1932-1933 v

Corroboration needed

1933-1938 a h k v

1938-1955 b g k

1956-1957 w

1957-1958 b g

1958-1959 v

1959-1961 b g

circa1961-1962 j

1963-1964 v

1964-1967 b v

1967-1968 j

1968-1969 h

1969-1970 b

1970-1971 j

1971-1973 b g v

1973-1974 b g

Umbro

1974-1976 i q

Umbro

1975-1976 alt v

Umbro

1976-1978 g j q v

1978-1979 v

Umbro

1979-1981 b h v

Umbro

1981-1983 b v

Hobott

1983-1984 r s

Umbro

1984-1985 c

Scoreline

1985-1987 i v

Lowfields

1987-1988 n o

1988-1989 c s v

1989-1990 i v

1990-1991 b

Gola

1991-1993 b i

Pelada

1993-1994 o

Pelada

1994-1995 e o

Pelada

1995-1996 v

Pelada

1996-1997 d o v

Lotto

1997-1999 d

Super League

1999-2001 d

TFG Sports

2001-2003 d l o u

Sporta

2003-2004 d

Sporta

2004-2005 f u

Uhlsport

2005-2007 f u

Carlotti

2007-Sept 2008 f

Carlotti

October 2008-2009 f

Carbrini

2009-2010 f

Background

blackpool fc 1890 team group Blackpool FC are forever associated with the so-called "Stanley Matthews Final" of 1953, when the aging genius created the goals that led to the seaside club winning the FA Cup for the first and only time in their history. The famous tangerine jerseys worn in that epic match have become synonymous with the club. In fact they were a relatively recent innovation.

The modern club can trace its roots back to a church club, Victoria FC, founded in 1877, but which folded after nine years. After another local team Blackpool St John’s rejected a proposal to drop the denominational title and become a town team, supporters of re-forming a team bearing the town’s name met at the Stanley Arms in July 1887 and Blackpool Football Club as we know it today was formed. A year later the club was accepted into the Lancashire League, winning the title in the 1893/94 season. The seaside resort was then in its Victorian heyday and bursting with confidence and after a couple of unsuccessful attempts to join The Football League, the club's application was finally accepted in 1896. Since at least 1890 Blackpool had played in blue and white shirts and were known as ’The Merry Stripes’. In 1899, Blackpool lost their League status after finishing third from bottom of Division Two. A merger with local rivals South Shore FC followed in December 1899 with the united club taking over South Shore's newly acquired Bloomfield Road ground. A year later Blackpool were re-admitted to Division Two and the start of the 1901/02 season saw the club begin its permanent association with Bloomfield Road.

Around this time the team's shirts were officially described as "red" but photographic evidence indicates that between 1903 and 1905 at least, these were of a very dark shade.

blackpool crest 1923 The 1914-15 season was played out against the background of war and in August 1914, a large number of Belgian refugees arrived in Blackpool. As a gesture of support, the football club adopted the red, black and yellow colours of the Belgian flag. This attractive kit may have only lasted a single season, the team turning out in white shirts and navy blue shorts for the first game of 1915-16. They wore this outfit when league football resumed in 1919 and became known locally as "The Lilywhites," a nickname they shared with local rivals Preston North End.

Blackpool remained a doggedly mid-table Second Division side for the next 10 years and for the 1923/24 season the club first adopted deep tangerine shirts after one of their directors, Albert Hargreaves, also an international referee, had officiated at a game between Belgium and the Netherlands. He was impressed with the orange shirts of the Dutch side and on his return he persuaded his fellow directors that this would be a distinguished colour for their team. No other Football League had worn plain shirts in this colour before. The town's coat of arms was also emblazoned the new shirts and although it is hard to confirm, these may have been the older version shown on the right.

blackpool crest 1938 After winning the Second Division title in the 1929/30 season the club won promotion to the First Division, where they tenuously remained for three seasons. In 1937, now wearing dark and light blue striped shirts, the club were promoted once again and for the 1938/39 season they adopted tangerine jerseys once again, this time for good. (The shirts are always described as "tangerine" - never "orange.") The more familiar version of the town crest on the left was worn right up until 1968.

The years immediately after the war were Blackpool's golden era. With players of the stature of Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen the club were regular challengers for the League title and reached two FA Cup finals (1948 and 1951) before that epic victory over Bolton Wanderers in their third Wembley appearance in 1953. Sadly there would be no more glory and blackpool crest 1970 although the Seasiders held on to their First Division status until 1967, the abolition of the maximum wage meant that clubs of modest means like Blackpool could no longer afford to keep star players on their books. The club's decline was a long and protracted affair and for ten years they languished in Division Two (even returning briefly to Division One in the 1970/71 season).

blackpool crest 1979 The fashion for modernism during the late-Sixties and Seventies was reflected in the decision to drop the traditional crest. Plain shirts became the order of the day until a simple monogramme appeared in 1970. This was replaced in 1979 with a semi-abstract representation of Blackpool Tower standing above waves.

In the first part of the Seventies, Blackpool regularly finished in the top ten of Division Two but in 1978, they dropped into the Third Division for the first time in their history. The return of one their most famous sons, Alan Ball, in February 1980 could not halt the decline and a year later Ball was sacked as the club headed into the Fourth Division. blackpool crest 1987

The Seasiders spent the Eighties languishing in the lower two divisions while their debts mounted to such an extent that their future was in serious doubt. The team was rescued from bankruptcy when it was bought by local millionaire estate agent, Owen Oyston. Yet another new crest was introduced, incoporating a seagull on a tangerine backgound superimposed on a red, Lancashire rose.

In 1990 Blackpool were struggling near the foot of the Fourth Division when Assistant Manager Billy Ayre took over and the team began a run of 13 consecutive home wins that helped secure a place in the play-offs. Beaten in the final they made the play-offs again the following season and this time were succesful in a final decided on a penalty shoot-out, and were promoted into the new Division Two (third tier). The Nineties brought a welcome return of the club's traditional crest.

blackpool crest 1993 Oyston was jailed for serious offences (not related to his role in the football club) in 1996 but his family, firstly through wife Vicki and then son Karl, retained their interest and kept the club afloat.

The Seasiders spent time in the lowest two divisions until the 2006/07 season when they were promoted to The Championship (second tier) via the League One play-offs.

I am grateful to Gerry Wolstenholme and Peter Gillatt who have added considerable detail to this section.

Historical Football Kits

Kit History

Background

Sources