Historical Football Kits

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Brighton & Hove Albion

Formed 1901

Founder member of Division Three 1920

Kit History

Background

Towards the end of the nineteenth century Brighton grew in importance through association with the Prince of Wales who built the famous Brighton Pavilion and as a seaside retreat for Londoners. It was not until 1901, however, that a professional association football club was formed. The club immediately joined the Southern League Second Division, playing home games at the Sussex County Cricket ground, playing in what was described as "fisherman's blue." In the second year of their existence Albion were promoted to the Southern League First Division and moved into the Goldstone Ground in Hove, a genteel town adjoining Brighton itself. In 1904 they adopted the blue and white stripes that have become the club's trademark.

In 1911 Albion were Southern League champions and then defeated Aston Villa the champions of the Football League to win the Charity Shield and were dubbed, locally at least, "Champions of England." Ten years later, the Southern League First Division was absorbed into the Football League and Brighton became founder members of the new Third Division. It took 38 years for the club to win promotion but in the interim they earned a reputation as cup giantkillers, having beaten Everton, Sheffield United and Chelsea at the Goldstone Ground.

In the early 1930s records indicate that the club played in red, white and blue stripes but it has not been possible so far to establish exactly when this interesting combination was introduced or, indeed, dropped.

After the Second World War the club adopted a crest which comprised of the coat of arms of the twin towns of Brighton and Hove: this badge featured occasionally on players' shirts until 1970.

In 1958, Brighton won the Third Division South championship and for the next four seasons they played in Division Two only to fall all the way down to the Fourth Division in 1963. A change of strip had the desired effect in 1964-65 when Albion were Division Four champions with a remarkable average home gate of 18,000, proof of the potential drawing power of this south coast club. In 1972 they won promotion to Division Two for the second time but they were relegated immediately.

In 1973 the club's ambitious chairman, Mike Bamber, caught the national media's attention when he persuaded Brian Clough and Peter Taylor to take over fresh from guiding Derby County to the League championship. Clough moved on quickly but Taylor stayed to lay the foundation of a strong side. In 1974, wearing all-white (a kit worn for a single season four seasons earlier) the club was nicknamed "The Dolphins" (Brighton's coat-of-arms features the marine mammal) but this name did not stick.

Prior to a home game with their strongest rivals, Crystal Palace, visiting fans in the Bo'sun pub started a chant of "Eagles! Eagles!" A group of Brighton supporters responded with "Seagulls! Seagulls!" and this immediately became their recognised nickname. That season Alan Mullery took the team back into Division Two and the following year Albion narrowly missed out on promotion, Spurs taking the honours on goal difference. A new badge was introduced, featuring a seagull, which remained their official crest until 1998. At this time, an average of 25,000 fans packed themselves into the Goldstone Ground every other Saturday. In 1979, the club was promoted to the First Division where they would remain for four seasons. For some reason, the traditional striped shirts were abandoned during this period in favour of plain blue. In 1983, The Seagulls reached the FA Cup final and, despite having been relegated, famously held Manchester United to a 2-2 draw before crashing 0-4 in the replay.

Serious decline followed and in 1992, Brighton were relegated to the new Endsleigh Division Two, the old Division Three. This was the season that they adopted striped shorts to complement their striped shirts, a kit that was universally derided. Worse was to follow: a financial crisis led to the directors selling the Goldstone ground for development without a viable alternative stadium. Relegation followed and supporters mounted a two-year campaign to oust the board. In 1996 Albion narrowly avoided relegation to the Conference and almost certain oblivion in their final match. That year supporters created the Clubs in Crisis website, which has successfully mobilised community support not only for The Seagulls but for other League clubs faced with extinction because of the clash between financial interests and local supporters.

With a new board in control, a new badge was introduced to mark a fresh start in 1998 but nevertheless the club endured a two-year ground share arrangement with Gillingham FC, some 70 miles away in Kent. A campaign to return the club to their home town met with limited success when the temporary use of the Withdean Stadium was negotiated. While facilities were far from adequate, it did allow the club to return to Sussex in 1999.

Despite all these problems, Brighton is fortunate in having the strong support of the local community, which includes celebrity fans such as Norman Cook, otherwise known as DJ Fat Boy Slim, whose company, Skint Records, sponsors the club. After storming to successive championships 2001 & 2002, they climbed back to Nationwide Division One the old Second Division and have been moving between the second and third tier since then.

Meanwhile the campaign to secure a permanent home continues. In September 2007, some seven years after the first application for planning permission was submitted, and £1m spent on legal fees, work began on detailed construction plans for Brighton's new Falmer stadium.

Sources

• a Seagulls Official Website
• b Football Focus
• c The West Ham United Collection 2003
• e Rotherham United FC - Images of Sport Gerry Somerton & Chas Robinson 2000
• f Gillingham FC - Images of Sport Roger Triggs 1999
• g Aldershot Has It Website
• h Kit Classics
• i Football Cards
• j Crewe Alexandra FC - Images of Sport Harold Finch 1999
• k empics
• l Kuen-Wah Cheung
• m Seagulls - The Story of Brighton & Hove Albion Tim Carder and Roger Harris - information provided by Kuen-Wah Cheung
• n The Football Encyclopaedia Associated Sporting Press 1934 - information provided by Arthur Fergus
• o "Albion the First 100 years" Paul Camillin and Stewart Weir - information provided by Kuen-Wah Cheung
• p David King
• q Ralph Pomeroy
• r Alick Milne
• s Chris Worrall