Historical Football Kits

 

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Crawley Town

Formed 1890. Wound up 1935

Reconstituted 1938

Promoted to League Two 2011

Kit History

 

 

 

Crawley

 

1890

 

Wound up 1935

crawley fc 1890-96

1890*-1896 o

See notes
crawley town fc 1896-1901

1896-1900 a o

crawley town fc 1901-02

1900-1906 o q

1906-1920

crawley fc 1920-21

1920-1921 q

crawley town 1922-23

1922-1923 o

crawley town fc 1925-26

1925-1926 o q

1926-1935

 

 

 

Crawley

 

1938

crawley town fc 1938

1938-1939 a

Arrangement of quarters varied
crawley town fc 1946

1946 a

Various knickers & socks used
crawley town 1949-50

1949-1950 q

Various socks worn
crawley town fc 1938

1953-1954 a q

Black & white knickers worn
crawley town fc 1953

1954-c1957 a g

 

 

 

Crawley Town

 

1958

crawley town fc circa1957

1959-1961 a k

crawley town fc 1964-65

1964-1965 a

1965-1968

crawley town 1968-69

1968-1972 l n q

crawley town fc 1972-73

1972-1973 a

crawley town fc 1974-75

1974-1975 a

crawley town fc 1979-80

1979-1981 a

crawley town fc 1981-82

1981-1982 a

crawley town fc 1983-84

1983-1984 b

crawley town fc 1985-86

1985-1987 a n

crawley town 1987-88

1987-1988 n

crawley town 1988-89

1988-1989 b m

crawley town fc 1989-90

1989-1990 a

crawley town fc 1990-91

1990-1991 m

Umbro
crawley town fc 1991-92

1991-1992 a m

Umbro
crawley town fc 1993

1993-1994 a b m

Umbro
crawley town fc 1994-95

1994-1995 m

CRAWLEY TOWN FC 1995-96

1995-1996 a m

Playalaya
crawley town fc 1996-97

1996-1997 m

Shorts/socks tbc
Icis
crawley town fc 1997-98

1997-1998 n

Punch
crawley town fc 1998-99

1998-1999 m p

Punch
crawley town fc 1999-2000

1999-2000 m

Shorts/socks not confirmed
Prowear
crawley town fc 1999-2000

2000-2001 (1) a

Prowear
crawley town fc 2000-01

2000-2001 (2) a m

Prowear
crawley town fc 2001-02

2001-2002 a

Errea
crawley town fc 2002-03

2002-2003 i m

Errea
crawley town fc 2003-04

2003-2004 a h m

Errea
crawley town fc 2004-05

2004-2005 a h

Nike
crawley town fc 2005-06

2005-2006 a

Nike
crawley town fc 2006-07

2006-2007 a

Nike
crawley town fc 2007-08

2007-2008 c j

Vandanel
crawley town fc 2008-09

2008-2009 d

Vandanel
crawley town fc 2009-10

2009-2010 e

Lotto
crawley town fc 2010-11

2010-2011 d

Puma
crawley town fc 2011-12 home kit

2011-2012 f

Puma
crawley town fc 2012-13 home kit

2012-2013 f

Puma
crawley town fc 2013-14 home kit

2013-2014 f

Puma
crawley town fc 2014-15

2014-2015 f

Puma
crawley town fc 2015-16 kit

2015-2016 f

Puma
crawley town fc 2016-17

2016-2017 f

Errea
crawley town 2017-18

2017-2018 f

Errea
crawley town 2018-19

2018-2019 f

Errea
crawley town 2019-20 1st kit

2019-2020 f

Errea
crawley town fc 2020-21

2020-2021 f

Errea
crawley town 2021-22

2021-2022 f

Adidas
crawley town 2022-23

2022-2023 f

 

Background

crawley fc 1904Officially Crawley were formed in 1896 when they joined the West Sussex League transferring to the Mid-Sussex League in 1901. Richard Essen has recently (March 2015) discovered evidence that the club may have been founded earlier, in 1890 in fact. He points to a reference from 1896 that states, "A discussion arose as to the club colours, the Secretary pointing out that in league contests the club must play in distinctive colours and ultimately the old navy blue shirts were thrown over in favour of scarlet." This is corroborated by a minute from the Sussex County FA confirming that the club had been given permission to change their colours. Both references imply that Crawley FC was already in existence in 1896.

Further evidence has come to light (April 2016) from Stewart Hall who has found a report in the Surrey Mirror from 29 November 1890 on a game between Crawley and Lingfield that states "the first match played by Crawley club since its formation, came off on Saturday...ending in a win for the home team by four goals to two."

According to Noli Semper Cedere (Steve Leake 2021) the team wore red jerseys and white or black knickers until the club was disbanded in 1935. When the club was reconstituted in 1938 the team wore red and white quartered shirts.

A photograph of the team from 1946 show the players in scruffy dark shirts and a mixture of knickers and socks, possibly a scratch kit because of the rationing of clothing. The quartered tops reappeared at some point after this and in 1954 were replaced by hooped shirts. Photographs from this period show players wearing both white and black knickers as well as a variety of socks.

crawley town crest 1957Crawley continued to play at local level until 1951 when they joined the Sussex County League and in 1956 they joined the Metropolitan League. In that year Crawley Urban District Council was formed and in 1957 the new body was granted a coat of arms. This change of status was reflected by the football club who changed their name to Crawley Town in time for the 1958-59 season and wore what appears to be the new borough arms on their shirts (the graphic is an approximation).

Crawley remained amateur until 1962 when they became semi-professional before joining the Southern League First Division. In 1984 they were promoted to the Southern League Premier Division where they remained for the next twenty years.

crawley town fc crest circa 1996Because records are sparse, it is not clear when the club, which had become known as "The Red Devils", started to wear a crest on a permanent basis but certainly badges were regularly appearing after the mid 1980s although HFK does not have details. We do know, however, that the older crest was revived in 1995-96 in time for the club's centenary.

In 1991-92 the team defeated Northampton Town in the FA Cup and went on to reach the third round where they met neighbours Brighton & Hove Albion in a money-spinning tie at the Goldstone Ground in front of 18,000 supporters.

crawley topwn fc crest 2000In 1997 the council sold the Town Mead ground to property developers and moved the football club into the brand new Broadfield Stadium, which was also owned by the borough council and had a capacity just under 5,000.

We have reliable evidence of the crest worn at the start of the new millennium, worn on the Errea kits of the period. This featured a cartoon red devil bearing the modern Crawley coat of arms (which date from 1974) and a burst football impaled on his tripod.

crawley town fc crest 2005The crest was replaced in 2004 or 2005 with a central motif loosely based on the Crawley coat of arms. The central cross (representing the town's importance as a cross roads) is rendered in red rather than blue and a red devil replaces the lion sitting in the crown above the shield.

In 2004 Crawley were promoted to the Conference, having won the Southern League Premiership title along with the Southern League Cup and Championship Match Trophy. After a mid-table finish, the club became fully professional in 2005 but over-reached themselves and were only saved from liquidation in August 2006 by a last-minute rescue package. The following season Crawley just managed to retain their place despite a ten-point penalty, by securing a point in their final game.

A further six-point penalty was imposed the following season for financial irregularities but they again held on to their place in the Conference. In April 2008 Prospect Estate Holdings Limited took control of Crawley after buying it from the SA Group in conjunction with former owner John Duly. The club finished in ninth place but again were handed a four-point penalty (later reduced to one point) for fielding an ineligible player.

crawley town fc crest 2010In February 2010 the club once again faced extinction when HMRC brought another winding-up petition to the High Court over unpaid tax. The case was, however, dismissed a month later when the management were able to prove that the debt had in fact been paid. A slightly modified version of the crest was introduced in 2010-11.

After a season of consolidation, Crawley £1m debt was cleared and the owners made a large budget available to enable manager Steve Evans to assemble a squad to challenge for promotion to the Football League. The estimated £500,000 spent on the transfer market was more than offset by a remarkable FA Cup run that netted the club around £2m and ended with a tie at Old Trafford, when Manchester United snatched a 1-0 win. Because of this cup run, Crawley, sitting in second place in the Conference, had games in hand over leaders AFC Wimbledon and soon overtook them, finishing the season as comfortable champions with 15 points to spare.

The run-in to the Conference title was marred by the death of long-time supporter and co-owner Bruce crawley town fc crest 2011Winfield in March 2011: nineteen days after Winfield's death the club secured promotion to the Football League.

A brand new crest was unveiled in May with design elements intended to broaden the club's support. The rather obscure diamond motif on the top left represents aircraft taking off from Gatwick Airport while "West Sussex" is printed round the football on the right: "Noli Cedere" is Latin for "Never Give Up."

The team were promoted to League One at the end of their first season in the Football League but dropped back into the basement in 2015.

In 2022-23 Crawley Town earned the rather dubious distinction of becoming the first football team to wear a non-fungible token (NFT) on the front of their shirts.

You are welcome to Contact Me with corrections and additions.

Sources

Crests are the property of Crawley Town FC. Crest dates are subject to revision. Photograph courtesy of ctfchistory.co.uk