Doncaster Rovers
Formed 1879
Elected to Division Two 1901. Failed re-election 1903.
Elected to Division Two 1904. Failed re-election 1905.
Elected to Division Three (North) 1923. Relegated to the Conference 1998.
Promoted from the Conference to Nationwide Division Three 2003.
Kit History
1879 a o
1883-1884 i
1884-1885 b i
1885-1886 i
1890-1891 o
1895-1897 b
1900-1901 d h
1901-1902 o
1902-1903 o
1904-1905 o
1905-1910 d h
1910-1911 o
1911-1912 b o
1912-1920 b i
1920-1921 b o
1921-1923 o
1923-1924 b
1924-1925 o
1926-1930 b i
1931-1932 o
1932-1933 b i
1933-1937 b
1938-1944 b i
1944-1947 o
circa 1945 o
1948-1950 b i
1950-1951 b o
1951-1952 o
1952-1953 b o
1953-1956 b i o
1956-1957 b o p
1957-1958 b o
1958-1959 b
1959-1960 b
1960-1961 i
1961-1962 b
1962-1963 b
May 1963 e
1963-1964 b
1964-1965 b
1965-1966 b
1966-1967 o
1967-1969 b n
1969-1972 f g
1972-1974 f i m n
1975-1976 b i m o
1976-1977 o
1977-1978 b m o
1978-1979 b m o
1979-1981 b o
1981-1982 i o
1982-1983 i o
1983-1984 b o
1984-1987 b o
1987-1988 b o
1988-1989 b i o
1989-1990 b o
1990-1991 b i o
1991-1992 o
1992-1993 b o
1993-1994 b
1994-1995 b o
1995-1996 k
1996-1997 b
Aug-Sept 1997 o
Aug-Sept 1997 alt o
Oct 1997-Apr 1998 k o
May 1998 b o
Aug 1998 o
Aug-Sept 1998 o
Sept 1998 o q
Oct '98-May '99 b g o
1999-2000 l o
2000-2001 b g j
2001-2002 g o
2002-2003 g o
2003-2005 c
2005-2006 c
2006-2007 c j
2007-2008 c
2008-2009 r
2009-2010 c
Background
In 1879 a group
of young apprentices from the LNER Railway Works in Doncaster organised
a football game against the Yorkshire Institute for the Deaf & Dumb, wearing unusual blue jerseys with yellow crossbands and blue Tam o' Shanters with red tassles.
They enjoyed themselves so much that they decided to form a club to be
known as Doncaster Rovers. According to the Official History the club wore blue and white between 1883 and 1885. After six years of playing
wherever they could, the club took up residence on the Intake Ground and
adopted scarlet jerseys in 1885-86. In 1888 Rovers
entered the FA Cup and were trounced 1-9 at home by Rotherham Town. In
1890 the club became founder members of the Midland Alliance and in 1891
they were elected to the Midlands League. After winning the championship
in 1897 and 1899, Rovers were elected to the Second Division of the Football
League in 1901, replacing New Brighton Tower. In 1903 Rovers finished
sixteen out of eighteen and were forced to apply for re-election. To their
dismay, they were voted out in favour of Yorkshire rivals Bradford City.
The club spent the next season in the Midland League and applied for election back to the Football League at the end of the 1903-04 season. They achieved 21 votes, enough to replace Stockport County who only received 11. The season was catastrophic, however, and Rovers finished rock bottom with a mere 8 points. They were voted out once more and although they had a second chance when another ballot was called to fill four vacancies in the expanded Second Division, they finished bottom of the poll. So it was back to the Midlands League and obscurity.
In August 1914 the club went into liquidation but a new company was formed almost immediately and took over the formers club's fixtures. When professional competition was suspended in 1915, the club closed down and the Intake Ground was taken over by the Army and used as a military depot. In the summer of 1920 Rovers were revived but were without a home ground as the Army were still using their former home. With the help of Doncaster Corporation, a new ground was built and named Belle Vue. Rovers application to the new Third Division (North) in 1921 was not successful but in 1923 the division was expanded and this time Doncaster's application was accepted.
In 1935, now wearing hooped shirts, Rovers were promoted to the Second Division where they lasted two seasons before being relegated. Immediately after the Second World War, the club won the Third Division (North) championship twice (1947, 1950 - they were relegated in 1948) and became established in the middle of the Second Division. Successive relegations in 1958 and 1959 took Rovers back down to the Fourth Division and in 1962 they had to apply for re-election. During the late 1960s Rovers twice won the Fourth Division title (1966 and 1969) but were relegated soon afterwards. Throughout the 1970s Doncaster were firmly stuck in the lowest division while in the 1980s they had two spells in the Third. In 1988 the club was relegated to Division Four. Finally, in 1998 the inevitable happened: Rovers finished bottom of the League and were relegated to the Conference, the third time they had lost League status.
After five seasons in the Conference, Rovers became the first club to gain promotion to the League via the new play-offs, going on to win the Nationwide Division Three title at the first attempt. In May 2008 Doncaster reached the play-off final where they unexpectedly beat Leeds United to earn a place in The Championship, England's second tier.
I am grateful to Christopher Worrall, an authority on Donny's kits, for his extensive input to this gallery.
Sources
- (a) Club Colours (Bob Bickerton)
- (b) Doncaster Rovers FC (Images of Sport: Peter Tuffrey)
- (c) Doncaster Rovers Official Website
- (d) Bjorkasen
- (e) Crewe Alexandra FC (Images of Sport - Harold Finch)
- (f) Football Cards
- (g) Alliance to Conference (John Harman 2005)
- (e) Rob Clark
- (f) Pete's Picture Palace
- (g) Football Focus
- (h) Association of Football Statisticians - provided by Pete Wyatt
- (i) Donny - The Official History of Doncaster Rovers - provided by Greger Lindberg.
- (j) Steven Holmes
- (k) David King
- (l) Charles Hirst
- (m) Alick Milne
- (n) Football League Review
- (o) Chris Worrall - HFK Research Associate
- (p) Simon Monks
- (q) Mark Holland
- (r) Football Shirt Culture