Leicester City
Formed 1884
Elected to Division Two 1894
Kit History
Leicester Fosse
1884
1884-1886 a
1886-1890 a
1890-1899 a e
1899-1900 h
1900-1901 a h
1901-1903 a h
1903-1904 h
1904-circa1907 a h
1907-1909 n
1910 n
1911-1912 h
1912-1913 a
1913-1915 a h
1915-1919 a
Leicester City
1919
1919-1920 a
1922-1923 g
1924-1925 n
1925-1934 a n
1934-1935? g
1935-1936 n
circa 1937-1947? a g
1947-1950 a d n
1952-1956 a n
1956-1961 a g
1961-1962 n
1962-1966 a g
1966-1969 a n
1969-1970 a f n
1970-1971 a
1971-1972 l
1972-1973 a
1973-1976 a g b l
1976-1978 f g l
1978-1979 b f l
1979-1983 a l m
1983-1984 a i m
1985-1986 a f
1986-1987 a f k
1987-1988 a f m
1988-1990 a k m
1990-1992 a f m
1992-1994 a
1994-1996 a f k
1996-1998 a
1998-2000 b m
2000-2001 a
2001-2002 c
2002-2003 c
2003-2005 c
2005-2006 c m
2006-2007 c
2007-2009 c k
2009-2010 c
2010-2011 c
Background
Leicester Fosse FC was founded
by a group of former public school pupils and members of a bible class
who met in the Emmanuel Church in Park Street. Their unusual name is derived
from a noted local landmark that dates from the Roman occupation, "Fosse"
being Latin for "fortified ditch." Indeed, their first game
was played on fields next to Fosse Road against Syston Fosse FC!
For seven years Leicester played only friendly matches and in cup competition but in 1888 they signed their first professional player, Harry Webb, who received 2/6d (12.5p) a week. In 1891, Leicester joined the Midland League along with local rivals Loughborough Town. After years of nomadic existence, the club finally settled into a new ground off Filbert Street that same year. Only three years later, the club was elected to Division Two of the Football League with the maximum 20 votes.
During these early years the club played in various shades of blue and white and it was not until 1903 that the royal blue shirts that would become traditional were adopted. In 1908, Fosse won promotion to Division One only to be relegated immediately.
During the First World War the club continued to play in war time competition and, because of a shortage of dye, turned out in striped shirts. These shirts continued to be worn briefly in peacetime. After World War One, the club adopted "City" in place of "Fosse." In 1925, Leicester won the Second Division championship and this time retained their place at the top level for ten years. Relegated in 1935, they bounced back again in 1937 only to be relegated once more in 1939.
When football resumed after the Second World War, Leicester remained a modest Second Division outfit but in 1949 they were beaten FA Cup Finalists while narrowly avoiding the drop into the Third Division. 1954 brought another Second Division championship followed by yet another immediate relegation. In 1957 City won the Second Division again and this time, narrowly retained their staus and became established as a First Division side. During the 1960s, City played in three FA Cup Finals, only to lose them all. There was some compensation when the club won the League Cup in 1964 beating Stoke City over two legs in the final.
In 1969 City were relegated once more but in 1971 the club won the Second Division championship yet again. This sojourn at the top lasted seven years and included one season (1972-73) when the traditional colours were dropped in favour of an all-white strip. Between 1978 and 1983, City were relegated and promoted with bewildering regularity. At this time the young Gary Lineker emerged, a striker who would go on to a glittering international career before returning to save the club from extinction.
Between 1987 and 1994, City played in the Second Division (Nationwide First Division from 1992) finally returning to the top level (now the Premiership) via the play-offs in 1994. Immediately relegated, City were back again the year after, once again by the play-off route. Between 1996 and 2002 City not only consolidated at the top level but also won the League Cup twice (1997 and 2000). A traumatic period followed in October 2002 when the club went into administration after dropping into Division Two. A consortium led by Gary Lineker took the club over and guided it back into the Premiership that same season. There was a huge controversy as rival clubs complained that, by going into administration, City had been protected from their creditors while consolidating its playing staff, thus gaining an unfair advantage. As a result, League rules have now been changed so that any club that enters administration has ten points deducted.
The club continued to rise and fall with extraordinary regularity between the top two tiers until 2008 when they were relegated to the third tier (League One) for the first time. They proved strong enough to win the League One title at the first time of asking. Their return to the Championship coincided with their 125th anniversary for which they adopted a special commemorative strip without sponsorship.
Sources
- (a) "Of Fossils & Foxes: The Official History of Leicester City FC" 2001
- (b) Sporting Heroes
- (c) Leicester City Official Website
- (d) Football Focus
- (e) Nineteen66 Rare Football Memorabilia
- (f) foxfanzine - run by Gary Silke with a terrific section on kit history, now sadly unavailable
- (g) Pete's Picture Palace
- (h) Association of Football Statisticians - provided by Pete Wyatt
- (i) Bjørn-Terje Nilssen
- (j) David King
- (k) Football Shirt Culture
- (l) Alick Milne
- (m) True Colours 2 (John Devlin 2006)
- (n) Keith Ellis