Millwall
Formed 1885
Founder member of Division Three 1920
Kit History
1885-1886 a c
1886-1887 i
1887-1888 b c
1888 i
circa 1889 c
circa 1890-1892 c
1892-1893 i
1893-1894 c
1894-1895 c
1896-1897 c
1899-1900 c
1900-1906 c
1907-1911 c
1911-1933 c
1933-1935 c f
1935-1936 c
1936-1939 c
1945-1946 (1) c i
1945-1946 (2) i
1945-1946 (3) i
1946-1949 d h
1949-1950 g h i
1950-1953 h
1953-1954 i
1955-1956 h
1956-1957 h
1957-1959 h
1959-1960 i
1960-1961 h
1961-1964 d h
1964-1965 h
1965-1967 a h
1967-1968 h
1968-1972 d h k
1972-1973 d h
1973-1974 h k
1974-1975 h
1975-1977 h l
1977-1978 d h l
1978-1980 e h l
1980-1981 b h
1981-1982 h
1982-1983 h
1983-1984 d h
1984-1985 b h
1985-1986 b h
1986-1987 b h
1987-1989 b h
1989-1990 b h j
1990-1991 b h j
1991-1992 b h j
1992-1993 early b
1992-1993 late b h j
1993-1994 b h j
1994-1996 b h
1996-1997 b h
1997-1999 d h i
1999-2001 b h
2001-2003 d
2003-2004 d j
2004-2005 d j
2005-2006 a
2006-2007 a
2007-2008 a
Background
Millwall Rovers were originally a works side, formed in the summer of 1885 by workers at Morton's Jam Factory on the Isle of Dogs. Since most of the staff were emigre Scots, the natural choice was to play in navy and white, aside from a brief period when the club adopted striped jerseys between 1890-92.
Rovers became Millwall Athletic in 1893 and turned professional, joining the Southern League where they were to become a leading side, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 1903. The team wore a distinctive all-navy kit with a white stripe sewn into their britches until 1896. In 1910 the club, now known simply as Millwall, relocated to The Den in New Cross, south of the Thames. In 1920, along with the rest of the Southern League Division One clubs, Millwall became founder members of the new Division Three.
In 1928, "The Lions" were promoted to Division Two and managed to consolidate until, following the death of their manager, Bob Hunter, morale went to pieces and Millwall were relegated in 1933. In 1936 the club dropped navy blue in favour of royal blue shirts emblazoned with a red lion badge. The new image seemed to do the trick."The Lions" returned to Division Two in 1938 but their progress was cut short when the League was suspended during World War Two. In 1948, Millwall were relegated back into Division Three (South) and ten years later, when the regional divisions were scrapped, the club found itself in Division Four.
In the early Sixties, wearing white shirts with a blue chest band, Millwall battled their way back to Division Two, setting a record of 59 home League games without defeat in December 1966. In 1972 the Lions narrowly missed out on promotion to Division One, finishing in third place. Three years later they were back in Division Three but bounced back straight away, only to drop back again in 1979. Fortunes changed in 1985 when the club were promoted back into the Second Division. In 1988, Millwall won the Second Division championship to take their place in the First Division for the first time. After a creditable 10th place finish in 1989, it all went wrong and Millwall were relegated in 1990.
In May 1993 the club moved into a new 20,000 all seater stadium at Senegal Fields, christened the New Den. With Mick McCarthy in charge, Millwall were regularly challenging for promotion but the side became unsettled when, in 1995, McCarthy left to manage the Republic of Ireland. A year later Millwall were relegated to Nationwide Division Two (the old Third Division). In January 1997 trading in Millwall's shares was suspended and the club went into administration. A rescue package was put in place and the club survived.
Four year later, in 2001, Millwall returned to Nationwide Division One and narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premiership the following season, losing out in the play-offs. In October 2003 Dennis Wise and Ray Wilkins took charge and, after a remarkable run, Millwall reached their first ever FA Cup Final in May 2004, losing 0-3 to Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium. Once Wise and Wilkins moved on, success was hard to find and in 2006, the Lions were relegated from the Championship to League One (once the Third Division).
Sources
- (a) Millwall Official Website
- (b) Millwall Club History
- (c) Millwall FC 1885-1939 - Images of Sport (Chris Bethell, David Sullivan & Millwall FC Museum)
- (d) empics
- (e) Football Focus
- (f) The Football Encyclopaedia (Associated Sporting Press 1934) Information provided by Arthur Fergus
- (g) Pete's Picture Palace
- (h) Millwall FC 1940-2001 - Images of Sport (Millwall FC Museum)
- (i) Bill Bridges
- (j) David King
- (k) Football League Review provided by Simon Monks
- (l) Alick Milne