Historical Football Kits

 

Rotherham United

Formed 1877

Elected to Division Two 1919

Kit History

1900-1901 a

1906-1907 a

1912-1916 a

1922-1923 a

1924-1925 a

1925-1926 b

1928-1934 b

1934-1937 a

1946-1947 a

1947-1948 a

1950-1951 a

1951-1957 a l

1958-1959 a

1959-1960 a

1960-1962 a

1963-1966 a

1966-1967 a

1968-1969 g

1969-1971 a e g

1971-19726 k

1972-1975 a g k

1975-1976 a g k

Bukta

1976-1977 k

Admiral

1977-1980 k

Hobott

1980-1981 a

Hobott

1981-1982 j

Patrick

1982-1983 a

Patrick

1983-1986 f

Spall

1986-1987 h

Spall

1987-1988 h

Bukta

1989-1990 a h

Bukta

1990-1991 h

Matchwinner

1991-1992 a h i

Matchwinner

1993-1995 c h

Le Coq Sportif

1995-1996 a

Le Coq Sportif

1997-1998 c

Bodyline

1998-2000 c

Bodyline

2000-2002 c

Bodyline

2002-2003 c

Bodyline

2003-2004 c

Bodyline

2004-2005 c

Nike

2005-2006 d

Crest Teamwear

2006-2007 d

Crest Teamwear

2007-2008 d

 

Background

The club was formed as Thornhill United. For many years the leading team in the area was Rotherham Town, who spent three seasons in the Football League while Thornhill United were still playing in the Sheffield & Hallamshire League. By the turn of the century, however, Rotherham Town had resigned from the Football League and briefly gone out of business before joining the Midland League. Meanwhile, Thornhill's fortunes were on the rise to the extent that in 1905 they laid claim to being the pre-eminent club in the town and changed their name to Rotherham County. For a period both clubs competed in the Midland League, finishing first and second in 1911-12. When the Great War ended, it was decided to extend The Football League by creating four new places in Division Two. Rotherham County, who had been champions of the Midland League in 1915 before the competition was suspended, were elected to one of the vacancies.

The Second Division was rather too tough for the Yorkshire side and in 1923 they were relegated to Division Three (North). In 1925 the club finished bottom and had to apply for re-election. Rotherham Town were themselves struggling and it was clear that to have two professional clubs in the town was not sustainable. Talks had begun in February 1925 and in early May the two clubs merged to form Rotherham United. Days later the reformed club was formally re-elected under its new name.

In a new amber and black strip, United may have begun with optimism but the new club fared little better than the old one. The now familiar red and white was adopted around 1928 but there was no improvement in the club's fortunes: in 1931 they again had to apply for re-election. Immediately after the Second World War things looked up. After adopting Arsenal-style white sleeved shirts, United finished as runners-up three time in succession between 1947 and 1949 and then were champions of Division Three (North) in 1951. In 1955 they finished third in Division Two, the closest they have ever come to winning promotion to the top level. The club held on to its place in Division Two until 1968 and then went into a decline that took them down to Division Four in 1973. In 1975 they were promoted back to the Third Division winning the championship in 1981 and returning briefly to Division Two. By 1988, United were again in Division Four but won the Division title at the first attempt. During the 1990s Rotherham were promoted and relegated between the lowest two divisions with some regularity but successive promotions in 2000 and 2001 took them back to what had now become Nationwide Division One.

Sources