Kit History
1876-1879 A
1888-1889 A
1907-1911 A
1911-1912 A
1912-1913 A
1913-1915 A
1915-1916 A
1916-1918 A
1920-1921 A 1
1920-1921 A 2
1921-1923 A
1923-1932 A
1930-1934 3rd
1933-1934 A
1934-1937 A
1937-1949 A
1949-1950 Cup
1950-1951 A
1951-1952 A
1954-1956 A
1959-1961 A
1959-1961 A alt
1961-1965 A
1965-1968 A
1967-1968 A
1968-1969 A
1969-1971 A
1971-1972 A
1974-1975 A
1975-1976 A
1975-1976 3rd
1978-1982 A
1982-1984 A
1984-1987 A
1987-1988 A
1990-1992 A
1992-1993 A
1993-1994 A
1994-1995 A
1994-1995 Eur
1995-1996 A
1996-1997 A
1996-1997 3rd
1997-1998 A
1998-1999 A
1999-2000 A
1999-2000 3rd
2000-2001 A
2000-2002 3rd
2001-2002 A
2002-2003 A
2002-2003 3rd
2003-2004 A
2003-2004 3rd
2004-2005 A
2004-2005 A
2005-2006 A
2005-2006 3rd
2006-2007 A
2006-2007 3rd
2007-2008 A
2007-2008 3rd
2008-2009 A
2008-2009 3rd
2009-2010 A
2009-2010 3rd
Background
The first pictorial evidence we have of Rangers wearing a change kit comes from 1877 (see photo left). The white jerseys carry a six-pointed star and are believed to belong to a rowing club that several Rangers' players were members of. Also of interest are the elegant hooped hose, probably made of cotton and much lighter in manufacture than the thick woolen stockings that became standard in the 1880s.
The sparse information HFK has managed to uncover to date suggests that when Rangers needed to change, they wore white shirts with their usual white knickers and home stockings until 1921.
In 1921 Rangers' light blue home shirts became royal blue and black shorts were adopted to wear with the usual white change shirts. This simple colour scheme held until 1938 when old-fashioned one inch hoops in blue and white were adopted.
The 1950s are rather confusing: Rangers normal blue shirts were augmented with a red, white and navy blue horizontal band for some Scottish League Cup and FA Cup games. Red shirts were adopted in 1950 when a change was needed and these were augmented with a blue and white band the following season. A white version, with a red and blue band also appeared. Dates are not yet confirmed so please contact HFK if you can assist.
During the 1960s Rangers wore blue and white striped shirts when a change was needed. We have a gap in our records between 1968 and 1978 but when in 1978 Umbro introduced their smart blue home shirts with white collars, trimmed in red and blue, they produced a red version as well. Between 1982 and 1992 the team's change kits were basically white shirts with blue shorts trimmed with red although the 1987-88 strip, diagonal red and white halved tops with black shorts, broke the mould.
Given the pressure to disassociate the Old Firm clubs from their sectarian pasts that gathered momentum in the 1990s, the decision to adopt an orange and navy blue change kit in 1993 might be considered insensitive (given the obvious associations with the Orange Order) but over the next five seasons the team wore "neutral" red, white and black strips.
In the new millenium most change kits have involved a reworking of Rangers' traditional blue, white and red colours with white predominant, with a couple of interesting third kits in different colours.
Sources
Rangers Home Kits- A = Away (change) kit
- 3rd = Third choice kit
- alt = Alternate kit
- eur = European Change Kit