Sheffield Wednesday

Kit History

1871-1881 a k n

1889-1890 a k

1890-1891 a

1891-1899 a b g k

1900-1904 a e k

1905-1910 a b k

1910-1915 a k

1920-1921 a k

1921-1922 a

1922-1923 a

1925-1929 a k

1932-1933 a

1934-1935 k

1935-1939 b f k

1939-1940 a k

1942-1943 a k

1945-1946 a h k

1946-1947 a b k

1948-1949 a k

1949-1953 d k

1954-1955 a

1955-1958 b d i k

1959 i

1960-1961 i

circa1960 i

circa1961-1962 i

circa 1962 i

circa 1963 i

circa 1964 k

1965-1972 a d i k

1972-1973 d l

1973-1974 l

Umbro

1974-1975 l

Umbro

1975-1977 l

Bukta

1977-1978 l

Bukta

1978-1981 c d h i l

Bukta

1981-1984 c h

Umbro

1984-1986 c

Umbro

1986-1987 c

Umbro

1987-1988 c j

Umbro

1988-1989 c

Umbro

1989-1991 c j m

Umbro

1991-1992 c

Umbro

1992-1993 c

Puma

1993-1995 c

Puma

1995-1997 c j

Puma

1997-1999 c

Puma

1999-2000 c

Puma

2000-2001 c

Diadora

2001-2003 c j

Diadora

2003-2005 b j

Diadora

2005-2007 b

Lotto

2007-2008 b

Background

Sheffield is the crucible of football, boasting the world's oldest clubs, Sheffield FC and Hallam FC formed in 1857 and 1860 respectively. On Wednesday 4th September 1867 the Wednesday Cricket Club formed a football branch to keep members together during the winter season. The cricket club played on Wednesday afternoons when members, mostly craftsmen, had a half day off work. The new club was officially named The Wednesday Cricket & Football Club. Although they were frequently referred to as Sheffield Wednesday, the club did not formally adopt this title until 1929.

In their first ever game, The Wednesday defeated the Mechanics Club by three goals and four "rouges" to nil. Under "Sheffield Rules", the goal posts were four yards apart and a second pair of vertical posts stood four yards to either side. If the ball passed between these outer posts and was touched down by the attacking side, a rouge was scored: if teams finished level on goals, the one with the most rouges was the winner. The club's colours were royal blue and white although this was before the introduction of uniform kits. Players wore whatever they had to hand and adorned by royal blue caps, scarves or sashes. The club has retained these colours thoughout its long history.

By 1883 the club was one of the strongest in the country and the footballers split from the cricket club arguing that they earned all the money while the cricketers merely spent it. In 1886 the club secretary forgot to submit Wednesday's application to the English FA Cup in time and several leading players defected to a local works side, Lockwood Brothers FC in order to play in the competition. They then threatened to form a breakaway professional club, Sheffield Rovers, but after protracted negotiations they were persuaded to return to The Wednesday in return for payment of 5 shillings (25p) per home game and 7/6d (37.5p) for an away game. On 22 April 1887, The Wednesday formally became a professional team.

Wednesday were overlooked when the Football League was founded in 1888 so the club president formed the rival Football Alliance in 1889, winning the championship at the first attempt. In 1892 the Alliance was incorporated into the Football League as Division Two and in the process The Wednesday were elected to play in Division One. After two consecutive semi-final appearances The Wednesday won the English FA Cup in 1896. After a single season in Division Two (1898-99) the club were First Division champions in 1903 and 1904 and won the FA Cup again in 1907.

In 1920 the club were again relegated but returned as Division Two champions in 1926 and went on to win consecutive Division One titles for the second time (1929 and 1930). Around 1929 the club formally adopted the title of "Sheffield Wednesday." In 1935 they won the FA Cup for the third time but only two years later, they were back in Division Two.

In the final year of wartime competition (1945-46), Wednesday were unable to obtain their traditional vertical blue and white shirts so played in hooped jerseys instead, a style they had previously worn in the reign of Queen Victoria.

During the 1950s, the "Owls" (the club's home is in the Owlerton district of Sheffield) were promoted and relegated between the top two divisions with bewildering frequency while the 1960s were spent in the First Division and included an FA Cup final appearance in 1966. This period saw the only departure from Wednesday's traditional stripes when a smart blue shirt with white sleeves was adopted. In 1970 Wednesday were relegated and in 1975 they dropped into the Third Division for the first time. In 1980 they were promoted back to Division Two and only four years later the club was back in the First Division. Apart from one season in Division Two (1990-91), Wednesday became firmly established at the top for the next twenty years until 2000 when they began another downward cycle that brought them to the depths of Nationwide Division Two (the old Third Division) in 2003.

There is little doubt that a club of such pedigree will return to the top level, the only question is how long it will take.

Historical Football Kits

Kit History

Background

Sources