Historical Football Kits

• Club
• Background
• Kits
• Sources

Southampton

Formed 1885

Founder member of Division Three 1920

Kit History

Background

The origins of Southampton FC lie with the Young Men's Association of St Mary's Church who founded St Mary's YMA FC in November 1885. The fledgling club won the Hampshire Junior Cup in 1887, their first honour.

By 1894 the club had grown sufficiently to join the Southern League and was renamed Southampton St Mary's FC. In 1896 the "St Mary's" suffix was dropped, although the club's nickname of "the Saints" recalls its church origins. Professionals were employed and the now traditional striped shirts appeared at this time. Between 1897 and 1899, Southampton won the Southern League championship three times in succession and reached the FA Cup final in 1900 and 1902. Southern League championships in 1901, 1903 and 1904 sealed The Saints reputation as one of the dominant clubs in the south but it was not until the Southern League was incorporated as Division Three in 1920 that they would play in the Football League.

Runners-up in their first season, Southampton won the Third Division (South) championship in 1921 to win promotion to the Second Division where they would remain for 31 years before relegation in 1953 to Third Division (South). Seven years later the Saints won the Third Division title (1960), reaching the FA Cup semi-final in 1963. In 1966 Southampton were promoted to the First Division for the first time in their history. They stayed at the top for eight years, qualifying for Europe twice, before dropping back into Division Two in 1974.

While still a Second Division side and with Lawrie McMenemy as manager, the Saints sensationally beat Manchester united 1-0 at Wembley to win the FA Cup in 1976. Two years later they were back in Division One and appeared in the League Cup final a year later with Alan Ball, enjoying an Indian summer ten years after winning a World Cup medal, playing a dominant role.

In 1983 unfashionable Southampton signed Kevin Keegan, twice voted European Footballer of the Year, from Hamburger SV, a stunning coup for McMenemy. In 1984 the Saints were runners-up in Division One and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup. McMenemy left in 1985 and without his leadership, the Saints have never quite threatened to win serious honours. On the other hand, the club has remained in the top division, despite several narrow relegation escapes, and in 2003 they reached the FA Cup final for the fourth time.

In the summer of 2001 the Saints left the Dell, their home since 1898, to move into the new St Mary's Stadium, very close to the church where they began. In their final games at the Dell, the Saints wore the red and white quartered shirts worn by the original St Mary's club. Unusually, the club has not had a contract with any of the major kit manufacturers since 1999, preferring to market replicas under their own brand name.

Sources

• (a) Up the Saints - an independent site with a good historical section and comprehensive graphic guide to the club's crest over the years
• (b) The Saints - a complete record of Southampton Football Club 1885-1987 (Gary Chalk and Duncan Holley 1987)
• (c) Sporting Heroes
• (d) Official Southampton FC Site
• (e) Nineteen66 Rare Football Memorabilia
• (f) Kuen-Wah Cheung
• (g) David King
• (h) True Colours 2 (John Devlin 2007)
• (i) Alick Milne
• (j) Football League Review
• (k) Andrew Bartlett