Historical Football Kits

 

Stockport County

Formed 1883

Elected to Division Two 1900. Failed re-election 1904.

Elected to Division Two 1905.

Kit History

1890 s u

1898-1899 u

1900-1905 o s

1905-1906 a o u

1906-1908 o r s u

1913-1914 u y

1914-1915 s u

1919-1920 x

1921-1922 u

1923-1924 s

1924-1925 u

1929-1930 s u

1931 b

1933-1934 s u

1934-1936 c e k m

1939-1940 u

1945-Sept1947 u

March 1947 u

1949-1953 u

1956-1959 p u

January 1958 A

Worn at home v Halifax 18 Jan 1958

1961-1962 u

1962-1963 d

1964-1965 e u

1965-1966 u

1966-1967

1967-1968 p

1968-1969 p

1969-1970

1971-1972 f

1972-1973 f p

1973-1975 u

1975-1976 w

Bukta

1976-1977 p w

Bukta

1977-1978 w

Bukta

1978-1979 (1) w

Admiral

1978-1979 (2) u

Adidas

1979-1980 h w

Adidas

1980-1982 w

Adidas

April 1982 s

Adidas

1982-1984 s

Bukta

1984-1985 u

Umbro

1986-1987 i

En-S

1987-1988 j

Ribero

1989-1990 n t z

Ribero

1990-1991 n t

Gola

1991-1992 l q t

Gola

1992-1993 l t

Super League

1993-1994 l

Super League

1994-1995 l t

M

1995-1996 l

Adidas

1996-1998 l

Adidas

1998-1999 l

Patrick

1999-2001 l

Patrick

2001-2002 l t

TFG Sports

2002-2004 l t

TFG Sports

2004-2006 a

TFG Sports

2006-2007 a

Diadora

2007-2008 a v

 

Background

Formed 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers by members of the Wycliffe Congregational Church, the club became simply Heaton Norris FC in 1888 before taking the name Stockport County in 1890 when the town became an independent county borough. The first known photograph shows the team wearing striped shirts at least two sizes too small - presumably they had shrunk at the laundry! This was also the year that the club turned professional. The area was the regional centre for the manufacture of headgear, an important industry at a time when every man and woman in the country owned at least one hat. Inevitably, the club became known as “The Hatters,” a nickname they share with Luton Town.

After a spell in the Football Combination, County joined the Lancashire League, finishing as champions in 1900 after which they were elected to Division Two along with Blackpool. One of the clubs they replaced was Luton, who did not seek re-election.

County's early career in the Football League was a disaster. After seeking re-election four times in succession, they lost their place to Doncaster Rovers in 1904 and joined the Midland League. The following season, they applied to rejoin the Football League but were unsuccessful. It was then decided to expand the League, creating four vacancies in the Second Division. On a second ballot, Stockport were successful while Doncaster lost their place.

The club struggled but only faced re-election again in 1913. In 1921 County, now playing in distinctive broad stripes, were relegated to the new northern section of the Third Division but they returned a year later, winning the championship by six points. In 1926 The Hatters were relegated and were stuck in Division Three (North) until 1937 when they returned briefly to Division Two.

During the 1930s the club adopted plain white shirts with black shorts but their fortunes did not improve. (The old gold and black kit worn at home at least once in January 1958 is something of an anomoly: this appears to have been the club's change kit at the time and may have been adopted as a temporary "lucky kit." In 1959, Stockport were relegated after a single season in the new national Third Division. Promotion came after the club returned to blue and white in 1967 but in 1970 they were back in the Fourth Division. Lean times followed and County had to apply for re-election in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1985. In 1979 the club adopted broad light blue and white stripes after Argentina's triumph in the World Cup: these were dropped in April 1982 after the outbreak of the Falklands War.

During the 1990s the club underwent a transformation. Promoted to Division Three in 1991, they reached the play-offs for the next three seasons and in 1997 won automatic promotion to Nationwide Division One (the old Second Division), the first time they had played at this level since 1937-38. After finishing in eighth place in 1998 the future seemed bright indeed but behind the scenes debts mounted. Inevitably a club with such limited resources could not afford to compete at this level: after relegation in 2002 they were back in the lowest division (now Coca Cola League Two) and facing bankruptcy.

In July 2005 the club’s owners, Cheshire Sport, sold their interests to the Stockport County Supporters’ Club, making County the latest in a growing band of community owned clubs. In 2006 County narrowly avoided relegation to the Conference and for the following season adopted a kit designed by their supporters.

Sources