Historical Football Kits

On 5 March 1872 the world's first international association football match was played at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Glasgow, home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club. The Scottish selectors (Queen's Park's goalkeeper and captain) had hoped to include Lord Kinnaird (The Wanderers) and Henry Renny-Taylour (Royal Engineers) but neither was available so it was effectively the Queen's Park first team that turned out for Scotland while the English team comprised players from nine different teams. The Scottish players wore their navy blue club shirts adorned with a crest (which they would proudly wear in club games) and red cowls.

Navy and white would eventually become Scotland's established colours but not before other combinations were tried. In 1881 the team turned out in the primrose yellow and rose pink racing colours of Archibald Primrose, the 5th Earl of Rosebery, an important Scottish Liberal peer and devotee of the turf who became one of the Scottish FA's early patrons. The following year the team played in blue and white hoops before navy tops were restored in 1883, when the British Home Championship was inaugurated.

In 1900 Earl Rosebery's distinctive colours were reinstated but the lion rampant badge was replaced (at least for the match with England) with a crest depicting the Scottish thistle versus the English rose. Navy blue and white was reinstated between 1901 and 1904 and then the Scottish team played in yellow and pink until 1909. Rosebery's colours were then retired until after the Second World War. The lion rampant crest worn for most of this period had the initials of the teams involved at the top of the crest and the year printed below the lion.

The Scotland v England match played at Ibrox Park in 1902 was marred by the death of 26 spectators when a section of terracing collapsed. The match was suspended for 20 minutes, with most spectators unaware of the tragedy and was later declared void.

In February 1920 international football resumed after the hiatus of the Great War with the resumption of the British Championship. In common with the other British associations, the Scottish FA decided to boycott FIFA, and so missed the World Cup competitions of 1930 and 1934. Scotland played their first matches against non-British teams when they toured Norway, Germany and the Netherlands in May/June 1929. Thereafter they played regular friendly matches against European opposition until the outbreak of the Second World war in 1939.

Change kits would have been required for matches with Ireland (who wore blue until 1931), France (May 1930 & May 1932) and Italy (May 1931).