Replica kits? Long before Leeds: readers trace shirt-wearing back to the 1950s

Last week The Guardian's Knowledge column suggested Leeds United led the way when fans first started wearing replica kits in 1973 – with the caveat that earlier examples existed. Readers have since responded in force, and the archives they have dug out push the story back well into the 1960s and even the 1950s.

“I had an Umbro Brazil strip in 1970 – I was eight – and a Celtic one before that,” said Janette and Brian Kidd. “Even earlier – five or six years old – my brother and I were given football socks to wear when we played football. Strips didn't seem to exist then. They weren't sold by clubs. But they did have badges and sometimes numbers of the great players. Nor were they worn anywhere but on a football pitch!”

Their recollections underline how informal early replica kits could be – and the Brazil shirt offers a fascinating twist. The official Brazil kit was not sold commercially during the 1970 World Cup, so the Umbro garment worn by fans almost certainly differed from the one issued to players. As an interesting aside, Brazil's 1970 team wore two different shirts during the tournament, made by two different companies: an Athleta shirt from a Brazilian manufacturer and an almost-identical Umbro kit, the only noticeable differences being the manufacturer's tag in the collar and a slight variation in the shape of the numbering. Throughout the tournament, Pelé, Jairzinho and co would wear the Athleta shirt in the first half, then swap to Umbro in the second – except during the final, where they wore the Umbro shirt from the start, all the way to the final whistle.

A George Best shirt with grass stains included

Andy Wainwright pushed the timeline back further: “While I can't nail down the exact year, it was around 1970 when I had a full (kid's) Nottingham Forest replica kit for Christmas. This predates Leeds in 1973.” Simon Crompton went further still, showcasing what could be one of the oldest surviving examples: “Please find pictures of my Umbro Manchester United child football kit, circa 1967, complete with grass stains,” he wrote. “It may not have had any official branding but when I wore it I was, of course, George Best. I passed it to my daughter explaining its significance, but hastily reclaimed it when she outgrew it.”

Club merchandise was reaching far beyond the terraces, too. “It wasn't at a match but Alan Hull famously appeared on the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1971 wearing a Newcastle shirt,” noted John Morrow. Another reader recalled: “I bought a replica Chelsea 1965 shirt from Frank Blunstone's sports shop in Lavender Hill, Battersea, that same year. He was, of course, a former Chelsea player [and aged 91, the current longest-surviving England senior international].”

Keith Foster's first Liverpool kit came in 1969: “John Bennett's on the Old Kent Road had all the top teams' kits, home and away. All probably unofficial. But kids have always wanted these. All my friends at school had replica kits of their favourite teams, but no one wore them to games. Firstly, it's usually too cold to watch a game in just a shirt, and in the hooligan days, you'd be putting a target on your back. I used to go to Liverpool games in London with just an easily foldable silk scarf in my pocket. Better to be incognito!”

Pop culture offered further proof. “In the 1969 film Kes, Brian Glover is wearing his 'Bobby Charlton kit' and one of the kids has a Burnley shirt on,” noticed Roger Kirkby. “Being a kid myself back then I can remember several eight or nine-year-olds wearing the West Ham away shirt when playing football. They were definitely about [in] the mid-60s.”

Back to the 1950s

The most extreme example, though, comes from David Crowe: “I'm reminded of an anecdote recounted by Michael Parkinson (I think in his book Football Daft), in which he tells of a Barnsley FC supporter in the 1950s who faithfully turned up to matches with a full kit of the time under his outdoor clothes,” he wrote. “He dreamed of the day when Barnsley would be a man short and would appeal to the crowd to find someone to step in. Sadly for him – but probably not for Barnsley – hi[s dream]...”

And if certificates of authenticity were needed, Frank Close supplied one: “In 1959 as a 14-year-old in Wilmslow, my summer holiday job was packing Manchester United kit into boxes as potential Christmas presents for children. Until today, I hadn't realised I was part of history.”