Historical Football Kits

• Club
• Background
• Kits
• Sources

Chesterfield

Formed 1867

Elected to Division Two 1899. Failed re-election 1908.

Founder member of Division Three (North) 1921.

Kit History

Background

Although there are claims that Chesterfield were formed in 1866, the club historian has cast doubt on this, citing October 1867 as the date on which the first Chesterfield club was founded. There is another view, supported by an excellent article in the club's comprehensive history section that the modern club was in fact formed as late as 1919.

The original Chesterfield's first match appears to have been against Garrick FC from Sheffield although the score is lost. The first reference to the club’s colours comes in the 1870-71 season when they are described as “blue shirts and caps with white trousers.”

Chesterfield is renowned for the famous crooked spire of St Mary’s and All Saints Parish Church and so the club is known to this day as “The Spireites.” In September 1881, the original club got into financial difficulties and was wound up.

In 1884 former members of the old team and a group of players from Spital FC formed a new club known as Chesterfield Town. They grew to local prominence, joining the Sheffield League in 1891 and winning it at the first attempt. It was during this period that the club turned out in shirts featuring the union flag, one of the most unusual playing kits of the era.

In 1897, Chesterfield Town stepped up to the Midland League finishing fourth, third and fourth before they successfully applied for admission to the Football League in 1899, when they became a limited company. They stayed in the Football League Division Two until 1908 when they were voted out having applied for re-election for the fourth season in a row.

The club returned to the Midland League where they enjoyed some success prior to the First World War but in 1915, faced with mounting financial problems, the club was wound up. A new Chesterfield FC was immediately formed by a local restaurateur, CW Everest, and competed in the Midland Combination with several "guest players" from Football League clubs. This club was disbanded in 1917 following a scandal over payments to players, following which 40 players and officials were suspended. (Clubs were not permitted to pay their players during the Great War). Shortly afterwards, the local council formed a sports committee, which resolved to form a new association football club that would be directly accountable to the electorate.

On April 24th, 1919, Chesterfield Municipal FC was formed but their start to the new season was far from auspicious, as they were thrown out of the FA Cup for fielding an ineligible player. In 1920, the club won the Midland League championship and under pressure from the FA, cut their ties with the council and became Chesterfield FC - the fourth club to have borne this name - and were chosen to join the new Northern Section of the Third Division of the Football League. In 1931 they won their divisional championship and returned to the Second Division after an absence of 23 years but they lasted only two seasons before relegation. In 1936, however, they won promotion for the second time and by the time war broke out they had established themselves firmly in Division Two.

In 1946 the familiar blue shirts, white shorts and blue stocking with white turnover were introduced. In 1951 Chesterfield were relegated back into Division Three (North). Ten years later they dropped into the Fourth Division and endured lean times during the 1960s, narrowly avoiding having to seek re-election on two occasions. In 1970 things began to look up and Chesterfield won the Fourth Division title. For the next 13 years the club bobbed along in the Third Division and even won the Anglo-Scottish tournament in 1981. Although this was a rather meaningless competition, 14,000 fans packed into Saltergate to watch the quarter-final with Glasgow Rangers.

Relegation in 1983 was followed by yet another Fourth Division title two years later. In the early 1990s the club was back in the Fourth Division and faced mounting financial and boardroom problems but their fortunes revived in 1995 when they won the play-offs to earn promotion to the new Second Division, beating arch-rivals Mansfield Town along the way.

In 1997 Chesterfield reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup where they took Middlesbrough to a replay after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the first match. In 1999 the club was relegated yet again but in 2000-01, seemed on course to win the Nationwide Third Division championship. In February, however, the FA announced an investigation into the affairs of club chairman Darren Brown, which resulted in a fine of £20,000 and nine points being deducted. Brown resigned and although they were deprived of the championship, the Spireites still achieved automatic promotion.

After Brown’s departure, the extent of the club’s huge debts was uncovered and the club was rescued from extinction by the formation of the Chesterfield Football Supporters Society, which raised £30,000 in subscriptions, and took over control.

Sources

• (a) Chesterfield FC Official Website includes some rare photographs and a detailed history of the club’s kits and is well worth a visit
• (b) Chesterfield Rivals Website
• (c) Doncaster Rovers FC - Images of Sport (Peter Tuffrey)
• (d) Football Cards
• (e) Bristol Rovers FC - Images of Sport (Mike Jay)
• (f) Scarborough FC - Images of Sport (Paul Eade 2002)
• (g) empics
• (h) The Mighty Mighty Whites
• (i) Association of Football Statisticians - provided by Pete Wyatt
• (j) David King
• (k) Alick Milne
• (l) Simon Monks
• (m) Football Shirt Culture