Historical Football Kits

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Coventry City

Formed 1883

Elected to Division Two 1919

Kit History

Background

The club was formed as a works team by employees of Singers, who manufactured bicycles. Singers FC adopted the corporate colours of black and red. In 1887, under the guidance of the club secretary, JG Morgan, "The Little Blackbirds" as they were nicknamed, moved into an enclosed ground and started charging 2d (less than 1p) admission. In 1891 and 1892, Singers won the Birmingham Junior Cup twice in succession and on the back of this success were admitted to the Birmingham & District League in 1894. In 1898, Singers FC became Coventry City and a year later the club moved into their present home at Highfield Road. Despite mediocre performances, Coventry achieved election the Southern League in 1908, having reached the second round of the FA Cup the previous season. After a disastrous first season, Coventry went all the way to the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1909. There was little further progress and when the First World War brought the suspension of professional football, Coventry were languishing in the Second Division of the Southern League.

In 1919, the Football League was expanded and Coventry succeeded in being elected to one of the vacant positions. For 12 years the club fought against relegation on the pitch and boardroom instability off it. As an experiment, the club briefly adopted the municipal colours of red and green in 1923, painting the offices and stands to match. Finally, in 1925, The Bantams (as they were then known), were relegated to Division Three (North). A year later they were transferred to the sothern section and they remained there until 1936.

In 1937, with the club now in Division Two, complaints in the local press about the scruffy state of players' blue and white halved shirts led to the introduction of distinctive new blue shirts with a broad white stripe and white sleeves. Although these were replaced after World War Two, this unusual design was revived in the mid-Fifties. In 1952, City were relegated back into Division Three (South) and in 1958 they were placed in Division Four when the regional divisions were scrapped, achieving promotion after only one season.

In November 1961, the flamboyant Jimmy Hill was appointed manager. As general secretary of the Professional Footballers' Association, Hill had led the campaign that brought about the abolition of the maximum wage. He now set about a root and branch reorganisation of Coventry City. A new all-sky blue strip was introduced, the first time that matching shirts and shorts were worn (aside from white). Meantime the ground was modernised, young fans were encouraged to meet the players and collect autographs while chartered "Sky Blue Special" trains took fans to away fixtures. Hill proved to be just as shrewd with his players, leading them to the Third Division championship in 1964 and then in 1967, City clinched the Division Two title.

Two days before their first ever game in Division One, Hill left to start a new career in television and most pundits wrote off the club's chances of retaining their place at the top. The Sky Blues proved to be inveterate survivors, surviving relegation scraps year after year. Three times they appeared in the top seven (1970, 1978 and 1989) and in 1987 they had their finest hour, when they came from behind to beat Spurs and win the FA Cup, the clubs only major trophy.

Coventry have always been innovative in their choice of playing strips. The most controversial was the so-called "Talbot strip" of 1982. Shirt sponsorhip had recently been accepted by the Football League but was banned in matches televised by the BBC. The blatant use of the Talbot logo as the main theme of the strip led to the BBC refusing to cover City's matches until they introduced an alternative strip worn only when the cameras were present.

In 2001, Coventry's 34 year stay in the top flight came to an end when relegation to (Nationwide) Division One finally overtook the club. Only three other clubs have stayed at the top level for longer.

Sources

• (a) Coventry City: An Illustrated History (Jim Brown 2002)
• (b) Sporting Heroes
• (c) Coventry City Official Website
• (d) Classic Kits
• (e) Football Focus
• (f) Pictures of Coventry
• (g) The Football Encyclopaedia (Associated Sporting Press 1934) - information provided by Arthur Fergus
• (h) Bjørn-Terje Nilssen
• (i) Pete's Picture Palace
• (j) David King
• (k) Derek Hart
• (l) True Colours 2 (John Devlin 2006)
• (m) Craig Mark Sully
• (n) Football Shirt Culture
• (o) Paul Bates
• (p) Jon Jones
• (q) Phil Arnold
• (r) Coventry City A-Z - features a fine set of early team photographs

Photograph courtesy of Coventry City A-Z