Crystal Palace
Formed 1905
Founder member of Division Three 1920
Kit History
1905-1907 b
1907-1908 c
1909-1910 c
1911-1912 c
1912-1913 c g
1914-1915 c
1920-1923 b h m
1923-1924 h
1925-1926 c
1926-1929 b j
1930-1931 c
1933-1934 c
1935-1936 c g
1937-1938 c g
1938-1940 b
1946-1948 c
1948-1949 c
1949-1954 b
1955-1957 c m
1957-1958 c
1958-1959 b
1959-1963 b
1962-1963 b
1963-1964 b
1963-1964 late c
1964-1966 b
1966-1967 b
February 1967 m
1967-1969 b
1969-1971 b
1971-1972 b h
1972-1973 b
1972-1973 late h
1973-1974 b k
1974-1975 b
1975-1976 b
1976-1977 b
1977-1980 b
1980-1983 b
1983-1984 b
1984-1985 b
1985-1986 b h
1986-1987 b
1987-1988 b l
1988-1990 b l
1990-1991 d l
1991-Dec1992 d g l
Dec1992-1993 i l
1993-1994 d l
1994-1995 b l
1995-1996 b h l
1996-1998 b
1998-1999 b
1999-2000 d i l
2000-2001 h
2001-2002 e
2002-2003 e
2003-2004 f h
2004-2005 f i
2005-2006 f
2005 Centenary c l
2006-2007 f
2007-2008 f
2008-2009 f n
2009-2010 f
Background
The original
Crystal Palace FC was formed in 1861 and took part in the first ever FA
Cup competition in 1871. They did not compete after 1876 and it must be
assumed that they closed down. There is no connection with the present-day
club which was founded in 1905.
FA Cup finals were regularly staged at the Crystal Palace stadium which stood in the shadow of the magnificent glass and iron Great Exhibition centre, which had been dismantled and re-erected in the South London park that now bears its name. Workers from the site itself decided to form a football club to play regularly in this magnificent setting. A set of strips was donated by Aston Villa and claret and blue remained Palace's traditional colours (described as cardinal red and blue) until the 1970s.
The club joined the Southern League and became founder members of the new Third Division, winning the title at the first attempt. After four difficult years in Division Two, Palace dropped back into Division Three (South) in 1925 and remained there for the next 33 years. Their 1925 kits, incidentally, featured light blue stockings with claret tops, a pattern that did not otherwise appear until the mid-1950s. In the late 1930s the club adopted plain white jerseys in an attempt to change their fortunes but to no avail.
In 1958 Palace were in the new Fourth Division with little prospect of success. Clad in a distinctive white shirt with claret and blue bands, Palace won promotion in 1961. Towards the end of the 1963-64 season, they switched to playing in their "lucky" amber change kit for home games: this seemed to do the trick as they won promotion to Division Two. In 1964 Palace played Real Madrid in a friendly to celebrate the installation of their new floodlights. For the next two seasons they wore an all white kit similar to the European Champions before reverting to claret and blue. In 1969, Palace were promoted once again and took their place in Division One for the first time. Clearly out of their depth and with limited financial resources, Palace managed to stave off relegation for four years before they went into free-fall, and dropped straight down into the Third Division.
The charismatic Malcolm Allison was brought in in late 1973 and while he could not keep the club in the Second Division, he did transform them, laying the foundations for future success. Out went the old badge and nickname ("The Glaziers") to be replaced by the more dramatic "Eagles." The traditional claret and light blue colours were ditched in favour of red and blue - the colours of the original Crystal Palace club. After narrowly missing promotion three times, Allison called it a day and Terry Venables took over as manager. Venables steered Palace all the way back into the First Division with a side dubbed "the Team of the Eighties." They failed to live up to this reputation and were relegated in 1981 after only two seasons at the top. Venables left the club in his usual controversial circumstances and Palace, now almost bankrupt, descended into chaos.
The club's saviour turned out to be Steve Coppell, recently retired as a player and now in his first managerial job. Coppell brought stability and proved to be an outstanding judge of young talent. Many of the youngsters he signed for a pittance were sold on for multi-million pound transfer fees, bringing much needed revenue to the club. With Coppell in charge, Palace returned to the First Division in 1989 and the following year they reached the FA Cup final for the first time. A year later, Palace finished third behind Arsenal and Liverpool. In 1992, however, the club was relegated and Coppell resigned. Since then the club has moved between the two top divisions with bewildering regularity, sporting a a series of eye catching and original kits, not all of which have met with approval from fans. Their 2003-04 kit was, for example dubbed the "Ronald MacDonald" kit because of the hooped sleeves.
In 2005, the club's centenary year, a special kit, chosen by supporters and modelled on the classic 1971 kit was worn in a pre-season friendly and two home league games.
Sources
- (a) Club Colours (Bob Bickerton 1998)
- (b) Crystal Palace FC (Images of Sport - Revd Nigel Sands)
- (c) Classic Kits is run by Andy Burton and is extensively referenced throughout this site. Andy is a Palace fan and has extremely detailed information about their kits. Well worth a visit.
- (d) Sporting Heroes
- (e) empics
- (f) Crystal Palace Official Website
- (g) 100 Years of Crystal Palace (Nigel Sands 2005)
- (h) Andy Burton
- (g) Bjørn-Terje Nilssen
- (h) David London
- (i) David King
- (j) Peter Moor
- (k) Football League Review
- (l) True Colours 2 (John Devlin 2006)
- (m) Pete's Picture Palace
- (n) Fabrizio Taddei (Errea)