Historical Football Kits

 

Hull City

Formed 1904

Elected to Division Two 1905

Kit History

1904 c

1904-1909 a c h

1909-1910 h

Corroboration needed

1910-1914 c h

1914-1915 h

Corroboration needed

1918-1919 c

1919-1921 a

1922-1934 a c l

1934-1935 a

1935-1936 b c

1936-1939 a c

1946-1947 c o

May 1947-1948 a o

1948-1957 a m

1957-1960 a

1960-1964 a c

1964-1965 a c

1965-1968 a c

1968-1969 a c

1969-1971 a c

1971-1972 g

1972-1975 a c

Europa

1975-1976 j q

Europa

1976-1978 a g j q

Europa

1978-1979 a j q

Europa

1979-1980 j q

Adidas

1980-1982 a p

Admiral

1982-1983 a k

Admiral

1983-1984 f k

Admiral

1984-1986 a

Admiral

1986-1987 a e

Admiral

1987-1988 a e

Matchwinner

1988-1989 a r

Matchwinner

1989-1990 e r

Matchwinner

1990-1992 a e i

Matchwinner

1992-1993 a c

Matchwinner

Aug- Dec 1993 a c

Pelada

Jan-May 1994 a c i

Pelada

1994-1995 a c

Super League

1995-1997 a

Super League

1997-1998 c

Olympic Sports

1998-1999 c i r

Avec

1999-2000 c i

Avec

2000-2001 c i

Patrick

2001-2002 c

Patrick

2002-2004 d

Diadora

2004-2005 d

Diadora

2005-2006 d

Diadora

2006-2007 b e

Umbro

2007-2008 b

Umbro

2008-2009 b

Umbro
hull city 2009-10

2009-2010 b

 

Background

The Tigers were formed in July 1904, too late to apply to join a league so the club played friendly matched during their first season, submitting an application to join the Football League the following year. At the time, the Football League's policy was to encourage the development of professional association football in Yorkshire, a stronghold of Rugby League. Hull's application was initially rejected but then it was decided to expand the two divisions by two clubs each, which resulted in four vacancies in the Second Division. On a second ballot, Hull were accepted.

In 1909, Hull's characteristic amber and black stripes were replaced with an all-black kit, the only time that a league side has registered all-black as their first choice kit.

The years leading up to the First World War saw Hull City's strongest League performances and in 1910 they narrowly missed out on promotion to Division 1 on goal average. Between the Wars, Hull carved out a reputation as formidable Cup fighters, reaching two quarter-finals and in 1930 the semi-final. Sadly this last achievement was marred by relegation to Division 3 (North) where they languished for three years. In 1936 the club adopted the city's municipal colours of light blue and white only to be relegated once again. The traditional stripes returned the following season although the blue shirts were revived immediately after the Second World War.

In 1949, now wearing plain amber shirts with a bold tiger's head badge, City returned to Division 2 and enjoyed another stirring cup campaign, losing 0-1 to Manchester United in the quarter-final. There was little to celebrate during the Fifties and by the early Sixties, City were in Division 3. After a period wearing stripes once again, an unusual all amber strip with black bands was introduced only to be universally derided by fans who called it the banana-strip. 1966 brought another FA Cup quarter-final and a return to Division 2 where the club stayed until 1978.

The Eighties brought disaster as the club slipped briefly into the Fourth Division. They recovered and climbed back to Division 2, finishing in sixth place in 1986 but since then they have slipped down the leagues once again, alternating with some regularity between the lowest two divisions.

Hull have not been afraid to experiment with their playing kit, including a bizarre tiger-print design adopted in 1992 generally regarded as one of the worst strips of all time. In recent years, the club has often consulted fans when choosing a strip for the new season. Supporters have consistently favoured plain amber shirts in the belief that the little success the club has enjoyed has been when they played in plain shirts. Despite this, stripes regularly re-appear, including in 2004, the club's centenary season and a promotion season. Since then support has increases for striped shirts, not least because they are unique in the top tiers of English football and when Hull gained promotion to the Premier League in 2008, striped shirts were adopted for their first ever campaign in the top tier.

Sources