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West Bromwich Albion

Formed 1878

Founder member of the Football League 1888

Kit History

 

 

 

West Bromwich Strollers

 

1878

1878-1880 a

west bromwich albion 1880

1880-1881 a

1880-1881 alt a

 

 

 

West Bromwich Albion

 

1881

west bromwich albion 1881

1881-1882 a u

west bromwich albion 1881 second

1881 alt-1883 a

west bromwich albion 1882 second

1882-1883 alt b

1883-1884 a

west bromwich albion 1884

1884-Sept 1885 a

west bromwich albion 1885-89

Oct 1885-1889 c

west bromwich albion 1889

1889 a

west bromwich albion 1889-92

1889-1892 d h u

Central stripes and collar designs varied
west bromwich albion 1894-96

1894-1896 s

west bromwich albion 1899-1900

1899-1902 e o

west bromwich albion 1902-04

1902-1904 e w

west bromwich albion 1905-06

1905-1906 o

west bromwich albion 1906-11

1906-1911 e i p

west bromwich albion 1911-20

1911-1920 r s

west bromwich albion 1919

1920-1925 e o s

1925-1930 e o

wba 1930

1930-1932 s

wba 1932-33

1932-1933 B

1933-1934 e

west bromwich albion 1934

1934-1942 e s

west bromwich albion 1941

1942-1947 a i

west brom 1947-48

1947-1948 s

Socks not confirmed
west bromwich albion 1947

1948-1955 e o s

west bromwich albion 1955-56

1955-1956 s

wba 1956-57

1956-1957 o

west bromwich albion 1957

1957-1958 e

1958-1959 e

west bromwich albion 1959

1959-1960 j

1960-1961 e o

Previous season's socks also appeared
west bromwich albion 1961-62

1961-1963 q p

wba 1963-64

1963-1966 s z

Warm weather kit 64-66

1964-1968 e z

1968-1969 e s

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1969-1971 e s

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west bromwich albion 1969-71 kit

1969-1971 alt x

west bromwich albion 1971

1971-1972 e

Admiral
west brom 1972-73 early

Aug-Oct 1972 q

Admiral
buy west bromwich albion 1972 shirt

Sept 72-1973 e q

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west bromwich albion 1973

1973-1974 e l

Umbro
wba 1974-75

1974-Dec 1976 y

Umbro
west bromwich albion 1975

Jan 77-cDec 77 m y

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Umbro
west bromwich albion 1977

cDec 1977-1981 e y

Umbro

1981-1982 e

Umbro
west bromwich albion 1982

1982-1983 e

Umbro

1983-1984 e

Umbro
west bromwich albion 1984

1984-1986 e

Umbro
west bromwich albion 1986

1986-1988 g

Umbro

1988-1989 g

Scoreline

1989-1990 e

Scoreline

1990-1991 j

Influence

1991-1992 c

The Albion Collection
west bromwich albion 1992

1992-1993 e

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Pelada

1993-1994 j

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Pelada
west bromwich albion 1994

1994-1995 c j

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Patrick

1995-1996 c j

Patrick

1996-1997 g

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Patrick
west bromwich albion 1997

1997-1998 g

Patrick

1998-2000 g

Patrick
west bromwich albion 2000

2000-2002 g

The Baggies
west bromwich albion 2002

2002-2003 g

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Diadora
west bromwich albion 2003

2003-2004 g

Diadora
west bromwich albion 2004

2004-2005 c n t

Diadora
west bromwich albion 2005

2005-2006 h

Umbro
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2006-2007 h v

Umbro
west bromwich albion 2007

2007-2008 h k v

Umbro
west brom 2008-06 kit

2008-2009 h

Umbro
west brom 2009-2010

2009-2010 h

Umbro
west bromwich albion 2010-11 home kit

2010-2011 h

Adidas
west bromwich albion 2011-12 home kit

2011-2012 h

Adidas
west bromwich albion 2012-13 home kit

2012-2013 h

Adidas
west bromwich albion 2013-14 home kit

2013-Feb 2014 h

Adidas
west bromwich albion feb 2014 home kit

Feb-May 2014 h

Adidas
wba 2014-15 1st kit

2014-2015 h

Adidas
west bromwich albion 2015-16

2015-2016 h

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Adidas
wba 2016-17 1st kit

2016-2017 h

Adidas
west brom 2017-18 1st kit

2017-2018 h

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Puma
west brom 2018-19

2018-2019 h

Puma
west bromwich albion 2019-20

2019-2020 h

Puma
west brom 2020-21

2020-2021 h

Puma
WEST BROM 2021-22

2021-2022 h

Puma
west bromwich albion 2022-23

2022-2023 h

 

Background

west bromwich albion 1882 team groupThe club was formed by workers from the George Salter Spring Works and played their first match in 20 November 1878, a goalless draw with another works team, Hudson's FC. The story is that they walked to nearby Wednesbury to buy a ball and took the name West Bromwich Strollers as a result. In 1881 they became West Bromwich Albion, wearing yellow and white shirts decorated with the Staffordshire knot. west bromwich albion crest 1881

In 1883 Albion won the Staffordshire Cup, beating Aston Villa in the semi-final and Stoke in the replayed final 1-0 after a 3-3 draw. This was also the year in which West Brom entered the FA Cup for the first time.

In the late 1880s the club secretary, Tom Smith, suggested that a throstle (West Midlands dialect for a thrush) sitting on a cross bar be adopted as their official crest. The crossbar was later replaced by a hawthorne branch. The connection between the team and the throstle stems from the days when the players changed in a public house where a caged songbird was kept.

In 1886 and 1887, Albion were beaten FA Cup finalists but in 1888 they won the competition, surprise winners against Preston North End. They then visited Hampden Park, Glasgow to meet the Scottish FA Cup winners Renton, for the title of "World Champions" but lost 1-4. With such a strong record, Albion were naturally invited to become one of the twelve founder members of the Football League.

In their early years, the club had turned out in a rich variety of colours and it was not until 1885 that the familiar navy blue and white stripes were adopted. In 1889 they switched to broad cardinal red and blue stripes with black knickers, onto which was sewn a red stripe. This outfit was not well received by supporters who dubbed the team "The Nigger Minstrels" (after a form of music hall entertainment in which white performers blacked up to sing popular songs) and was quickly dropped. In 1892 Albion beat local rivals Aston Villa in the FA Cup final (after losing in semi finals in 1889 and 1891). Three years later the clubs met again in Albion's fifth FA Cup Final. Villa scored after 39 seconds of the game and won 1-0.

Albion moved to the Hawthorns in 1900 but the season ended in disaster as they were relegated to the Second Division. Although they were promoted back the following season, in 1904 they went back down and it was seven seasons before they returned to Division One. In 1912 they reached their sixth FA Cup final, losing to Barnsley 1-0 after a 0-0 draw.

west bromwich albion crest 1931 fa cup finalWhen the League resumed after the First World War, Albion won the League Championship for the first and so far the only time.

In 1927 Albion were relegated but in 1931 their fortunes were again on the rise. After winning promotion they beat neighbours Birmingham City 2-1 in the FA Cup final. The crest worn in this match was a simplified version of the West Bromwich coat west bromwich albion crest 1935 fa cup final of arms.

Four years later Albion were back at Wembley, losing 4-2 to Sheffield Wednesday. A crest was once again worn, this time the full coat of arms, including the town's motto, Labor Omnia Vincit (Work Conquers All). This appeared once again in the 1954 FA Cup final.

In 1938 it was back to Division Two. During war time competition, the team wore plain blue shirts, presumably because they could not get hold of navy and white striped jerseys.

In 1949 Albion were promoted back to the First Division and in 1953-54 they came within a whisker of doing the League and Cup double. A 0-1 defeat by Wolves at The Hawthorns took the title to west brom crest 1968 fa cup finalWolverhampton but fans could console themselves with another FA Cup triumph, a 3-2 victory over Preston North End.

In 1964-65 Albion introduced what was to become one of their most iconic strips, with the traditional navy and white sleeves sey off by plain white long sleeves. The older version, with short striped sleeves, continued to appear from time to time until 1966.

In 1965-66 Albion entered the Football League Cup for the first time and lifted the trophy, defeating West Ham over two legs in the final. The following season they reached the final again but this time it was west bromwich albion crest 1969at Wembley. Albion were odds-on favourites but lost 2-3 to Third Division Queens Park Rangers. In 1968 Albion reached their third cup final in a row, beating Everton at Wembley to win the FA Cup for the fifth time. The Throstle appeared on West Brom's shirts for the first time in that final and became a regular feature the following season.

The Cup Winners Cup campaign in the following season was ended in the third round by Dunfermline Athletic after victories against RFC Bruges and Dinamo Bucharest. In 1970 they were wba crest 1972back at Wembley in the League Cup final.

The crest was changed in 1972 to represent a caged songbird and was rather cleverly designed to resemble a lower-case letter "a." This was rendered in navy blue on the west bromwich albion crest 1975home shirts of the period but at least once (21 October 1972) it was embroidered in red. The crest was replaced in 1975 by a simple cypher.

After two seasons in Division Two between 1974 and 1976, Albion were good enough to qualify for the UEFA Cup three times between 1978 and 1981 but in 1986 they were relegated to the west bromwich albion crest 1986Second Division and this time there was no quick return to the top.

At the start of the 1986-87 season the throstle was reinstated. This was replaced in 1994 by the town coat of arms although it continued to appear on the shorts, a rare example of a team wearing two official badges on their west bromwich albion crest 1994strip.

In 1991 the club dropped into the Third Division for the first time in their history. It took two seasons to return to the Second Division.

At the start of the new millennium a traditional crest was introduced that combined the throstle sitting on its hawthorne branch against a striped shield, west brom crest 1995representing Albion's iconic shirts. Although this had not previously appeared on shirts, it had been the official club crest since at least the 1960s.

In 2002 Albion returned to the Premiership and although they were immediately relegated, they have bounced back and forth ever since.

The club crest was updated in 2006 to a rather crisper design. West Brom failed to west bromwich albion crest 2000secure shirt sponsorship deals in 2008 and 2009 so in November 2009 the club announced that they would offer short-term deals instead. Seven commercial companies, two charities and the England 2018 campaign all featured during the season. (For details visit the 2009-10 Championship section.)

west bromwich albion crest 2008In May 2014 rumours began to circulate that the striped shirts, worn since the 19th century, were to be dropped, leading to protests from outraged fans and former players alike. This was confirmed when the kit was launched in July but, perhaps to mollify supporters, the club simultaneously announced they would return to traditional stripes in 2015.

jeff astle commemorative wba crestIn March 2015 the club announced that a special kit, a replica of the 1968 FA Cup final strip, would be worn to mark the launch of the Jeff Astle Foundation on 11 April. (See Premier League 2014-15 page). Astle, one of Albion's most iconic forwards, scored the winning goal in 1968 and was one of the finest headers of a football ever seen. He died in 2002 at the age of 59 as a result of chronic brain injury.

At the end of the 2017-18 season Albion dropped back into the Championship but two years later they were promoted back into the top tier as runners-up but were relegated again in 2021. The very broad navy stripe on the 2021-22 shirt met with a mixed reception but it did provide room for the west bromwich albion crest 2022opening verse of the 23rd psalm to be printed into the fabric. According to the Express & Star, supporters had first sung this in 1976 when the opening line was changed to "Giles is my shepherd" to honour Johnny Giles who had turned the ailing club around when he was manager. After he left the original words were sung.

The 2022-23 strip was designed by a committee of supporters with support from Puma and Albion's retail team and was modeled on the iconic broad striped shirt worn in the late 1970s, complete with a revival of the WBA monogram..

You are welcome to Contact Me with corrections and additions.

Sources

Crests are the property of West Bromwich Albion FC. 1882 team photograph courtesy of Love Everton Forum.com.