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England's Uniforms

England's Home Uniform
April1949 to October1954

1946 Home Uniform
1950 Away Uniform
1951 Away Uniform
1954 Home Uniform
 
 
 

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Description
Many thanks to Simon Shakeshaft, curator of the National Football Shirt Collection for supplying us with these photos of the shirt worn by John Aston against Ireland in 1950. It is part of the Neville Evans Collection.
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England made a slight change in their strip at the beginning of 1949, although the shirt's basic design, collar, long sleeves (typically rolled up above the elbows during play), three buttons down the front, remained the same. The most noticeable change came in the three-lions emblem.  The crown at the emblem's top disappeared, and the emblem's shape and design became close to what they are today.

A trip to Portugal before the 1950 World Cup saw a new milestone in England's football kit history. The number-three shirt pictured above is a fine example of the new short-sleeved variation, this one worn by John Aston, against Ireland in October 1950. Belfast in early October was evidently considered balmy enough for England to take the field in their new lighter attire, though, of course, no self-respecting English international would ever play with his sleeves rolled down, anyway.

From the beginning of 1950, the name of the opposition team was added in capitalised blue letters in a scroll below the emblem, and the season was inscribed in red underneath that. The team did not wear the scrolls for the games played in the 1950 and '54 World Cup tournaments.

Curiously, the emblem also acquired an additional, eleventh Tudor Rose during this period and even more curiously, it had been removed by the time of the 1951-52 season, never to return. Other changes to the style of the emblem during this period are detailed here.

This white shirt, like the one before, was worn with dark navy blue shorts, and black socks bearing a broad white band at their top, although on occasion it was accompanied by the red away socks, which also bore the broad white band. England normally wore black numbers on the back of the shirt and red when the red change socks were worn.

England's kits were made by at least two different manufacturers during this period. On more than one occasion, the team changed into a different set of shirts, with different-style numbers, at half-time. We know that Hope Brothers (based in Littleport, Cambridgeshire) and St. Blaize contributed shirts in this period. What has been confusing is that St. Blaize shirts used the same number font made famous by Umbro in later years, but we have not found any Umbro England shirts prior to 1954.

A team selected from England's 1950 World Cup squad won the F.A. Charity Shield wearing this kit in September of the same year, at Stamford Bridge. They beat another F.A. XI, selected from a squad that had toured Canada just before the World Cup.

Left - the shirt worn by Billy Wright in the FA's ninetieth anniversary international against a FIFA select side.

Matches in Which England Wore the 1949 Home White Uniform
1948-49
245 9 April 1949 1-3 vs. Scotland, Empire Stadium, Wembley, London BC HL

Notes

England wore red socks against Scotland.
246 13 May 1949 1-3 vs. Sweden, Rĺsunda Fotbollstadion, Solna kommun, Stockholms län Fr AL
247 18 May 1949 4-1 vs. Norway, Ullevĺl Stadion, Oslo Fr AW
248 22 May 1949 3-1 vs. France, Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes, Paris Fr AW
1949-50
249 21 September 1949 0-2 vs. Republic of Ireland, Goodison Park, Liverpool Fr HL

Notes

England wore red socks against the Republic of Ireland.
250 15 October 1949 4-1 vs. Wales, Ninian Park, Sloper Road, Cardiff BC/
WCP
AW
251 16 November 1949 9-2 vs. Ireland, Maine Road, Manchester HW

Notes

England wore red socks against Ireland.
252 30 November 1949 2-0 vs. Italy, White Hart Lane, Tottenham, London Fr HW

Notes

England wore red socks against Italy.
253 15 April 1950 1-0 vs. Scotland, Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow BC/
WCP
AW

Notes

England wore red socks against Scotland.
254 14 May 1950 5-3 vs. Portugal, Estádio Nacional, Lisboa Fr AW

Notes

England wore short sleeves against Portugal.
255 18 May 1950 4-1 vs. Belgium, Stade du Centenaire, Bruxelles Fr AW
World Cup Finals 1950

Notes

England wore short sleeves against Chile and Spain.
256 25 June 1950 2-0 vs. Chile, Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, Maracană, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil WCF NW
258 2 July 1950 0-1 vs. Spain, Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, Maracană, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil NL
1950-51
259 7 October 1950 4-1 vs. Ireland, Windsor Park, Belfast BC AW

Notes

England wore short sleeves and red socks against Ireland.
260 15 November 1950 4-2 vs. Wales, Roker Park, Sunderland BC HW
261 22 November 1950 2-2 vs. Yugoslavia, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London Fr HD
262 14 April 1951 2-3 vs. Scotland, Empire Stadium, Wembley, London BC HL

Notes

England wore red socks against Scotland.
264 19 May 1951 5-2 vs. Portugal, Goodison Park, Liverpool Fr HW
1951-52
265 3 October 1951 2-2 vs. France, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London Fr HD
266 20 October 1951 1-1 vs. Wales, Ninian Park, Sloper Road, Cardiff BC AD
267 14 November 1951 2-0 vs. Ireland, Ninian Park, Sloper Road, Cardiff AD

Notes

England wore red socks against Ireland.
268 28 November 1951 2-2 vs. Austria, Empire Stadium, Wembley, London Fr HD
269 5 April 1952 2-1 vs. Scotland, Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow BC AW

Notes

England wore red socks against Scotland.
270 18 May 1952 1-1 vs. Italy, Stadio Comunale di Firenze, Firenze Fr AD

Notes

England wore red socks against Italy.
272 28 May 1952 3-0 vs. Switzerland, Hardturm Sportplatz, Zürich Fr AW
1952-53
273 4 October 1952 2-2 vs. Ireland, Windsor Park, Belfast BC AD
Notes England wore short sleeves and red socks against Ireland.
274 12 November 1952 5-2 vs. Wales, Empire Stadium, Wembley, London BC HW
275 26 November 1952 5-0 vs. Belgium, Empire Stadium, Wembley, London Fr HW
276 18 April 1953 2-2 vs. Scotland, Empire Stadium, Wembley, London BC HD
Notes England wore red socks against Scotland.

Notes

England wore short sleeves, against Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
277 17 May 1953 vs. Argentina, Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Nuńez, Buenos Aires Fr AD
Notes Abandoned after 21 minutes because of a torrential rainstorm but officially recognized as a draw.
278 24 May 1953 2-1 vs. Chile, Estadio Nacional de Chile, Ńuńoa, Santiago Fr AW
279 31 May 1953 1-2 vs. Uruguay, Estadio Centenario, Montevideo Fr AL
1953-54
281 10 October 1953 4-1 vs. Wales, Ninian Park, Sloper Road, Cardiff BC/
WCP
AW
282 21 October 1953 4-4 vs. Rest of the World, Empire Stadium, Wembley, London Fr HD
Notes England wore red socks against the Rest of the World.
283 11 November 1953 3-1 vs. Ireland, Goodison Park, Liverpool BC/
WCP
HW
Notes England wore red socks against Ireland.
284 25 November 1953 3-6 vs. Hungary, Empire Stadium, Wembley, London Fr HL
285 3 April 1954 4-2 vs. Scotland, Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow BC/
WCP
AW
Notes England wore red socks against Scotland.

Notes

England wore short sleeves, against Yugoslavia and Hungary.
286 16 May 1954 0-1 vs. Yugoslavia, Stadion Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija, Beograd Fr AL
287 23 May 1954 1-7 vs. Hungary, Népstadion, Budapest Fr AL
World Cup Finals 1954

Notes

England wore short sleeves and squad numbers against Belgium, Switzerland and Uruguay.
288 17 June 1954 4-4 vs. Belgium, Sankt Jakob Stadium, Basel, Switzerland WCF ND
289 20 June 1954 2-0 vs. Switzerland, Wankdorfstadion, Bern AW
290 26 June 1954 2-4 vs. Uruguay, Sankt Jakob Stadium, Basel, Switzerland NL
Notes England wore red socks against Uruguay.
1954-55
291 2 October 1954 2-0 vs. Northern Ireland, Windsor Park, Belfast BC AW
Notes England wore short sleeves and red socks against Northern Ireland.

 

England's Record wearing the 1949 Home Shirt
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts % W/L
Home 17 8 5 4 53 35 +18 1 3 3.118 2.059 61.8 +4
Away 22 14 4 4 51 30 +21 2 5 2.318 1.364 72.7 +10
Neutral 4 1 1 2 8 9 -1 1 1 2.00 2.25 37.5 -1
Total 43 23 10 10 112 74 +38 4 9 2.605 1.721 65.1 +13


A collection of badges as worn by the great Sir Tom Finney, on display in the National Football Museum in Preston. Each badge shows the difference in such a short period of time.  Note too - the eleven Tudor roses in the badge against Wales in 1950.

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GI/CG/PY/JB