England's Home Uniform 1974 to 1980

[Photo supplied by Michelle Cocklin - Kingston-upon-Thames]

Notes

Manager Don Revie's reign began with a startling new strip from a new manufacturer, Admiral, and a resounding 3-0 victory over Czechoslovakia at Wembley on 30 October 1974 as England opened their European Championship 1976 qualifying campaign.  A collar returned to the England shirt for the first time in two decades.  And,  for the first time ever, the England shirt bore embellishments other than the three-lions emblem, red and blue striping on both collar and sleeves.  Former England forward Jimmy Greaves was perhaps a bit harsh when he said the striping made the new strip look like pyjamas, although that description did fit the rather garish Admiral warm-up jackets that accompanied the new uniform.   The new shirt was worn with blue shorts, in a lighter shade than the traditional navy blue and bearing white and red striping down the sides, and white stockings with red and blue stripes at their top.

Regrettably, the shirt manufacturer's insignia also appeared in a prominent place on the England shirt for the first time (although the Umbro insignia had been visible on the goalkeeper's jersey earlier in the 1970s).  As Ted Croker, the F.A. executive secretary at the time, later explained in his autobiography, the colourful shirt design and the presence of the manufacturer's logo were the result of a new commercial arrangement under which the shirt manufacturers paid royalties to the F.A. for the first time for the right to promote and sell replica England uniforms.  Croker, who became an entrepreneur after his playing career ended and brought a strong business background to the F.A. post, wrote:

The FA were criticized in the years following my appointment for allowing a company, Admiral of Leicester, to market and sell the England kit in return for royalty payments.  It was said that we were exploiting youngsters and allowing them to be ripped off.  I felt the criticisms were unjust at the time and still do.  The FA were about to move into commercial areas before I arrived as secretary, but after my appointment a number of companies, believing that I would be more receptive to their proposals than my predecessors, wrote asking if they could bid for the exclusive contract for supplying the England kit.  At the time the England team wore a plain white shirt and navy blue shorts which were supplied at normal rates by Umbro, the Cheshire firm.  Umbro never advertised the fact that they were official suppliers to the FA so there was no need for them to pay us a royalty.

I advised the international committee that we should accept the most advantageous offer but it would mean redesigning the England strip.  They agreed and a five-year contract was signed with Admiral for a starting payment of £15,000 a year or a 10 per cent royalty, whichever was the greater.  I was enthusiastic about the idea because it would give boys the chance to identify with the national side, a chance that had been denied them when the England shirt was no different from an ordinary "T"-shirt.  It also meant that parents could buy their sons a present which would be used often and not be discarded when the novelty wore off, as happens with so many presents given to children.  And, of course, there was the money which in the first year was insignificant, but by 1986 had risen to £120,000 a year, nearly all of which is ploughed back into the game at lower levels.

It was claimed that the Admiral strip was more expensive than comparable strips sold by other manufacturers on behalf of club sides.  We conducted a survey into this and found there was no basis for these allegations.  If Admiral had been making such vast profits, it was unlikely that the company would be forced into receivership, which eventually happened.  A new company took over after we had signed another five-year contract.

There was a further reason why we were happy to work with Admiral; they were an English company and we wanted to ensure that the national team was supplied by a domestic supplier, not by a foreign-based company.  The principle objective of the FA, as is stated in the annual accounts every year, is to promote the game of association football and to do that satisfactorily requires a lot of money.

Ted Croker, The First Voice You Will Hear Is ..., pp. 78-79 (1987).

Sadly, this shirt became associated with failure.  It was never worn in a major final tournament because England did not qualify for either the European Championship of 1976 or the World Cup of 1978, the two big competitions held during its tenure of almost six years  The only tournaments at which it appeared were the annual British [Home International] Championship and the U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament of 1976.  

During 1977, the red and blue stripe, which ran down the seam of the shorts, became narrower. It would appear that both versions were used concurrently for a while.  Thanks to Selwyn Rowley for spotting this.

But its end was marked by a measure of success.  It was worn during England's successful European Championship 1980 qualifying campaign.   

It made its last appearance in the 2-0 friendly match victory against Spain at Estadio Nou Camp in Barcelona on 26 March 1980, as England prepared for the European Championship final tournament of 1980 in Italy, where they wore the second Admiral home strip.

 

Matches in Which England Wore the 1974 Home White Uniform
No.	Date	Opposition	Venue	Type	F	A	Result	H.T.
486	30-Oct-1974	Czechoslovakia	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	ECP	3	0	HW	[0-0]
487	20-Nov-1974	Portugal	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	ECP	0	0	HD	[0-0]
488	12-Mar-1975	West Germany	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	F	2	0	HW	[1-0]
489	16-Apr-1975	Cyprus	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	ECP	5	0	HW	[2-0]
490	11-May-1975	Cyprus	Tsirion Athletic Centre, Ayia Phyla, Lemesos	ECP	1	0	AW	[1-0]
491	17-May-1975	Northern Ireland	Windsor Park, Belfast	BC	0	0	AD	[0-0]
492	21-May-1975	Wales	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	2	2	HD	[1-0]
493	24-May-1975	Scotland	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	5	1	HW	[3-1]
The Admiral logo did not appear on the shirt of all the outfield players.
494	03-Sep-1975	Switzerland	St. Jakob Park, Basel	F	2	1	AW	[2-1]
495	30-Oct-1975	Czechoslovakia	Štadión Tehelné Pole, Bratislava	ECP	1	2	AL	[1-1]
The F.A. emblem did not appear on the shirt of at least five of the outfield players.
496	19-Nov-1975	Portugal	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisboa	ECP	1	1	AD	[1-1]
497	24-Mar-1976	Wales	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	F	2	1	AW	[0-0]
498	08-May-1976	Wales	Ninian Park, Cardiff	BC	1	0	AW	[0-0]
499	11-May-1976	Northern Ireland	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	4	0	HW	[2-0]
500	15-May-1976	Scotland	Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow	BC	1	2	AL	[1-1]
501	23-May-1976	Brazil	The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, U.S.A.	T/C	0	1	NL	[0-0]
England wore the white home shirt with the white away change shorts and yellow stockings against Brazil.
502	28-May-1976	Italy	Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York City, U.S.A.	T/C	3	2	NW	[0-2]
504	08-Sep-1976	Republic of Ireland	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	F	1	1	HD	[1-0]
505	13-Oct-1976	Finland	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	WCP	2	1	HW	[1-0]
506	17-Nov-1976	Italy	Stadio Olimpico, Roma	WCP	0	2	AL	[0-1]
507	09-Feb-1977	Netherlands	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	F	0	2	HL	[0-2]
508	30-Mar-1977	Luxembourg	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	WCP	5	0	HW	[1-0]
509	28-May-1977	Northern Ireland	Windsor Park, Belfast	BC	2	1	AW	[1-1]
510	31-May-1977	Wales	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	0	1	HL	[0-1]
511	04-Jun-1977	Scotland	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	1	2	HL	[0-1]
515	07-Sep-1977	Switzerland	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	F	0	0	HD	[0-0]
516	12-Oct-1977	Luxembourg	Stade Municipal, Luxembourg City	WCP	2	0	AW	[1-0]
517	16-Nov-1977	Italy	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	WCP	2	0	HW	[1-0]
520	13-May-1978	Wales	Ninian Park, Cardiff	BC	3	1	AW	[1-0]
521	16-May-1978	Northern Ireland	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	1	0	HW	[1-0]
522	20-May-1978	Scotland	Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow	BC	1	0	AW	[0-0]
523	24-May-1978	Hungary	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	F	4	1	HW	[3-0]
524	20-Sep-1978	Denmark	Idraetsparken, København	ECP	4	3	AW	[2-2]
525	25-Oct-1978	Republic of Ireland	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	ECP	1	1	AD	[1-1]
526	29-Nov-1978	Czechoslovakia	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	F	1	0	HW	[0-0]
527	07-Feb-1979	Northern Ireland	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	ECP	4	0	HW	[1-0]
528	19-May-1979	Northern Ireland	Windsor Park, Belfast	BC	2	0	AW	[2-0]
529	23-May-1979	Wales	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	0	0	HD	[0-0]
530	26-May-1979	Scotland	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	3	1	HW	[1-1]
534	12-Sep-1979	Denmark	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	ECP	1	0	HW	[1-0]
535	17-Oct-1979	Northern Ireland	Windsor Park, Belfast	ECP	5	1	AW	[2-0]
536	22-Nov-1979	Bulgaria	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	ECP	2	0	HW	[1-0]
England wore the white home shirt with blue home shorts, but wore red stockings--against Bulgaria.
537	06-Feb-1980	Republic of Ireland	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	ECP	2	0	HW	[1-0]
538	26-Mar-1980	Spain	Estadi del Futbol Club Barcelona, Barcelona	F	2	0	AW	[1-0]

Kevin Keegan, Gordon Hill and Gerry Francis model the new 1974 Admiral home shirt

Uniforms Index

61 England internationals appeared in this shirt. It was worn on 35 occasions by Dave Watson, followed closely by Kevin Keegan, who won 33 caps in the shirt.

39 players won their first cap in the shirt, including Bryan Robson, who went on to win 90 caps, Kenny Sansom (86) and Ray Wilkins (84).

33 players won their last cap in the shirt, including Alan Ball (his 72^nd cap), Colin Bell (48^th cap) and Mike Channon (46^th cap).

17 players won all their caps in this shirt, including Kevin Beattie, with 9.

Mike Channon was top scorer in this shirt, with 13 goals, 3 of them penalties, followed by Kevin Keegan with 11.

19 players scored their first international goal in this shirt, including Tony Woodcock, who went on to score 16, Paul Mariner (13) and Trevor Francis (12).

13 players scored their last international goal in this shirt, including Mike Channon’s 21^st.

8 players scored all their international goals in this shirt, including Malcolm Macdonald’s 6 in two successive games at Wembley in 1975.

7 players captained England in this shirt. Emlyn Hughes and Kevin Keegan had the honour on 13 occasions each. Of the 7, only Hughes had captained England before.

Alan Ball’s 8 appearances as captain were all in this shirt, whilst Mike Channon captained England twice and wore the shirt on both occasions.

The other captains in this shirt were Gerry Francis (7 games), Mick Mills (twice) and Phil Thompson (once).

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