Historical Football Kits

 

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Rochdale

Formed 1907

Founder member of the Division Three (North) 1921

Kit History

rochdale 1907 kit

1907 o y

rochdale fc 1910

circa 1910 y

rochdale fc 1920

1920-1934 w y

rochdale fc 1936

1934-1939 w y

rochdale fc 1939-40

1939-1940 y

rochdale fc 1947

1947-1949 y

rochdale fc 1949-50

1949-1950 b

Jan 1950-1952 v y

rochdale 1952-53

1952-1953 y

rochdale fc 1953-54

1953-1956 w A

rochdale fc 1957-58

1957-1958 w

rochdale fc 1958-59

1958-1959 c B

1959-1960 d

rochdale fc 1962

1961-1963 p w

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1966-1967 w

Sometimes worn without crest
rochdale fc 1968-69

1968-1969 s

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rochdale fc 1969-70

1969-1970 o

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1970-1971 e

1971-1973 f p t

rochdale fc 1973-74

1973-74 d e g u z A

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1974-1976 o

Bukta

1976-1977 early o

Bukta
rochdale 1976-77 home kit

1976-1977 (2) o

Bukta

1977-1978 o

Bukta
rochdale fc 1978-79

1978-1979 o

uksoccershop
Adidas

1979-1980 h o u

Coffer Sports
rochdale fc 1980-81

1980-1981 o u x

Coffer Sports

1981-1982 o

Coffer Sports

1982-1983 o

Spall
rochdale fc 1983-84

1983-1984 o

Spall

1984-1985 o

Hobott
rochdale fc 1985-86

1985-1986 o q

Hobott

1986-1987 i o q

Umbro

1987-1988 n o q

1988-1989 n o q

Bukta

1989-1990 r o

Ribero
rochdale fc 1990-91

1990-1991 n o q

En-s

1991-1992 n o

En-s
rochdale fc 1992-93

1992-1993 o q

Super League

1993-1994 k o

Super League
rochdale fc early 1994-95

1994-1995 early o

Super League

1994-1995 late o

Super League
rochdale fc 1995-96

1995-1996 g o q

Super League

1996-1998 d o

Uhlsport

1998-2000 d g o w

Uhlsport
rochdale fc 2000-02

2000-2002 g

Uhlsport

2002-2004 g

Uhlsport

2004-2005 l

Nike
rochdale fc 2005-06

2005-2006 j

Nike

2006-2007 j

Nike
rochdale fc 2007-08

2007-2008 o

Nike
rochdale 2008-09 home kit

2008-2009 o

Carbrini Sportswear
rochdale 2009-10

August 2009-2010 o

Carbrini Sportswear
rochdale 2009-10

Sept 2009-2010 o

Carbrini Sportswear
rochdale fc 2010-11 home kit

2010-2011 o

Carbrini Sportswear
rochdale fc 2011-12 home kit

2011-2012 o

Fila
rochdale fc 2012-13 home kit

2012-2013 o

Fila
rochdale fc 2013-14 home kit

2013-2014 o

Fila
rochdale 2014-15 1st kit

2014-2015 o

Errea
rochdale fc 2015-16 kit

2015-2016 o

Errea
rochdale fc 2016-17 1st kit

2016-2017 o

Errea
rochdale 2017-18 1st kit

2017-2018 o

Errea
rochdale 2018-19

2018-2019 o

Errea
roachdale 2019-20 1st kit

2019-2020 o

Errea
rochdale 2020-21

2020-2021 o

Errea
rochdale afc 2021-22

2021-2022 o

Errea
rochdale afc 2022-23

2022-2023 o

 

Background

rochdale 1949-50After two previous attempts to establish a professional club foundered, Rochdale AFC were formed in 1907 and accepted into the Manchester League. After one season they joined the Lancashire Combination, a competition that included the reserve sides of several Football League clubs. After winning the Combination title, Rochdale made their first application to join the League but received just one vote.

The team wore black and white stripes: our graphics show the typical pattern of 3" stripes but 2" versions also appeared while the central stripe could be black or white. In fact the various styles were worn all at once, a not unusual situation for a club of modest means. From around 1920, 3" stripes became the standard choice although the central stripe still varied.

In 1919, ‘Dale made their second application to join the enlarged Second Division but once again they could not attract enough support. They only had to wait two more seasons, however, before being invited to join the new Northern Section of the Third Division. At the end of their first season, Rochdale had to seek re-election but they then had a run of successful campaigns, narrowly missing out on promotion in 1924 and 1927. During the 1930s the club’s performances fell away and they generally finished near the bottom of the League, having to apply three times for re-election in the years leading up the Second World War.

In 1934, Rochdale adopted a new colour scheme of blue shirts and white shorts. For a few seasons, Rochdale finished near the top of the table but as the 1950s wore on, ‘Dale were regularly finishing in the lower half of the table. Having reverted to black and white in 1958, they finished in tenth place, good enough to ensure that they would play in Division Three the following season when the regional divisions were scrapped. They rochdale fc crest 1961could not cope with the improved standard and were relegated to Division Four in 1959.

The next decade was spent in Division Four although they did enter the record books in 1962, when they reached the two-legged final of the League Cup, then in its second season and a competition not taken seriously by the top clubs. The crest that appeared on their shirts in the early 1960s was based on the Rochdale coat of arms.

In 1968 the club returned to their blue and white kit and the fans at long last had something to cheer about when the team finished in third place and they won their first, promotion.

rochdale fc crest 1974For 1973-74 the team played in white shirts with a distinctive gold and blue sash but had a catastrophic season, winning only two matches and finishing in last place. This outfit was occasionally worn with blue shorts such as in February 1974, when the team had to play Cambridge United on a Tuesday afternoon because of power shortages caused by the miners’ strike, rochdale fc crest 1978attracting a mere 450 spectators, the lowest attendance ever recorded in the League.

For the 1974-75 and part of the 1976-77 seasons the team wore a simple cypher on their shirts but otherwise their shirts were not adorned until the 1978-79 season. Interestingly, the club did not adopt the coat of arms of the new Rochdale Borough Council (formed in 1974 as a result of local government reorganisation), but preferred a slightly modified version of the town's old coat of arms. This was used until 1993.

Re-elected four times between 1978 and 1984 and with attendances frequently below 1,000, the club thought they had found their saviour when Tommy Cannon, of comedy double act, Cannon and Ball, stepped in. (His partner, Bobby Ball was a director of Rochdale Hornets RLFC). rochdale fc crest 1993Cannon was a disaster and he resigned in 1988 leaving the club in chaos and deep in debt. The white shirts adopted under his regime were replaced with an all-blue kit as the previous board resumed control. They managed to rescue the club from collapse, helped rochdale fc crest 2000by the decision of Rochdale Hornets RLFC to sell their own ground and move into Spotland having bought a 45% share in the ground, injecting £400,000 into Rochdale's finances.

In 1993 a modernised version of the club crest was introduced. The familiar coat of arms now appeared out of a roundel surrounded by the legend "Rochdale AFC - The Dale". Different versions appeared at the beginning of the new millennium before the circular version was reinstated in 2005.

In 1994 the team again played in white shirts but the previous season's all-blue strip was restored part way through the season.

Rochdale are one of those unfortunate clubs who seem destined to an existence of constant struggle. Competing not only with the two big Manchester clubs rochdale fc crest 2004but also with the likes of Bury, Oldham and Wigan Athletic, not to mention the Rugby League playing neighbours, Rochdale’s priority is to survive. In 2002, Dale reached the play-offs, signaling to their loyal hard core supporters that there is always the prospect of better days in the future.

rochdale fc crest 2005For the club's centenary season, 2007-08, Rochdale adopted the same black and white that they wore in 1907. The crest was enhanced for this campaign with the legend "Centenary Year - 1907-2007" in gold lettering. The following season the black stripes were combined with blue, creating a hybrid kit that combined both of Dale's traditional colour schemes. This proved very popular with supporters.

Relegation in 2012 took the team back down to the fourth tier but they were back in League One following promotion in 2013-14. In 2021, however, they went back to the basement.

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Sources

Crests are the property of Rochdale FC