The Original Claret and Blue

[Chico Hamilton III]

A mate sent me this picture. Try and remain calm when you open the link and read the headline.....

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/kits/218420/west-ham-unveil-beautiful-new-umbro-away-kit-inspired-by-1901-jersey-photos.html

[Villa in Denmark]

I think they're referring to their first claret and blue (or rather blue and claret) kit, which conveniently fits with 1901 and the Boleyn Ground.

historical kits.co.uk lists this kit as 1901-03



Incidentally it was always Upton Park when I was (much) younger. When and why did the change(s) happen?

[itbrvilla]

I think they're referring to their first claret and blue (or rather blue and claret) kit, which conveniently fits with 1901 and the Boleyn Ground.

historical kits.co.uk lists this kit as 1901-03



Incidentally it was always Upton Park when I was (much) younger. When and why did the change(s) happen?

Was Upton Park in the 90's too. Very recent change I think.

[Chico Hamilton III]

I remember it being called the Boleyn Ground in the 70s Panini albums but everywhere else it was Upton Park

I saw a kid in the new West Ham home kit yesterday and the blue is shocking - turquoise

[Villa in Denmark]

From that fount of all knowledge Wikipedia.

The Boleyn Ground,[2] often referred to as Upton Park, is an association football stadium located in Upton Park, East London. Since 1904, it has been the home of Premier League side West Ham United F.C., with their predecessors Thames Ironworks playing their home games at Hermit Road. The stadium was also used shortly in the early 1990s by Charlton Athletic during its years of financial difficulty. The current seating capacity of the ground is 35,016.

The club rented Green Street House and grounds in the Municipal Borough of East Ham from the Roman Catholic Church from around 1912.[3] Green Street House was known locally as Boleyn Castle because of its imposing nature and an association with Anne Boleyn, who had either stayed at or, as some believe, owned the house. The ground is said to be haunted by one of her maids who died in childbirth. Hence renting the grounds of "Boleyn Castle" the name Boleyn Ground came into being. Today the ground is far more commonly known as Upton Park, after the Upton Park, London area in which it is located.

[ADVILLAFAN]

I thought that technically Upton Park was the area that the stadium was located in, rather than the proper name of the stadium.

In the same way that the San Siro should be called the Giuseppe Meazza.

[cdbearsfan]

Parkhead//Celtic Park is the same.

[The Laughing Policeman]

I still refer to our place as Aston Lower Grounds.

[andyh]

Parkhead//Celtic Park is the same.

in much the same way as St.Andrews / fucking shithole.

[nigel]

Have to admit I like it

Not unlike our 1933-34 away kit

[peter w]

We can't be too sniffy. Didn't the Albion have a claret & blue kit before us?

[Villa in Denmark]

We can't be too sniffy. Didn't the Albion have a claret & blue kit before us?

For one season in 1884/85 as part of an almost constant changing of strips from year to year, as was common for just about all teams of the period. (Same as it ever was).

We adopted claret and blue in 1887/88 (Bristol City style quarters).

They wore blue and white stripes from 1885-89, before a year in some Crystal Palace type red and blue stripes then back to the stripey shite we know and detest today in 1889.

[cdbearsfan]

We had a claret and blue shirt in 1874. We just didn't have it regularly until 1887.

http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Aston_Villa/Aston_Villa.htm

[Villa in Denmark]

Based on the graphic and the description as scarlett and blue I left that one out.

[cdbearsfan]

There's not a fat lot if difference. In any case, we were way before those Cockney upstarts.