After watching ‘Get Shirty‘ – a great little ITV documentary about Admiral’s rise from an obscure Midlands underwear outlet to one of the biggest names in sportswear – last night, we though it would be nice to doff our own ‘umble caps to their handiwork.
Indeed, to celebrate Admiral’s all-too brief run on top, Pies thought we’d herald their pioneering vision by whittling down our Top 10 favourite offerings.
Without further ado, lets take the plunge…
Glasgow Rangers, 1990-91
No ifs, no buts, and especially no coconuts. That’s just a damn fine looking football shirt, right there…
Charlton Athletic (away), 1988
It may be leaden grey, but this shirt is positively bursting at the seams with demure 1980s style and poise…
Leeds, 1978
Positively reeks of the 1970s, mainly thanks to the presence of Don Revie’s “smiley” club crest gimmick…
Manchester United, 1975-79
Unending fields of red and a teeny, tiny little badge. By ‘eck, things were simpler back then…
West Ham, 1979
Trevor Brooking draped in Admiral’s era-appropriate chevrons: a vision in claret and blue…
Wales, 1976-79
Likely to split the vote down the middle, but we definitely have a soft spot for this Wales kit in an ‘ugly duckling’ kind of way.
Maybe it’s the fact that the groundbreaking ‘Aertex’ perforations make it look like a giant red teabag…
Tottenham, 1978
The less said about the corresponding yellow away kit the better, but Spurs looked slick as you like at the Lane circa ’78…
Coventry City, 1978-80
Coventry’s deeply alluring ‘sewage farm brown’ away kit has blossomed into a true British sporting institution, as has Ian Wallace’s magnificent halo of ginger fluff…
Leicester City, 1983
While many Foxes fans prefer the ‘Walkers’ kit that came after it, we reckon Leicester’s pin-striped home strip from ’83 is one of the most handsome efforts of the era…
England, 1980-83
How could we not include this little pearler in the top spot? Admiral’s definitive design had England looking (at least in the literal sense) like world-beaters for a while…
Honourable mention: Manchester United’s gorgeous, rubbery-looking Admiral tracksuits from 1976…
When men were men and haircuts were haircuts.
And seriously, if you didn’t catch ‘Get Shirty‘ this week then hunt it down on whatever ITV’s version of the iPlayer is.
Take it from us, it’s well worth an hour of your time.