50 Years of Manchester City Home Kits from 1964 to 2014
Manchester City Football Club is an attractive side to support for myriad reasons. City have a rich history, which has recently produced some breathtaking highs. And their future is very bright.
In their own way, though, City's kit is a very real draw.
Trying to capture the splendor of City's kit for an American sports audience, Grantland's Bill Simmons (then writing for ESPN.com's Page 2) put it this way: "Baby blue, a shade lighter than the UNC Tar Heels. Probably the sweetest jerseys in the EPL. I can't emphasize this strongly enough—these things are SPECTACULAR."
Then, naturally, Simmons chose to support Tottenham Hotspur. Good luck with that.
City's kit has moved through several iterations over the years, but the base baby blue has far more often than not served as the shade from which the rest of the kit bloomed.
Which only makes sense, because it really is a great looking outfit on a green pitch.
Here is a look at City's kit over the past five decades. Take in all of the beauty you can handle. Between the haircuts, the kits and the men wearing them, well, that's a lot of beauty all right.
Except for the 1990s. Those were bad times for clothes everywhere.
The reference point for kits here was historicalkits.co.uk. All images are supplied by Getty.
1963-66
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Admittedly, Manchester City's history goes back much farther than this team picture from the 1965-66 side.
But for our purposes, this unadorned kit—baby-blue shirt, white collar and cuffs, white shorts and baby-blue socks—is the granddaddy of them all.
1967-71
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Manchester City's kit changed very little from the 1963-66 era through this 1967-71 period. The only notable addition was the red stripes at the top of the sock.
This was the kit, though, that saw City "complete a brilliant European and domestic cup double by winning the European Cup Winners Cup and the League Cup," per the club's website.
1972
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Again, there is little change from the 1967-71 kit to this one. The only real difference is the addition of the club crest below the neck.
For whatever reason, though, this kit lasted only one season.
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1973-74
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The 1973-74 version of the Manchester City kit, modeled above by the legendary Colin Bell, was unchanged from the prior kit from the knees up.
But the socks took a bold turn, featuring a royal-blue color with candy-apple red and white stripes at the top.
Looking back, this choice made no sense. Those colors belong to sides City want no affiliation with.
1975
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Rodney Marsh's trading card provides an action shot of the 1975 kit.
As foreshadowed in the prior slide, the dark blue and bright red stripes are gone from the socks, though the crest remains emblazoned on the chest below the neck.
1976
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Asa Hartford brings us a look at the 1976 kit, which for the first time featured the Umbro insignia on the chest and on the shorts (not seen).
1977-78
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This shot of Mike Doyle in the 1977 kit allows you to make out some of the rather busy crest Manchester City added in celebration of their League Cup win in the previous season.
Also (as with the year prior) the collar has opened up and flared out again. Umbro was, er, responsible for this kit; the diamond pattern on the sleeves gives that away.
Notably, 1977 was also the year that City eschewed the white shorts for a solid sky-blue kit from neck to toe.
In 1978, City wore the same kit but without the lettering above the crest, as they were unable to repeat their cup win.
1979-81
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Dennis Tueart is our model for this kit, which lasted for a few seasons. The collar has been scaled back some, but in many ways it strongly resembles the 1977-78 version.
1982
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If you look carefully at Trevor Francis, you will note that the golf-shirt collar is gone and replaced with a more athletic V-neck, which boasts a ribboned stripe. If his right thigh were not engaged in trying to keep the ball, you would see the City crest on it.
The 1982 kit is most notable for the fact that it is the last City kit without advertising on the shirt.
1983
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It is fair to say that Saab did not want anyone to be confused over which automobile manufacturer was sponsoring Manchester City in 1983.
1984
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Saab was still not messing around with brand confusion in 1984. Sadly, City said goodbye to the Swedish concern as a sponsor after this season.
1985
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Philips came on board as a Manchester City sponsor in 1985. Hopefully they had nothing to do with this vertically striped shirt which, while slimming, is also really hard to look at.
1986-87
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Manchester City's affiliation with Philips continued into the 1986-87 seasons. This shirt is much cleaner and less distracting than other versions.
Also, City returned to their white shorts for the 1986 season.
1988-89
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Paul Moulden comes through for us with a good look at this vintage of the Manchester City kit. First off, brother is now on as a sponsor, and they would remain affiliated with City for over a decade (as you will see).
Beyond that, the fine details in this kit are numerous. Note the block-stripe pattern (set in a diamond array rather than squares) and the stripes on the sides of the shorts.
1990-91
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Post-goal, Andy Hinchcliffe gifts us with a full view of the 1990-91 kit. A word of warning: The next few slides (this one included) feature some fashion atrocities committed on an unsuspecting football-loving public.
This kit is not good. The triangles in the jersey background look like something Greg Norman designed, then rejected. The dark collar matches the brother logo, yes, but the brother logo is too dark. And the tapered stripe on the shorts isn't necessary unless it's there for relaxed fit purposes.
1992-93
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Andy Hinchcliffe (center) features again in this depiction of the 1992-93 kit. It's pretty safe to say we are going in the wrong direction, because this one is actually worse than the last one.
Apparently those are "M" shapes in the background of the shirt. And the collar is still ugly. The profuse bleeding from my eyes precludes further comment.
1994-95
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Here is Garry Flitcroft showing off another sartorially dubious kit choice. To be fair, it seems like Umbro is most to blame for this one.
The good news is that the electric blue of the past half-decade is gone, replaced with the appropriately muted sky blue. The bad news is that Umbro's diamond logo now serves as the background of the shirt.
That is the tail wagging the dog, no?
1996-97
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Nicky Summerbee was not the player his father Mike was, but then very few ever could be. The younger Summerbee had a fine career, including his time at Manchester City.
As for the shirt he is wearing here, the print with "Manchester" faintly written across the chest was probably fairly innocuous from the cheap seats, but it is trying a bit too hard looking at it up close. And there is a lot going on with that collar, none of it good.
1998-99
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If Paul Dickov could have said one thing about the shirt he was wearing in the shot above, it should have been "who am I playing for again?"
It is not just that this is not a great-looking shirt. It is not. The bigger issue is that it looks like it belongs to a club in Scandinavia or some other outpost where fashion goes to die.
This shirt is just too far from City's glorious sky-blue history to be taken seriously. Maybe that is why it is the last shirt brother appeared on as a sponsor.
2000-01
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2000-01 marked the debut of Eidos as a primary Manchester City sponsor. Shaun Goater is seen above donning the "le coq sportif" design.
This kit is still too dark for my liking, but it is a big improvement over the one that preceded it.
2002
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Shaun Goater returns in 2002, as does Eidos as a name sponsor. The crest gets taken from the center and moved above the heart.
This shirt is still too dark to be part of a worthwhile Manchester City home kit.
2003
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First Advice takes top billing on this Manchester City shirt. Shaun Goater looks about the same as ever. The cartoon balloon enclosing the word "ADVICE" is cute, but the stripes at the shoulders are not.
And we can give Shaun Goater a rest as a kit model now, scout's honor.
2004
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As we say goodbye to Shaun Goater in this piece, we say a big "hello!" to Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Really, it would be tough to do this piece through the latter part of the last decade without featuring Wright-Phillips, as he was always sort of there.
Here, Wright-Phillips welcomes with open arms the last First Advice shirt, which eases us back toward the classic baby blue. Thanks, Reebok!
2005-06
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Finally! After years and years of wandering in the fashion wilderness, Manchester City gets a new shirt sponsor (Thomas Cook) and returns to simpler lines and an understated look.
This may be a case of overreaction based on remembering the horror shows that preceded it, but to my eye anyway this kit is solid.
2007
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Here we find Jihai Sun fending off the darkness, i.e., Manchester United, in the 2007 Manchester City kit. Thomas Cook remains the title sponsor; Reebok's "RbK" logo looks a bit out of place on a football shirt.
This kit is not as good as the one before it but certainly better than most of the prior 10.
2008
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Again we see Jihai Sun in a Manchester City Thomas Cook kit. Note the addition of the white stripes, as opposed to the White Stripes who would come later.
2009
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Any excuse to see Craig Bellamy in a Manchester City kit is a good excuse in my book.
Also, this kit holds significance for me personally because my brother sent it to my young son as a Christmas gift, and we still have it (it now fits his sister).
Alas, Thomas Cook's reign at the top of the City kit ended here, for reasons which are about to become painfully obvious.
2010
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Craig Bellamy returns in this slide, which you'll surely notice features for the first time Etihad Airways as Manchester City's kit sponsor.
Give them this: They kept it simple and classic with this kit, and the white lettering of the logo is always preferable to the darker lettering, even if it is harder to read on television.
2011
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Very little changed from the prior kit to this one. Patrick Vieira's socks have claret stripes at the top, which are always a bad idea for a Manchester City uniform.
But the classic sky blue is back—and back to stay now.
2012
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Could there possibly be another picture to choose for this slide? Of course not.
There is Sergio Aguero, scoring the goal that won the Premier League, in the 2012 kit. The advertising lettering has gone black, and the socks have unnecessary stripes.
But who cares? This is the best Manchester City kit in the entire piece, if only for the effect it had.
2013
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For reasons no one could ever possibly rationally explain to me, Manchester City won the Premier League in the 2012 kit, took a lot of pictures in it and promptly got rid of it.
For this thing.
Black tops on the socks, flared black collar, tacky lettering over the crest (right, you won, everyone knows).
Not a fan, obviously. Besides, this kit got Roberto Mancini sacked.
2014
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And here we reach the end of the rainbow with Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany sporting this year's model.
In many ways, this kit draws from the best of all that preceded it in this piece. It is the right shade of blue. The white shorts are simple, and the socks are not at all busy.
Obviously, having felt the wrath of the kit gods last season, City sought to appease them with this tasteful rig this season.
If City win the Premier League again this year, maybe they'll have the good sense to keep this kit for next season, too.
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