On 20 October 2026 Middlesbrough turns 150. And yet the club we all know in red started out wearing... blue. Let's see how a group of cricketers created one of the most recognisable shirts in England.

From cricket to football

Middlesbrough was born in 1876 from members of the local cricket club, who wanted to stay fit through the winter. The details of the founding are hazy: the most likely version places the meeting at the Albert Park Hotel on Linthorpe Road. There is also the legend of a tripe supper at the Corporation Hotel, but club historian Harry Glasper has shown that it is not true.

Blue, white and finally red

In the first recorded match, in February 1877, the players are said to have dyed their white cricket clothes dark blue. In the 1880s the team played in white shirts and blue shorts, and for a short time it also tried navy blue. Red, until then the second kit, became the main colour at the turn of the century and never left.

Sources disagree on the exact year, some saying 1899 and others 1901. In 1964 white details were added on the shoulders, recalling the "epaulettes" of the inter-war years. In 1971 the crest with the rampant lion appeared on the shirt for the first time.

The white band across the chest

In 1973 manager Jack Charlton brought in an all-red kit with a broad white band across the chest. That design became the club's "signature". It returned in several seasons, and in 2008 the fans voted by 77.4% to bring it back on the home shirt.

For many supporters, a red shirt without the white band simply isn't Middlesbrough. The 2008 vote showed it clearly.

From Ayresome Park to the Riverside

In 1902 Middlesbrough moved to Ayresome Park, where it stayed for 92 years. There a young Brian Clough scored relentlessly, with 204 goals in 222 matches, before becoming a legendary manager. In 1995 the club moved to the modern Riverside Stadium.

The following years at the new ground brought stars from abroad, the first trophy and European nights.

The near end and the great rebirth

In 1986 the club went into liquidation and came close to disappearing. It was saved by Steve Gibson's consortium, which completed registration with the Football League minutes before the deadline. The same year a new crest was designed, with a lion, ships and the motto "ERIMUS" ("We shall be").

Juninho, Cardiff and Eindhoven

After promotion in 1995 came the Brazilian Juninho, who became the darling of the stands. In 1997 he was named the club's player of the year and finished second in the Footballer of the Year award, behind Gianfranco Zola.

On 29 February 2004 "Boro" beat Bolton 2-1 in Cardiff to win the League Cup, the first major trophy in the club's history. The goals came from Joseph-Désiré Job and Bolo Zenden inside the first seven minutes, and Gibson spoke of a trophy "128 years in the making".

Two years later, on 10 May 2006, the team played in the UEFA Cup final in Eindhoven. It lost 4-0 to Sevilla, but that run remains etched in the fans' memory.

A shirt for collectors

For its 150th anniversary the club released a limited-edition commemorative shirt in dark blue, a tribute to the dyed cricket clothes of 1876. The classic shirts with the white band and the kits from the Juninho era or 2004 are highly sought after by collectors. Each one carries a piece of a century and a half of history.

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: the Riverside Stadium during Middlesbrough v Aldershot (FA Cup, 2013) – John Lord, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0.