How many clubs can say they were born from a vote on a name? On 9 December 1892 Newcastle East End was renamed Newcastle United, to show that the city's football had finally come together under one roof. 134 years have passed since then, and Newcastle have become synonymous with one of the simplest and strongest shirts in football: the black and white stripes.

Two rivals, one ground, a new name

The roots go back to 1881, when members of a cricket club in Byker formed Stanley F.C. Because other teams had the same name, in 1882 it became Newcastle East End. On the other side of the city, West End played at St James' Park. When its finances collapsed in 1892, it offered its rival the lease of the ground. East End moved in and in December, at a meeting at Bath Lane Hall, the directors voted almost unanimously for the new name. The word United meant exactly that: the city now had one team.

Why red turned black and white

Few remember it, but Newcastle started out in red shirts, white shorts and red socks, the East End kit. West End, for their part, had gone through blue, red and black and other combinations. After joining the Football League and several changes, the committee decided for the 1894-95 season to adopt black and white stripes. The reserve team already wore them, and they had one big advantage: they did not recall either of the two old rivals. So the Magpies were born, while the fans are known as the Toon Army, from the local pronunciation of the word town. Four league titles followed between 1905 and 1927, and six FA Cups, the last in 1955.

From the city arms to the magpie and back

For decades the shirt carried no badge. The city coat of arms appeared only in cup finals, first in 1910. After winning the Fairs Cup in 1969, 6-2 on aggregate against Újpest, it became a permanent feature. In 1976 came the club's first badge of its own: a round disc with a magpie in front of the castle keep and the River Tyne. In 1983 it was replaced by a plain "NUFC" with a small magpie, embroidered in silver, which almost vanished against the stripes. In 1988 the club returned to a more traditional design, with sea horses and the cross of St George, which stayed the same for more than 20 years. The 1976 and 1983 badges live on in the retro 76-83 crest keyring and badge set.

Grandad collars, Brown Ale and the Entertainers

The 1990s brought the shirt many consider the finest. Kevin Keegan built a side so attacking that Sky called it The Entertainers, finishing second in 1996 and 1997. From 1995 Adidas dressed the team in stripes, a grandad collar and the Newcastle Brown Ale logo. In 1996 Alan Shearer arrived for a then world-record fee and became the club's all-time top scorer with 206 goals. A little later, with Sir Bobby Robson in the dugout, the team returned to the Champions League. The clean lines of those years show in the 2001/03 home kit, with NTL across the chest.

Wembley 2025, the end of a 70-year wait

The wait for a major domestic trophy lasted from 1955 to 2025. In March of that year Newcastle beat Liverpool 2-1 in the League Cup final, with goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak, once again wearing an Adidas shirt, the brand having returned in 2024. It was the first major domestic trophy in seven decades, and for the fans at St James' Park it felt as big as a league title.

Happy birthday to the Magpies of Tyneside. Whatever changes, the stripes chosen in 1894 because they belonged to nobody now belong to the whole city.

See Newcastle United shirts and merchandise at sportarena.gr.

Photo: St James' Park – Steve Daniels, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.