Huddersfield Shirt History
Huddersfield Town were formed in 1908 and in the 1920’s they managed to do something only Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal have managed – win the English league title three times in a row. We hope that you enjoy this piece which takes you through the best and worst Terriers kits since their first recognised manufacturer in 1980.
Huddersfield Town FC Shirt History
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Huddersfield Town Kit Manufacturer History
2018 – Present – Umbro
Umbro, originally founded in Wilmslow, is arguably one of the most underrated kit manufacturers at present. Huddersfield struck a deal with the double diamond logoed brand which lasts up until the end of the 2024/25 season, so there is at least one more round of Umbro kits to come at the John Smith Stadium.
This season (2023/24), their home kit pays tribute to the aforementioned achievement of three league titles in a row. This is signified by golden detailing throughout the shirt, but especially so by three stars printed on the back of the neck. The famous blue and white stripes also have subtle stars patterned into the background. The jersey especially commends the first league title of the three, with ‘1923/24 Champions of England’ written on the inside of the neckline.
Noticeably, Huddersfield’s 2023/24 third shirt has a different sponsorship on it to the home and away strip, and this is because it has been labelled the ‘Kit for the Community’. It pays homage to Utilita Giving, a charity linked to their main sponsor Utilita, which support individuals, families and households who are experiencing fuel and/or food poverty across England, Scotland and Wales. Lovely touch. It certainly stands out, with bright blue text on a black base, and purple, red and blue running from the neck and down the arms.
If you’re into the trend of blacked out football kits, then the 2022/23 away jersey will be right up your street, although the one that made the headlines that season (and rightly so!) was the shirt worn by Huddersfield for just one game in their 1-1 draw to Norwich City on 15th May 2023. It was the colours of Yorkshire Air Ambulance, whose logo also took centre stage on the front, and 500 replicas were made available to purchase with all proceeds raised going to Yorkshire Air Ambulance, the Huddersfield Town Foundation, Ruddi’s Retreat and Andy’s Man Club.
Another kit to remember during the Umbro era will be the prank Paddy Power sash strip which they wore for a pre-season friendly against Rochdale in 2019. It was engineered by the betting shop as part of their ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign, which encourages brands to stop sponsoring football strips. After no doubt giving supporters a mini heart attack, Huddersfield actually released three rather decent sponsor free jerseys days later.
The club also made the headlines in the previous season (2018/19), when the collection of kits that year donned the Terrier in place of the club’s famous crest for the first time in almost 50 years.
2013 - 2018 – Puma
Puma had the honours of producing the Terriers kit for their long-awaited Premier League return in 2017/18, but if we’re being totally honest, their home shirt certainly left a lot wanting. To mark their promotion to England’s top division after 45 years, the German brand decided to incorporate their ‘famous halftone gradient’ into the blue and white stripes, but this wasn’t necessarily the bad part. Puma put a red button on its neckline, but matched it by making the border put around the crest, the three stars above it and their own logo the same colour – it just looks a little random.
However, you could say that the third shirt that was brought out that season certainly made up for it. Puma reincarnated and modernised a much-loved away strip, known as ‘the flash kit’, which was worn from 1991 until 1993.
The blue on Puma’s 2015/16 home shirt is perhaps more sky blue than we’re used to with Huddersfield, but the talking point that season was a special, commemorative jersey that the Yorkshire club wore for one Championship game against Birmingham. In aid of the Huddersfield Town Foundation, fans had the opportunity to pay £10 for their name to feature on the pink and white striped v neck strip. Supporters who paid also had the chance to order a limited-edition replica.
2011 – 2013 – Umbro
Prior to their present deal, Umbro and Huddersfield had a two-year partnership just over a decade ago. The pick of their regular strips during this stint was a 2012/13 home shirt. Umbro made what on the face of it just looks like a regular blue and white striped jersey, but when you inspect it closely, you will notice that the blue stripes are finely chequered – it was nicely done.
A special, memorable ‘Help for Heroes’ kit was worn by the players in their 1-1 home draw to Walsall during the 2011/12 campaign. Help for Heroes is a leading armed force veterans’ charity in the United Kingdom and their logo featured in the ‘shirt sponsor slot’. The top had a white base with dark blue and red chevrons on its chest. It was available to buy in limited numbers, so if you’re lucky enough have one, it is certainly a collector’s item.
2007 – 2011 – Mitre
Mitre, based in Wakefield, are probably more known for their football production, but they have had a dabble with shirt manufacturing too. Their reign as the Terriers partners came with a lot of meaning with two shirts being produced for charitable causes, but let’s begin with the 2008/09 centenary collection.
Understandably, marking the clubs 100-year existence, gold was made the theme of the campaign and with the home jersey it was done quite well. A smart polo shirt strip was put together, with gold trims on its edges, gold touches to the sponsorship sections and gold text recognising the anniversary going around the club crest.
The away shirt that season could be described as ‘out there’, as it was pure gold with black touches throughout, but if you want something to be remembered to signify a landmark occasion, then that is definitely a way to do it.
The first of the charitable kits actually came in the centenary season and it was a carbon copy of the home strip, except the famous blue stripe was replaced by pink. The shirt was produced to support the fight against breast cancer and the limited number produced was quickly snapped up by supporters.
Like in 2022/23, during 2009/10, Huddersfield had a shirt produced in the colours of Yorkshire Air Ambulance in support of the ‘Keep it Up’ campaign, which is a joint initiative between the club and the lifesaving charity. All funds raised by the campaign is split equally between the charity and the Huddersfield Town Academy.
2003 – 2007 – Admiral
Admiral is a British sports brand and their time with Huddersfield is probably best described as ‘safe’. Bar one away kit, produced in 2003/04, which isn’t too nice on the eye, there isn’t a huge lot to write home about.
The spoken about top was a black crewneck shirt with one white arm – it just doesn’t really look right, despite their efforts to ‘jazz’ things up.
2002 – 2003 - VOI
VOI worked with the Yorkshire club for just one year and the home kit produced that season certainly does tick the ‘retro’ boxes. It is polo necked strip with a blue, white trimmed collar and it has three thick blue vertical stripes running down it. It also has the iconic blue stripe going down its arms.
Albeit the most noticeable thing about the shirt for me is the three stars marking the club’s proud achievements in the 1920’s being centre of the chest, making them really standout.
2001 – 2002 – Bloggs
Bloggs’ home kit for Huddersfield in 2001 also allowed the stars to take centre stage in the middle of the shirt, but the away kit that campaign is definitely the jersey of choice for me.
It was a simple black top, with blue and white trims around the arms and neckline, but the Huddersfield crest was moved to the centre. It was lovely to see that Bloggs left the crest in all its glory and moved their own logo to a less noticeable spot in the bottom left – which is quite unusual to see.
1999 – 2001 – Mitre
Mitre’s first spell with Huddersfield saw them manufacture a beautiful home strip which was worn by the Terriers for two seasons. It was a collared design with a vertical thin blue and white stripe either side of a thick one going across the base of the shirt and down its arms.
During this agreement, the Wakefield brand also produced an interesting silky strip made up of two shades of blue and yellow to mark millennium 2000.
1997 – 1999 – PONY
The same PONY kits covered the manufacturers two seasons at the helm and the away kit for me is somewhat of a marmite football shirt.
It’s a white collared strip with two horizontal stripes made up of different shades of blue going across the chest. Making it even more interesting, it also has three going down its arms. It’ll either make you cringe or you’ll love it, but they often make for the best jerseys to own.
1993 – 1999 – Super League
Super League went ‘simpler’ towards the end of their tenure with Huddersfield, but their first season in partnership was interesting to say the least. If the multicoloured goalkeeping kits were made to distract opponents, then the brief was certainly met.
This section cannot be passed without mentioning that horrific third shirt which was also made in the first campaign. It was mainly striped dark pink and white, but it had one dark blue full stripe with a dark blue collar, and the shirt sponsor oddly ran vertically. The top right of the shirt was also broken up by some not so appealing patterning.
1991 – 1993 – Gola
Gola were born in 1905 and the brand has gone down as an iconic one in Huddersfield history. The British company produced the original famous red and black ‘flash kit’ which many Terriers fans still crave to own to this day, despite Puma’s attempt of modern version. They wore this strip, along with a fine home jersey, for two seasons.
1987 – 1991 – Matchwinner
Matchwinner are starting to put together somewhat of a return to football shirt manufacturing, but their time with Huddersfield Town back in the 1980’s went from one extreme to another.
During their four-season partnership, they made two strip collections and it started incredibly risky and ended as ‘safe as houses’ in terms of design.
The risk came first. From 1887 until 1889, Matchwinner gave the Terriers a home shirt which had a large break in the stripes across the chest area. Due to the break in stripes, it was actually nicknamed ‘the bib’. To partner it they had a yellow and black shirt chequered like a race flag as their away strip.
1986 – 1987 – Eagle
Eagle gave it ago for one campaign in 1886 and they didn’t do a bad job. Both their home and away strip wouldn’t look out of place today and I have no doubt that if remakes were produced they would be snapped up fairly quickly.
Both shirts followed a similar concept, except their home shirt had the traditional Huddersfield stripes, while the away was yellow.
1982 – 1986 – Bukta
Bukta have their place in Huddersfield history as they manufactured the strip which they achieved promotion from the third division in.
Not only that, they are the makers of the first Terriers away jersey which was white. They didn’t keep it white for long though, as they reverted back to yellow the following season (1885/86).
1980 – 1982 – Barralan
Barralan was the very first out of house producersHuddersfield Town was the first football club they partnered with. However, they also went on to manufacture for Wigan Athletic, Shrewsbury Town and Wimbledon.
If you like a plain football shirt, then this is the collection for you.
Huddersfield Town Sponsor History
The Terriers are a club with an interesting sponsorship history. This is because in some seasons they had different brands on their home, away and third shirt. Let’s get right into it…
2021 – present – Utilita
Gas and electric supplier, Utilita, have been flexible with the colouring of their feature since the get-go, making me really fond of the shirts produced with them on it.
The company has also gone up in my estimations as they used the 2023/24 third shirt to promote their charity.
Utilita’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jem Maidment, says one of the reasons they linked up with Huddersfield is because they are a “big football club” and that they fit the Utilita demographic.
2019 – 2020 – Paddy Power
The Terriers didn’t have a sponsor in 2020/21, but they did in 2019/20, however as part of the previously spoken about ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign, Paddy Power agreed for their logo not to feature on the shirts used in the club’s actual competitive fixtures.
2017 – 2019 – OPE
OPE, an online gaming company, were fortunately Huddersfield’s sponsor upon their return to the Premier League, but if I am being honest, it was the season afterwards where they got the branding on the shirts correct. The first season seemed too ‘stuck on’.
2015 – 2017 – Pure Legal Limited (H), Radian B Muscle Rub (A), Covonia (3rd)
Although it was launched in Prescot, Phil Hodgkinson, the person behind Pure Legal Limited is in fact a Huddersfield Town supporter. This must have been quite a moment for him. For me, their logo brought something to the shirts.
Radian B Muscle Rub is a brand formed by Thornton and Ross, a Huddersfield based pharmaceutical manufacturer. Therefore, it would have been quite a big deal for the company to get the Terriers bosses on side. Their branding coldly matched the illuminous yellow and black away jerseys.
Covonia is another product of Thornton and Ross and you could argue that they couldn’t have chosen a better sponsor for the third shirts manufactured during these campaigns.
2013 – 2015 – Rekorderlig (H), Radian B Muscle Rub (A), Covonia (3rd)
Rekorderlig is a popular brand of cider which is created and imported from Vimmerby, Sweden. Despite it looking elegant on the kit, Huddersfield would have been more delighted with the fact that they managed to strike what was a record deal for the club at the time.
Despite the change to red away strips, Radian B Muscle Rub still looked absolutely fine, but as Puma then gave Huddersfield yellow third shirts during this period, Covonia’s logo became a little bit of an eye sore.
2012 – 2013 – Rekorderlig (H), Radian B Muscle Rub (A)
As always, Rekorderlig’s font came across as quite pleasant across the home kit, but on this occasion Radian B Muscle Rub didn’t quite give the same pleasant vibes on the away strip. That said, it did match up brilliantly to the third shirt.
2010 – 2012 – Kirklees College (H), Radian B Muscle Rub (A)
To this day, Kirklees College and the Terriers have a long-standing relationship, but this was somewhat of a landmark moment for the education organisation given it has a main centre based in Huddersfield. As somebody who is fond of meaningful partnerships, this one gets a thumbs up.
Radian B Muscle Rub’s feature looked perfect on the red and black Huddersfield away kits, so that also receives a yes from me this time. It did not hamper the shirts at all.
2009 – 2010 – Yorkshire Air Ambulance (H), Radian B Muscle Rub (A)
Yorkshire Air Ambulance relies on the generosity of individuals and organisations. According to their website, they need to raise £19,000 a day to keep the air ambulances in the air. So, for Huddersfield Town to feature them on their home shirt for the season really was tremendous.
As for Radian B Muscle Rub, their branding again went hand in hand with that particular campaigns away strip.
2007 – 2009 – Casino Red
Casino Red is now permanently closed, but they certainly made themselves known across the town of Huddersfield as not only did they sponsor the football club, they also had a partnership with the Huddersfield Giants.
In 2007/08, Casino Red really wasn’t a nice feature on the shirts, but in 2008/09, they did allow for Huddersfield/Mitre to make parts of their branding gold to match the detailing on the jerseys – this improved its appearance tenfold.
2005 – 2007 – Yorkshire Building Society
This is a brand closer to home for the Terriers, as the financial services company headquarters in Bradford.
It isn’t perhaps the best looking shirt sponsor, but as the Yorkshire Live revealed, the pair already enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship prior to this agreement.
2000 – 2005 – Prime Time Recruitment
The clue is in the name for Prime Time Recruitments field of work, but how did its branding look on a Huddersfield shirt? Being honest, it didn’t really look bad, but you could argue it seems a little bit wordy. Though, the font used from 2003/04 somewhat resolved this issue.
1995 – 2000 – Panasonic
Panasonic’s third kit cameo turned into a full sponsorship deal from 1995/96 and the simplicity of it made it a good match.
It is a recognisable electronics brand, but according to Old Football Shirts, the only other European club that they have sponsored is Nottingham Forest.
1993 – 1995 – Pulse (H), Vileda (A and 3rd)
This was the first interesting collaboration in Huddersfield’s sponsorship history, and they even added Panasonic to the mix (third shirt) in 1994/95.
Vileda’s red text on a yellow and blue shirt, and on a multicoloured goalkeeping kit, just didn’t make it very readable. Vileda are also the brand which featured on the aforementioned not so good looking third kit vertically, although on this occasion they relinquished the red for white.
Pulse’s red, however, was much easier to read on the home jersey and given the red detailing on the strip it fitted in nicely.
1991 – 1993 – Gola
Ever seen a shirt sponsor the same brand as the shirt manufacturer? Well, you have now. To be honest, Gola featuring on the shirt twice, albeit in different formats, was a bit of an overkill.
1986 – 1991 – Greenalls Beers
Greenalls is a brewery which was set up by Thomas Greenalls and his first site was based in St. Helens in 1762. He actually learnt the trade from his wife’s family in the 50’s.
The alcohol company will always be remembered as a club sponsor, as it featured on the controversial bib kit.
1984 – 1986 – Daihatsu
Daihatsu is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers. However, their website states that they have now ceased the sale of their vehicles across Europe
They had their full logo on one strip and just ‘Daihatsu’ in text across another. For me, the latter was definitely the better option, as unless you recognised it, the logoed version was just a little too difficult to read.
1982 – 1984 – Central Mirfield
Yes, I too had to check this didn’t say central midfield. Because of this, it may seem a little strange on first viewing, but the Central Mirfield partnership actually has a nice little story about it.
As per the Huddersfield Town website, Central Mirfield is a car fleet garage and they paid a fee less than £10,000 to the club. A big reason behind the deal was the fact that the company director was a massive Huddersfield Town fan.
Conclusion
It is commendable how much meaning is behind some of Huddersfield’s jerseys and sponsorship deals. It is nice to see how many charitable shirts have been issued and it would be brilliant to see them continuing to raise awareness to topics as and when they feel it is appropriate.