There’s not many kits that stand out as being truly individual and iconic; there’s Liverpool’s all red, the red and blue of Barcelona and the all white of Real Madrid. But in my view one of the classic strips of all time is that of Melchester Rovers – the team that gave the world Roy Race or Roy of the Rovers as he’s better known. The seldom seen combination of red and yellow gives the Rovers a distinctive position in the football world – making a Rovers’ kit instantly recognisable.
OK, so the club is not real and Roy of the Rovers is ‘only’ a comic strip but for me and thousands of other football fans Melchester Rovers was always our favourite ‘other’ club. I learnt all about the workings of football through its dilution in weekly editions of Roy of the Rovers albeit in a fantasy and rather far-fetched form. I was an avid reader in the late 70s and early 80s and only lost interest when Melchester signed those two blokes from Spandau Ballet. I remember being thrilled when I saw Race lead the team out at the start of the 81-82 (with the club facing life in the 2nd Division) with a brand new kit! Gone was the classic asymmetrical 70s look and in was a classy hooped look. And it featured a proper manufacturer and sponsor name in Gola!! So began my love affair of Melchester Rovers’ kits. Looking back through their kit history its funny how the writers never seemed to get it quite right. Club badges were seldom and erratically worn, shirt sponsor and kit manufacturers (even fake ones) took a while to become established (although as part 2 reveals the club have had some BIG corporate names behind them in their lifetime) and away kits were a rarity as virtually no other club in the Roy of the Rovers universe wore red. Still, none of this matters and to this day I regret never asking my Mum to buy me the official Melchester Gola strip…
When we first encounter Melchester Rovers in the 55–56 season they are sporting a typical button up heavyweight jersey in a unique colour combination of red shirt with yellow sleeves, blue shorts and red socks with yellow turnover. It was in this kit that a young Roy Race made his debut. By the 56–57 season though the side ditched the long sleeved shorts and instead opted for a short sleeved shirt coupled strangely with a ‘futuristic’ 70s style wing collar – quite unlike anything else knocking around at the time. In 1958 a more regular shirt appeared with a plunging continental V-neck and a club shield. The yellow turnover also now gained a single red band. It was a classic kit without a doubt.
Bit of a change in the Mel Park kitbag occured in 1959 when the yellow sleeves and club badge were scrapped and instead an all-red shirt (with yellow V-neck and cuffs though of course) was favoured. Another great looking design it only lasted for two seasons before the yellow sleeves returned although the badge was still mysteriously missing – perhaps it was too fiddly to draw? The ever-fashionable Rovers updated their kit in 1964 with an authentic 60s long-sleeved shirt accompanied by a round crew-neck and new yellow socks. This kit was worn right up until 1973, interrupted only by a one-season wonder badged version that emerged in 1967.
Replica versions of several of these kits are sold by the excellent TOFFS, although several of their designs also feature badges.
In 1973 a new kit emerged that for the casual supporter is recognised as the definitive Rovers kit. Crew neck, long sleeved with a vertical yellow band running down the left hand side of the shirt and continued on the opposite leg of the shorts it was certainly stylish. A nice touch was the addition of numbers on each sleeve. The socks were a curious affair with no discernable turnover and a ‘T’ shaped yellow trim. The first Melchester away kit I’ve found evidence for was this yellow reversal of the home outfit which ran until 1977 when to the glorious fanfare of a Roy of the Rovers front page a new blue shirt was launched featuring a shield badge device not used on any other Rovers kit of the time.
The vertical banded shirt actually went through three incarnations in its eight year history. As well as the original design it also appeared with a standard 70s wing collar and for one season only at the start of the 80s with a V-neck. Both strips now sadly ditched the sleeve numbers. This period also saw Rovers wear a white shirt/shorts away strip, followed by a return to blue – this time without shield but with the addition of a single white stripe down each sleeve. This design lasted for just one season before being replaced by an all-yellow away kit.
Commercialism arrived at Mel Park courtesy of Gola in 1981 with this superb kit. A new style Rovers badges was also introduced and Gola’s support of the side was emphatically made as shirt sponsors. The away kit saw more imagination than some previous Rovers efforts with its non-contrasting V-neck and cuffs and colour combination of white red and blue. Replica versions of the home kit were also sold at this time through the comic. Just one season later though the authenticity of the Gola kit disappeared as the deal ended and Rovers took the field in plain old shirts once again.
After five years the Rovers kit was updated again with a new design featuring yellow panels on each side of the red shirt. The yellow v-neck remained but the cuffs changed to red. Although the shirt did not appear to be manufactured by a specific company it did feature the second sponsor in Melchester’s history: American sportswear giants Nike. Back in the 80s Nike had only dipped their toe into the football kit world with Sunderland and had not yet achieved the worldwide football fame they enjoy today. A new badge was also introduced in 1986. The Nike deal only lasted for one season and it wasn’t until 1989 that another sponsor arrived in the form of football sticker (and publishing) giants Panini followed a year later by Roy of the Rovers publisher Fleetway.
A competition amongst Roy of the Rovers readers resulted in a new strip for Melchester in 1991. It saw the introduction of a fairly traditional arrangement of stripes in the famous red and yellow. In line with the times a button-up collar was present. The shorts featured an unusual asymmetrical trim. Another big name became the club’s new sponsor; Sega whose logo brought the colour blue back to the Rovers’ strip. The same kit was used the following season with TSB as sponsors but by 1996 the shirt’s stripes and collar were slightly altered, the old badge returned and plainer shorts and socks were introduced. A kit manufacturer was indicated on the shirt whose logo looked remarkably like the Umbro diamond! Football game legends Subbuteo became the new shirt sponsor. In 1993 another competition was launched to design the club’s new away kit. This brilliant design with horizontal red and yellow bands was the winner. The shirt featured a lace-up collar design clearly based on Manchester United’s iconic kit of the time. With typical Melchester inconsitency the kit featured no badge or manufacturer’s logo and was worn with white, red or blue shorts and also featured three different collar renderings in its brief lifespan.
After a two year hiatus Melchester Rovers returned to the newstands in 1997 sporting probably their most outrageous strip to date. Predominantly yellow the badgeless shirt featured a huge star with natty red trim on the sleeves. The shorts were yellow and the socks a classy hooped affair. As Roy’s adventures were now incorporated into Match of the Day magazine it was perhaps no surprise that the MOTD logo appeared on the shirts. For the 2007–2008 season a new classic Rovers kit was introduced along with arguably the club’s most high-profile sponsor yet – fast food giants McDonalds. It was also the first time a shirt sponsor’s corporate colours matched those of the Rovers perfectly. The shirt, which also incorporated a new badge, featured a dashing V design and the socks utilised an interesting zig-zag trim. The away was a stylish white and red incarnation. Another curious Roy of the Rovers moment in 1999 saw Roy introduce a special European kit in an attempt to raise transfer funds. This all white kit was a great design with horizontal red and yellow bands and Umbro-like diamonds on the sleeve and socks.
Readers last saw the famous Melchester Rovers in 2001 wearing the ‘V’ kit. Roy of the Rovers seems to be enjoying a bit of a revival so hopefully a relaunch may not be far away and if it does happen it will be interesting to see what combination of red and yellow kit accompanies it…
Toffs now are starting to release replicas of early 80’s kits now. I have ordered the Sheff. Utd away yellow/chocolate kit and they now have Spurs, West Ham, Liverpool and Real Madrid kits from that time.
Just noticed you have used a texture on the Melchester kits that I used to use years and years ago, seems funny seeing it again.
I’m a bit to young to remember the comics, but you’re right they certainly are unique colours.
Excellent as always John!
Just wondering will the second part go all the way up to 2001?
The one I remember most vividly was the kit with yellow ‘side panels’, I think it had a NIKE sponsor. These are great, I never knew they had blue shorts!
I used to get ROTR in the late 80s when they had some kind of tie in with Gary Lineker / some boot manufacturer? Or am I imagining this?
Think it might have been Quasar boots or something?
Apparently he did team up with Mr Lineker, in a comic called ‘Roy of the Rovers and Hot Shot’…
Top kits as usual John.
Quaser used to sponsor the ‘Playmaker’ story, about Andy Steele, a 16-year-old who used to boss First Division games from midfield
Yeah that was it! Cheers Dennis. Sadly, I got rid of all my ROTR comics, as I did my Shoot / Match collection from the late 80s / early 90s
i had the gola kit,very stylish,red with yellow hoops,the shorts were very stiff though,like they were made of cardboard.Didnt have the boots though,which the whole team wore.I wrote a letter to ROTR and included a design of an away kit which i thought looked good for Rovers,the same design but navy with light blue trim,sadly they never printed it!
The kit was worn till it fell apart and thrown away,looking back i wished i’d kept it but like Star Wars toys and Panini albums they all ended up in the bin!
i thought that rovers away kit was all yellow at the time of the gola deal? or was that a training kit?
Training kit I think John, I definitely know that the white/red/blue kit was worn by a Melchester Legends team when they beat the regular team in the mid 80s
For John Devlin, are you sure the blue away with white sleeve stripe was never worn with blue shorts and socks?
Melchester Rovers definitely wore a yellow away kit in the 1980-81 season – it’s illustrated in the game against Bradport (see the tremendous Titan book Best of Roy of the Rovers – the 1980s!).
It’s the usual Melchester shade of yellow, with a red V-neck, a red stripe down the side of the shorts and a red stripe around the sock (like a reverse of the Gola sock).
Hope this is useful!
Thanks for the all replies everyone – Ned, I’m going to check out that yellow kit – I can’t believe Rovers would have played in a third kit!! And Denis, I can’t confirm the blue away with white sleeve stripe was never worn with blue shorts, but the match I sourced it from was the FA Cup defeat to non-league Chalkford from ‘The Playing Years’ book.
What I would be interested in is any info on the away kits from 86 onwards – although I do have the two white aways that were worn with the V shirt in the late 90s.
One of those was a European kit John – the one with the horizontal red and yellow hoops and yellow socks.
The away used during the ill-fated monthly from 1993-95 was similar to that, only it had one yellow hoop sandwiched between two red, it was decided after a readers’ competition to design it.
that ‘star’ kit is awful!! the mcdonalds home aint too bad.
Good work john,brought back some good memories.
I believe replicas of the McDonalds shirts were made – I’d love a replica Rovers away kit – now that would be classy!
Fantastic article, John. Absolutely love the recreations of the kits! And I’m impressed that you included the short-lived “star” kit, as it’s easy to forget…
Re : away kits, I’ve got a few issues of the comic from around 91/92 kicking around, that show the away kit that was used then – it was actually a bit similar to the 2001 “European” kit, all-white with red and yellow hoops around the sleeves and stripes on the collar and socks. I’ll scan in some images, as I’ve found pics of it in both SEGA and TSB versions, and email you!
I also can’t be sure, and would need to compare panels in detail, but I think there was a *slight* difference between the SEGA and TSB versions of the home kit. It may just be that the strip changed artist around that time (from Mike White to Barry Mitchell) but in the last season of the weekly comic it seemed like there was a bit more yellow on the shirt – I think the two red stripes were a *little* narrower.
I also can’t help but be pedantic and point out that the white bar that held the SEGA logo actually stretched almost the full width of the front of the shirt, so that its side borders actually lined up with the outer border of the red stripes…
Hello Seb – thanks for the kind words – I’m really pleased you enjoyed the article and I’m all for pedantics! There were some slight differences in the Subbuteo away kit that I didn’t illustrate. I would love to see the scans of the away kits if you get a second to do those for me. Just email john at truecoloursfootballkits dot com. Thanks for the offer. Its the Nike/Panini/Fleetway away kits that are now proving elusive!
I still have my Melchester Rovers kit from 1986/87…the one with Nike as the sponsors….and it still just about fits!
I am looking for Roy of the Rovers Tshirts rather than old strips, does anyone know anywhere that sells these??
Hello Andy – not seen any Roy T-shirts – maybe some homemade ones on ebay?
Dunno how widespread they were, but as an 8 year old, I was bought one of the ‘home’ Gola tops from 81-82 by my folks for my birthday (or was it Xmas?) from a tiny sports shop around the corner from where we lived.
I’d not yet formed any serious football allegiances at the time but was mad about the game, so they were a bit stuck for options!
Have to say though, I’ve never ever seen another real one. Long since lost to time, so knownig my luck it’s probably worth 000’s to a collector or something. 🙂
tazbert, i owned a gola kit,got it through the comic on mail order.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=160515375385
check out the comic front,rovers in all yellow away kit!
just stumbled upon this. found my dads old melchester rovers nike shirt. it was manufactured by nike, not just sponsored by them. its still in great condition. think il start wearing it!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Melchester-Roy-Rovers-Football-Shirt-Comic-1981-/320710989297?pt=Boy_s_Clothing&hash=item4aabdd55f1
Nice find John! Only wish I could still fit into that size – I’d have snapped it up
I’d like to think that Roy is in melchester , with the Rovers in
the premiership, they’re top of the league , and in the Champions League quarter finals.
I’m somewhat of a Roy of the Rovers addict these are spot on. Perfect renditions.
Sorry to bump an old-un.
Would be great if RotR’s made a come back….hard to believe its nearly 20 years since he had his own comic!
I am putting together a series of subbuteo sets from series 1 will be 1950’s, series 2 1960’s etc. I am looking for any body who knows the colours of the kits and designs of opposition teams like Melborough, Nettruno etc.
Hi, I’d recommend that you check out http://royoftheroversstorkyk.blogspot.com, a lot of info there
im going to ask this here because its the only place fitting for it, as its the only place here where i can find reference to Gola in any way shape of form on the website
and tbh my internet searches have come up frustratingly short despite the nature of my query’s
you see im looking for information on the new Gola logo that was used on the Portsmouth kits in 1982-83 for a project im working on (FIFA modding before anyone asks)
it seems their are precious few pictures of this era despite it being a promotion winning season and the only kits that crop up are the similarly styled admiral kit from 1987 or the Le Coq Sportf kit they switched to in 1983
the old gola logo has been easy to find and the 90s gola logo also, …….but nothing on this logo that i can find
it seems to have a C next to it (more likely to be a stylised G)
any help is appreciated
Hi Tony,
Found this – is this the one you’re looking for?
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu21UwvZvN8/UhMpaJtnjMI/AAAAAAAABBc/awJBy10tZF8/s1600/1982+Geoff+Boycott+Gola.jpg
Martyn mate
You are a beauty
Thanks man
No probs, anytime.
What an interesting article, thanks a lot!!!
Cheers from Athens, Greece.
Fantastic article. I was a huge fan from around 80 to 89.
Still am really although that was THE time for me.
Incidentally the mention of Andy Steele (playmaker?) is interesting as that was also the name of the dead (or not) character in ‘the footballer that wouldn’t stay dead’.
Wonderful memories.
Fantastic article! Really enjoyed going through all those and seeing the evolution of the design over the years. I just noticed that you’ve got the 93-95 home kit on there twice! Any chance we could have the away from that period on there instead please? Bloody love that strip!!