1922/23 KITS

1922/23

1923/24

Midland League
Manufacturer: Unknown

We know very little about the kits worn during the club's early years other than the first-choice colours being maroon and white. The design of these first kits however is open to debate and at present it has not yet been possible to determine whether shirts were solid, striped or raglan. It is, of course, entirely possible that a mixture of different shirts were used during the season due to York being a new club with limited resources and possibly little in the way of F.A. kit regulations.

RIGHT: There is evidence of all three designs having been employed during City's first season.

1) Raglan: Maroon with white sleeves

The most compelling evidence (Bowser, 2019) points towards this design, which can be seen in the photograph below. Taken at Mille Crux during York City's 'home' début against Lincoln City Reserves. Bowser states that the picture shows Lincoln's goalkeeper gathering the ball and identifies City's players (Charlie Lemmons and Jack Woods) as wearing dark shirts. We can see very clearly that these are raglan-style shirts with solid bodies and white sleeves. A white band, presumably the collar, can be seen running across the back of the neck. Could this be the first-choice York City shirt? After all, there can be no earlier home game than this!

First choice

Lincoln City
(1922/23)

ABOVE: Lincoln's kit during 1922/23 is confirmed as red and white stripes with black shorts. Tommy Griffiths only played for Lincoln for this season and can be seen wearing a shirt very similar to that in the photograph.

2) Solid: Maroon

Batters (2008) dates this team photograph 9th September, 1922 and claims it was taken "prior to" the aforementioned home game against Lincoln City Reserves. The kit worn here raises questions in light of the photographic evidence of match-action provided by Bowser (2019). There are striking differences between this design and Bowser's raglan. The jerseys (including the sleeves) seem to be a solid maroon, with no areas of white visible, and the collar appears to be the same colour as the main body of the shirts. Also identifiable are the ringlets on the collar, which reach up to the shoulder.

Despite the apparent contradictions, it can be said with absolute certainty that this photograph dates from 1922/23. The personnel (as captioned by Batters) is indeed consistent with the line-up for the same Lincoln game and can be dated precisely as they only started one game together. Furthermore, Ted Thorpe and Tommy Maskill were at York for this season only, and both feature in the photograph.

First choice

Why did the players pose in this kit above and then play against Lincoln in a different one? Or could this have been a publicity shot from days before the game whilst still waiting for the match shirts to arrive? We know that the club was only formed months before the start of the season and that Fulfordgate wasn't ready yet. In which case, could these be the shirts worn by the first incarnation of the club (above) ?

3) Stripes: Maroon and white

In describing the very first York City match (against Notts County Reserves), Batters (2008) states that the club colours were "maroon and white-striped shirts and white shorts". Batters can only be referring to one of two things: the official club colours in general, or the colours worn in this specific game.

Stripes can not be dismissed easily as the first-choice kit in 1922. We know that stripes are confirmed as first-choice from, at the latest, 1924/25, only two seasons hence. Programmes from 1923/24 describe the colours as "maroon and white, white knickers." It is not inconceivable that Batters is referring to general club colours and that City actually played in stripes for their first seven years of existence (1922-1929). The evidence we have seen of raglan and solid shirts used in home games does go some way to undermine this particular theory, but could the concept of kits being used exclusively as home and away variants have been more fluid in 1922?

Notts County
(1922/23)

First choice

In the game itself, we can reasonably expect Notts County to have played in their familiar black and white, adopted in 1890. Would City really have worn stripes as a change kit during this match when the raglan and solid kits could have presented less of a conflict?