Quartered shirts

[Amor de Cosmos]

Displayed here by Ilford (right) against Woking.



Bristol Rovers and Wycombe Wanderers are the only clubs I'm aware of that still employ them, but they used to be pretty common, especially at lower levels. In fact they seemed to be frequently a default. My junior school kept two quartered kits, and so did Prestatyn holiday camp (who I was condemned to turn out for during two successive summer holidays.)

Other older shirt styles (chevrons, shoulder facings) have enjoyed minor revivals, halved shirts are still reasonably common, but quarters have almost vanished. It's too bad because they, along with halves, retain kit design's direction connection to heraldry most clearly. I guess, more than any other pattern, they're advertising unfriendly perhaps that's the reason.

[ursus arctos]

Quartered shirts

Siena used quarters during the period when they were seemingly cycling through most of the design possibilities for black and white.

CE Sabadell in Catalona wear blue and white quarters and are therefore known as the Harlequins.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Quartered shirts

I was about to mention Harlequins (the Rugby club).

Hoops were also quite the thing, back in the day, that (Doncaster and QPR aside) are now largely only used by rugby clubs. And, as this was when we introduced the game to them, South American clubs (Flu, Boca, etc).

[Alderman Barnes]

Quartered shirts

The first time I was ever asked, as a fan, to help choose a kit design was at St. Pauli in 1991. (The options were printed in the programme.)

German teams are notoriously lax. Anything goes: plain, sleeves, stripes, hoops, whatever, as long as the team colours are in there.

Anyway, of all the options on offer, this was rightly chosen:

[Alderman Barnes]

Quartered shirts

Treibeis might possibly have been around at the time, and would have had justified objections.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Quartered shirts

Just as long as no-one on this thread mentions what Liverpool trotted out in to play Man United in the 1996 Cup Final. I'd rather they'd played in those fucking suits.

[Gerontophile]

Quartered shirts

Rogin le fan du fauteuil wrote: I was about to mention Harlequins (the Rugby club).

Hoops were also quite the thing, back in the day, that (Doncaster and QPR aside) are now largely only used by rugby clubs. And, as this was when we introduced the game to them, South American clubs (Flu, Boca, etc).

You missed one.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Quartered shirts

Hamilton?

[Gerontophile]

Quartered shirts

Queens' Park. (and Celtic)

[Eggchaser]

Quartered shirts

Quins 150th Anniversary supporters' kit, as modelled by someone who clearly isn't the shape of your average rugby fan.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Quartered shirts

There are actually quite a few clubs around the world who wear hoops — there's a serious kit nerd on a QPR site who has a running total. Last I looked it was over a hundred. There are quite a few in English non-league too, Oxford City, Kingstonian et al. I've a theory that when rugby and soccer split there was an agreement (perhaps unspoken) that rugby would do horizontal stripes and soccer vertical ones. Partly so people would know which code was being followed.

Thanks for the St Pauli ref. I had seen that pic before but forgotten it. Also, as you say, German clubs don't seem all that bothered about patterning, so there's little tradition to go on.

[Kevin S]

Quartered shirts

Reading, I should think.

(edit - bit too late on the hoops conversation)

[Amor de Cosmos]

Quartered shirts

Yeah I noticed Reading had been omitted, but considered it a good thing on balance.

[Gangster Octopus]

Quartered shirts

Wealdstone were quartered when I first started watching them.

[Kevin S]

Quartered shirts

Cambridge went for quarters in the late 1990s, which was a tribute to the kits of the late 1940s.

[Various Artist]

Quartered shirts

I honestly hadn't realised quarters were quite so rare now – is it really only Bristol Rovers and Wycombe wearing them currently in the whole Football League/upper non-League?
Partly I think this misperception of mine is because I've evidently imagined some teams wearing them when they weren't. I long had the idea, for example, that Blackburn have worn quarters as much as they have halves, at least back in the days when they were winning the Premier League. It's only a recent check on Historical Football Kits that has demonstrated to me I was apparently entirely hallucinating this.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Quartered shirts

Gangster Octopus wrote: Wealdstone were quartered when I first started watching them.

Yes, me too. Tufnell Park were another, Hounslow Town as well.

is it really only Bristol Rovers and Wycombe wearing them currently in the whole Football League/upper non-League?

Dulwich Hamlet have done recently:



But they've also worn halves and a single broad vertical stripe. And, I think Erith & Belvedere still wear quarters, but off the top of my head that's about it.

[aridShelter]

Quartered shirts

Croydon FC, have often turned out with a blue and blue quartered home kit.

[Patrick Thistle]

Quartered shirts

Apparently Shrewsbury's blue and amber colours were adopted in the 70s because they were the then chairman's racing colours.

Anyway, Shrewsbury have yet to do quarters but every time there's one of those fans design the kits competition a quartered option is often on the longlist. It never gets to the actual vote though.

[tee rex]

Quartered shirts

Would you want to wear a quartered replica shirt, though? It basically screams "went to posh school, love the rugger, beat me up now".

[Amor de Cosmos]

Quartered shirts

There is that. We've had red and white quarters as an away/change kit twice. Once in the mid-70s with black shorts — which looked quite tasty. Then a few years ago:

[Graham Arnolds Brown Suit]

Quartered shirts

Pittwater RSL FC in Sydney's northern beaches.

[Ray de Galles]

Quartered shirts

Amor de Cosmos wrote:

Wealdstone were quartered when I first started watching them.

Yes, me too. Tufnell Park were another, Hounslow Town as well.

is it really only Bristol Rovers and Wycombe wearing them currently in the whole Football League/upper non-League?

Dulwich Hamlet have done recently:



But they've also worn halves and a single broad vertical stripe. And, I think Erith & Belvedere still wear quarters, but off the top of my head that's about it.

I wondered about Hamlet but quarters aren't their traditional kit, which apparently is of one bold navy blue stripe between pink sides and navy sleeves.

I'm sure I've seen historical photos of Wembley FC in red and white quartered shirts in their clubhouse.

[Sits]

Quartered shirts

Various Artiste wrote: recent check

See what he did there?

[tee rex]

Quartered shirts

Various Artiste wrote: I honestly hadn't realised quarters were quite so rare now – is it really only Bristol Rovers and Wycombe wearing them currently in the whole Football League/upper non-League?
Partly I think this misperception of mine is because I've evidently imagined some teams wearing them when they weren't. I long had the idea, for example, that Blackburn have worn quarters as much as they have halves, at least back in the days when they were winning the Premier League. It's only a recent check on Historical Football Kits that has demonstrated to me I was apparently entirely hallucinating this.

I'm the same for Norwich. Their halves have been quarters in my head, but never in reality, if you believe Google. Happy to be corrected on this.