“When did fans wearing replica kits become a thing?” asks Alex Ecob. “Older footage shows people in regular clothes and a few scarves/flags in the team colours. What kickstarted the trend? Did one club get there first?”
As the question suggests, this is a not a straightforward answer. Buckle up folks, as we veer wildly from copyright acts to academia, via multiple reports of unofficial kits, DIY jobs, cup-final special editions, youth strips, sew-on jobs and the like. But if we are to draw a line in the sand, and declare one date or one jersey as the first official, adult replica kit to be sold by a club to the general public (or at least those close enough to the club shop), then we probably have to give the gong to Leeds in 1973, although only children’s sizes were produced initially.
