Shirt Legend: Scotland (home)

Way back in February this year, Some People Are On The Pitch launched its first ever Shirt Legend poll. In it, we asked you to vote for what you thought was the best England home shirt ever worn since 1964, and the response we got was fantastic. To date, we've received 164 votes and the poll remains open so if you haven't voted yet, make sure you do soon!

As you may have guessed by now, we love anything to do with football kits and football shirts here at SPAOTP, so you can imagine how pleased we are to finally bring you our second Shirt Legend poll. This time, we want you to vote for the greatest ever Scotland home shirt worn since 1964.

It's exactly the same as our England poll - we show you all the home shirts Scotland have worn over the last 44 years, we tell you a little bit about them and then you choose the one you like best. Simple.

So here are the all-important 16 shirts as worn by the Scottish national team since 1964. Click on the image below to see a larger version...

[Image removed pending replacement]

It all begins with Shirt A, which, for many, will be an all-time favourite due to its simplicity and no-nonsense styling. We think it was made by Umbro (as they were the kit suppliers of choice for most of the British countries back then) and it has a simple white round neck and white cuffs to compliment that famous dark blue.

It was replaced in 1973 by Shirt B which featured a proper white pointy collar and a white triangle below the neck. The look was pretty typical of many countries' shirts at the time and looked a little more up-to-date than its predecessor.

Then in 1976 came a bold move into the world of commercialism as Umbro rolled out a design feature which was to become ubiquitous in British football until the start of the 1980's. As you can see from Shirt C, it consisted of twin white lines running from the shoulders down the sleeves to the cuffs, between which was a repeated Umbro 'diamond' logo, also in white. The pointy collar remained, but that sleeve design was one you either loved or hated...

To see the difference between the Scotland home shirt of 1980 and the one before it, you need to look quite carefully. There was hardly any change at all in reality, but Shirt D found itself without the white triangle below the neck while all around it remained the same.

A more dramatic change occurred in 1982 when Scotland again qualified for the World Cup and a new Umbro shirt was unveiled (Shirt E). The slinky silk-like material which was already in use by companies such as Adidas had had finally arrived, and with it came a double white v-neck and some white piping below the shoulders too. The modern era had finally arrived.

A year before the next World Cup, Umbro changed things around again as a round neck was preferred for the first time since 1973 (albeit a stylised one) and the white piping was altered too (see Shirt F). On its own it looked simply effective, but with the accompanying white shorts (featuring a broad navy blue band just below the waist), it looked altogether more startling.

Three years later and Umbro went for a very modern, sleek look (Shirt G). A modern, traditional white collar with a red insert topped it off and the shade of navy blue used was ever-so-slightly different as well (from what we can make out). There was also a new badge to replace the circular ones of old and the Umbro badge changed from white to yellow. Yet again, the accompanying shorts added to the overall effect of the shirt, but we won't concern ourselves with them as you're voting on the shirt alone, of course!

Shirt H looks more like a continuation of the styling seen up to the arrival of Shirt G. The old navy blue colour was back and there was some funny white flashes on the sleeves which were typical of the early-90's which this one comes from. Not sure about that collar and the white thing below it, though...

If you're talking about radical redesigns, Shirt I from 1994 is probably the most radical of the lot. Forget fancy lines or modern collars - forget white shorts, even. This was an all blue strip and one which had a single overriding design feature that really caught the eye: tartan. It was another of those stark 'love it or hate it' shirts which really shocked a lot of people when it was launched, but if the players needed reminding who they were playing for, that subtle tartan pattern should have done the job easily.

Its replacement in 1996 had its feet firmly planted in the old design school (Shirt J). No eye-catching patterns this time, but there was now a noticeable use of red around the collar and in the piping running the length of the shirt. There were also some bold white bands on the sleeves to accompany that bold white collar. A little messy, some might say, but at least it was a real contrast from the one before.

In 1998, Umbro released its last Scotland home strip, seen at the World Cup that year (see Shirt K). Out went the red colouring and back came the simple navy blue and white. There was an understated v-neck collar as the main focal point of what was a generally understated shirt anyway, and that was about it.

The new millennium saw a change of manufacturer as Fila took over from Umbro as Scotland's kit supplier. The company, founded in Italy, began with a simple design (Shirt L) that had a v-neck, white trim and white under-arm panels. It bore a passing resemblance to the World Cup '82 shirt, only it pushed the levels of simplicity even further to the extreme.

For the 2002 update, Fila created a new shirt (Shirt M) that was a combination of two different eras. Around the neck was the 'white-wings-and-triangle' collar that came straight from the 1970's, and on the navy blue body was a series of white pinstripes that were redolent of the early 80's. The mix of devices was a curious one and came on the back of a retro revival not long before its launch.

In retrospect, Scotland fans didn't get much of a chance to admire this design as it was replaced only a year later with something from a different Italian company, Diadora. As you can see, Shirt N shows a return to a plain navy blue body but with two white panels widening from the top of the shoulders towards the area under the arms. There was also a small white triangle below the round neck, all of which made for a smart, dare we say 'popular' bit of styling.

If Diadora had found the right balance between modernity and tradition, their second offering in 2005 lurched full-tilt towards the former (see Shirt O). A strange white band had suddenly appeared along the left shoulder and that, apart from some subtle white piping down the sides, was all there was. It made up part of a quirky asymmetrical design which continued on the shorts and socks. One sided games, maybe, but one-sided kits?

Finally, we come fully up-to-date with Shirt P. Last year, Diadora did that rarest of things - make the whole Scotland strip navy blue, but that wasn't the only thing to note about it. To contrast with the blue, they used not white, not red, but gold. The colour was used sparingly yet noticeably in the piping along the shoulders and on the cuffs as well as on the numbering to give their most recent offering a curious appearance.

So which of those shirts really lights your candle? Is there a simple, classic design from way back that puts a tick in your box, or do you prefer one of the strange, left-field offerings from more recent times? We'd really like to know, so make your selection using the facility below, and if you've got time tell us which ones you particular like or dislike by leaving a comment. We look forward to hearing from you!

Which Scotland home shirt worn since 1964 do you like best?
	Shirt A
	Shirt B
	Shirt C
	Shirt D
	Shirt E
	Shirt F
	Shirt G
	Shirt H
	Shirt I
	Shirt J
	Shirt K
	Shirt L
	Shirt M
	Shirt N
	Shirt O
	Shirt P
Free polls from Pollhost.com