45. Umbro Diamond Stripe (1977-83)
Chris Oakley | 3 August 2024
What a pleasure it is to write about the great work of Umbro in its centenary year. Still one of the greatest, grandest names in football kit design, it was one of several brands to dominate the replica shirts market that opened up in the late 1970s in the UK. In order to do so, it needed to move with the times and create shirt designs that were as desirable for children as they were for professional players. That they did so with dignity and confidence back then shows why they’re still one of the leading names today.
From left: Aston Villa (1977-81 away), Australia (1980 home), Ayr United (1977-78 home), Bolton Wanderers (1977-81 home).
You had to be somewhat observant to spot the presence of Umbro in the early 1970s. Their modest diamond logo emerged during the 1973-74 Football League season when it appeared on the shirts of Liverpool (champions the previous season), Leeds United (champions elect) and Sheffield United. Yet having seen the sleeve decoration of shirts by Adidas on the continent, Umbro must surely have realised they could do something similar to reinforce their own branding.
What resulted during the 1976-77 season was a kit template that featured shirts with Umbro sleeve taping for the first time. With solid diamonds running nose to tail between parallel lines, it felt like the final piece of the jigsaw had been put in place. Football shirts finally looked like they’d entered a new era of design, and young fans finally had something new that they felt belonged to them. These were modern football shirts, and they’d finally arrived.
From left: Cambridge United (1977-79 home), Celtic (1980-81 away), Chelsea (1977-81 home, 1977 away).
A season later, Umbro refined their design with an additional version where the solid diamonds were replaced by double diamonds, and with it the Diamond Stripe template was all but complete. With that simple change, an extra degree of detail had been incorporated into each shirt and a classic was duly defined.
Teams already wearing the solid diamond taping didn’t necessarily switch immediately, but those that hadn’t worn Umbro sleeve taping before 1977-78 got the new version from that point onwards. It led to a somewhat muddied scene in the Football League First Division that season where Bristol City were wearing solid diamond taping, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion were wearing double diamond taping, and Wolverhampton Wanderers had double diamonds without the parallel line edging. It could even be argued that West Brom’s version had its own specific button-up collar and was therefore not as authentic as the others, but that leads us nicely onto specifics...
From left: Chelsea (1978-81 away), Clydebank (1977-78 home), Dundee (1980-83 home), Everton (1977-82 home).
For the purpose of this entry in the 100 Greatest Football Shirt Templates countdown, I’ve decided to focus on the key features that are the true essence of Umbro Diamond Stripe. That’s not to say that other versions of the shirt are in any way inferior or should be disconsidered. As ever with kit templates, one person’s opinion will differ from another’s. I just happen to be the person writing the article, so I’ve suggested two arbitrary rules to narrow the definition of the template.
First and foremost, I’m looking for versions of the shirt with a winged collar and v-neck. The wings of the collar can be decorated in different ways (and several were), but Oldham Athletic’s home shirt from 1977-81 with a crew neck and the aforementioned West Brom shirt don’t feature here. Sorry to all concerned.
From left: Hibernian (1980-81 home), Lillestrøm (1979 home), Manchester City (1978-81 home, 1977-78 away).
Secondly, I’m specifically including only shirts with double diamond taping, complete with edging. That sadly rules out Wolves’ 1977-82 home shirt, plus any variant with the solid diamond taping. Some teams wore double diamond taping that had its own background colour which was different from the body of the shirt and the diamonds themselves, but that was all fine and dandy with me.
Only two rules, then, but thankfully they don’t prevent the inclusion of some shirts with very particular features and adornments. Striped wing collars cropped up here and there, such as on Aston Villa’s away shirt from 1977 to 1981, or Sunderland’s change shirts during the same period. Other collars featured an Umbro double diamond logo on each wing, as with Celtic (1980-81 away) and St Mirren (1977-79 home). Then there are those versions where the taping really stood out by ignoring the primary colour of the shirt; Morton (1978-79 away), Dundee (1980-83 home) and the NASL’s New England Tea Men (1979 home/away) were great examples of that.
From left: Morton (1978-79 away, 1979-80 away), New England Tea Men (1979 home), Newcastle United (1980-83 home).
Yet by keeping the key detail around the periphery of the shirt, it became supremely versatile. As well as the many plain editions, Diamond Stripe could facilitate stripes (Stoke City, Newcastle United, Partick Thistle et al), hoops (Morton), diagonal sashes (Manchester City, Tranmere Rovers) and even asymmetric stripes (Clydebank). Oh, and we shouldn’t forget the unique ‘T’ design of the New England Tea Men which, had it arrived two years later, might have tempted Coventry City into some Talbot-sponsored shenanigans.
Umbro Diamond Stripe was probably the first big shirt template I ever became aware of as a young child. Hardly surprising: I seemed to see it every week on Match of the Day, in the pages of Shoot! magazine in perpetuity, on the back pages of my Dad’s Daily Mirror every other day, and even on those Panini football stickers that the older kids down my street were collecting.
From left: Partick Thistle (1977-79 home), Peterborough United (1977-78 home), Qatar (1979-82 home), St Mirren (1977-79 home).
It really was a colossus of a design as the 1970s ended and the 1980s began, but perhaps it ultimately fell foul of changing tastes. Just as flared trousers became passé, so, too, did winged collars as the new decade demanded a change from the ways of yesteryear. The very features that were celebrated in Umbro’s great template quickly dated, and a sweeping away of visual clutter on football shirts became the new trend.
Diamond Stripe somehow held on until 1983 against a backdrop of pinstripes and silky nylon, but it inevitably disappeared thereafter having undoubtedly made its mark across the UK and beyond.
From left: Stoke City (1977-83 home), Sunderland (1977-81 away, 1980-81 third), Tranmere Rovers (1979-80 home).
That was until 1998, when Umbro’s diamond taping roared back for a retro encore as part of Manchester United’s home kit. Updated with additional edging, it looked magnificent and served perfectly as a reminder that several decades before, Umbro used to be great at designing football shirts. At the end of the 1998-99 season, Manchester United were crowned Premier League champions, and they did it wearing Umbro’s new diamond taping on their shirts. Fashions may change, but for the company founded 100 years ago in Wilmslow, Cheshire, success remains a constant.
Many thanks go to John Devlin for his help in researching this template.
To see the full set of Umbro Diamond Stripe kits, visit the Umbro Diamond Stripe template gallery page.