Post by jonw on Feb 10, 2016 0:07:51 GMT
This article appeared in the programme in 2008.
ORANGE & BLUE
When the club first moved into their new sports ground at Cressing Road in 1923 it was assumed that they would also adopt the firm’s orange and blue colours. The Essex Chronicle had this to say following the grand opening “For the first time Crittall’s colours, a new flag in cobalt blue and orange quarters, were flying on Saturday at the new sports ground of the Crittall Athletic club at Braintree and attracted a good deal of notice. As these colours are to become those of the Crittall F.C. - deposing the familiar red and white stripes which have appeared all over Essex for years and have figured three times in the Final of The Essex Junior Cup - they will become well known, and will gain approbation for their distinctly artistic blend. Perhaps the change of colours may bring the football team a change of luck, for they have tried three times unsuccessfully to land the Junior Cup and if the innovation has that result there will be a happy union of art and good fortune. The curious blue and orange colours have been introduced by Mr. Pink Crittall, and the combination will be used to advertise the Crittall steel products all over the world”. Although on the face of it a grand marketing ploy, there were dissenters in the camp and the team not only kicked off their inaugural season on the new ground in their customary red and white, but retained it for the next two years.
At the end of 1923-24 an announcement was made in the press that for the 1924-25 season the club would complete the change to Crittall’s corporate colours and wear orange jerseys with blue collars and cuffs. Again though, these plans did not become reality and it was to be a further twelve months before the colours with which we were to become so readily identified made their debut.
We turned senior at the start of 1925-26, competing for the first time in the top division of The Essex & Suffolk Border League. This bright new dawn was a major turning point in the club’s history and for our very first fixture as a senior club we took to the field for an F.A. Cup tie in Chelmsford in orange and blue hoops and blue shorts. The opponents were Hoffmann Athletic, who beat us 3-1.
The hooped strip was worn for three seasons, until 1928-29 when stripes were adopted, still with blue shorts. The hoops had been very popular though, and the club soon reverted to that design.
By the time of our election to the Eastern Counties League in 1935 we were wearing a plain orange shirt with blue collars and cuffs and white shorts. The white shorts were retained for a number of years and after the war the shirts became blue with orange sleeves and collars.
Throughout the years Crittall Athletic were the only club playing in these colours and when orange was the first choice shirt we seldom had to change colours away from home. When we had predominantly blue as the home kit, the orange was retained as the change strip.
For the 1954-55 season, when we had our one season as a professional outfit, the orange shirts were matched with black shorts. A couple of seasons later the shirts were of a paler hue and widely regarded as amber. The next kit order rectified that though and our Border League and Cup double winning side of 1959-60 wore orange shirts and white shorts. Soon after we were in blue collars and shorts, and this was retained well into the seventies although orange shorts were used in 1965-66.
For many years our club was synonymous with their orange and blue strip, instantly recognisable wherever they went. In the 1975-76 season the shirts were reversed, becoming all blue with orange trim for two seasons. We only needed to change colours away from home once in 1975-76 and turned out at Lowestoft in a one-off all white strip with a broad maroon centre stripe. For 1976-77 the orange shirts were reintroduced as an away kit. There were five midweek home cup ties under the lights when we wore the orange shirts. The last time the first team wore them at Cressing Road was on March 15th 1977 when goals from Alan Dilloway, Brian Willsher and Ron Gilson gave us a 3-0 Magnet & Planet Eastern League win over Bury Town. The match was watched by 33, and we got four points for the win (for one season only it was also five points for an away win and two for a draw).
The last competitive home game where we wore the blue shirts with orange trim was the end of season 3-0 defeat by Lowestoft on May 14th 1977. Ten days later the blue strip bowed out of cup action when we lost a Worthington Evans Cup semi-final 8-1 at Harwich & Parkeston.
The club at this time was run by a very small band of volunteers. When manager Paul Devine took it upon himself to order an all yellow strip with blue collars and cuffs for the start of 1977-78 there was no one to oppose him. The kit was greeted with dismay by our few ageing supporters who appreciated the tradition tied up with the old kit, and also the 16 year old writer of this article who was about to embark upon his first season as programme editor (and also his first campaign for the reintroduction of orange)!
The blue strip with orange trim made one final appearance for the home friendly with Brentwood on 13th August 1977 (1-1), and three days later the orange shirts were solely responsible for our 2-0 victory at Witham’s Spa Road ground. After that they were confined to training use only, with a new blue shirt with white collar used as the away strip.
Thirty one years have now passed since an Iron side has been seen in orange and blue, although it gets mentioned from time to time. A recent online poll favoured orange over a return to yellow so perhaps one day………?
ORANGE & BLUE
When the club first moved into their new sports ground at Cressing Road in 1923 it was assumed that they would also adopt the firm’s orange and blue colours. The Essex Chronicle had this to say following the grand opening “For the first time Crittall’s colours, a new flag in cobalt blue and orange quarters, were flying on Saturday at the new sports ground of the Crittall Athletic club at Braintree and attracted a good deal of notice. As these colours are to become those of the Crittall F.C. - deposing the familiar red and white stripes which have appeared all over Essex for years and have figured three times in the Final of The Essex Junior Cup - they will become well known, and will gain approbation for their distinctly artistic blend. Perhaps the change of colours may bring the football team a change of luck, for they have tried three times unsuccessfully to land the Junior Cup and if the innovation has that result there will be a happy union of art and good fortune. The curious blue and orange colours have been introduced by Mr. Pink Crittall, and the combination will be used to advertise the Crittall steel products all over the world”. Although on the face of it a grand marketing ploy, there were dissenters in the camp and the team not only kicked off their inaugural season on the new ground in their customary red and white, but retained it for the next two years.
At the end of 1923-24 an announcement was made in the press that for the 1924-25 season the club would complete the change to Crittall’s corporate colours and wear orange jerseys with blue collars and cuffs. Again though, these plans did not become reality and it was to be a further twelve months before the colours with which we were to become so readily identified made their debut.
We turned senior at the start of 1925-26, competing for the first time in the top division of The Essex & Suffolk Border League. This bright new dawn was a major turning point in the club’s history and for our very first fixture as a senior club we took to the field for an F.A. Cup tie in Chelmsford in orange and blue hoops and blue shorts. The opponents were Hoffmann Athletic, who beat us 3-1.
The hooped strip was worn for three seasons, until 1928-29 when stripes were adopted, still with blue shorts. The hoops had been very popular though, and the club soon reverted to that design.
By the time of our election to the Eastern Counties League in 1935 we were wearing a plain orange shirt with blue collars and cuffs and white shorts. The white shorts were retained for a number of years and after the war the shirts became blue with orange sleeves and collars.
Throughout the years Crittall Athletic were the only club playing in these colours and when orange was the first choice shirt we seldom had to change colours away from home. When we had predominantly blue as the home kit, the orange was retained as the change strip.
For the 1954-55 season, when we had our one season as a professional outfit, the orange shirts were matched with black shorts. A couple of seasons later the shirts were of a paler hue and widely regarded as amber. The next kit order rectified that though and our Border League and Cup double winning side of 1959-60 wore orange shirts and white shorts. Soon after we were in blue collars and shorts, and this was retained well into the seventies although orange shorts were used in 1965-66.
For many years our club was synonymous with their orange and blue strip, instantly recognisable wherever they went. In the 1975-76 season the shirts were reversed, becoming all blue with orange trim for two seasons. We only needed to change colours away from home once in 1975-76 and turned out at Lowestoft in a one-off all white strip with a broad maroon centre stripe. For 1976-77 the orange shirts were reintroduced as an away kit. There were five midweek home cup ties under the lights when we wore the orange shirts. The last time the first team wore them at Cressing Road was on March 15th 1977 when goals from Alan Dilloway, Brian Willsher and Ron Gilson gave us a 3-0 Magnet & Planet Eastern League win over Bury Town. The match was watched by 33, and we got four points for the win (for one season only it was also five points for an away win and two for a draw).
The last competitive home game where we wore the blue shirts with orange trim was the end of season 3-0 defeat by Lowestoft on May 14th 1977. Ten days later the blue strip bowed out of cup action when we lost a Worthington Evans Cup semi-final 8-1 at Harwich & Parkeston.
The club at this time was run by a very small band of volunteers. When manager Paul Devine took it upon himself to order an all yellow strip with blue collars and cuffs for the start of 1977-78 there was no one to oppose him. The kit was greeted with dismay by our few ageing supporters who appreciated the tradition tied up with the old kit, and also the 16 year old writer of this article who was about to embark upon his first season as programme editor (and also his first campaign for the reintroduction of orange)!
The blue strip with orange trim made one final appearance for the home friendly with Brentwood on 13th August 1977 (1-1), and three days later the orange shirts were solely responsible for our 2-0 victory at Witham’s Spa Road ground. After that they were confined to training use only, with a new blue shirt with white collar used as the away strip.
Thirty one years have now passed since an Iron side has been seen in orange and blue, although it gets mentioned from time to time. A recent online poll favoured orange over a return to yellow so perhaps one day………?
