Colours

When Stamford Bridge Athletic Ground was bought by the Mears brothers in 1904, Gus Mears first invited Fulham Football Club to move from Craven Cottage but they declined the offer.

The Mears brothers then set about establishing their own team. Names considered were Thames Kensington, Kensington FC, London FC and Stamford Bridge FC before agreement was reached on Chelsea FC. Lord Chelsea’s racing colours of light blue shirt and white breeches as worn by his jockeys were chosen as the Club’s new colours.

The image of the formidable goalkeeper Willie Foulke is shown in the first kit as it was not until 1909 that goalkeepers were required to wear different colours from the rest of the team. Socks were black with two thin stripes on the top which followed the fashion of most clubs at that time, but Willie Foulke always turned his sock top over to display an all black sock.

Photographs of 1908 show Chelsea in a darker blue shirt and although Chelsea reverted back to light blue in the 1901-11 season the following year the royal blue colour was chosen, from which time it has been the consistent team colour.

The two button ‘grandad’ style vest was replaced by the heavier rugby style shirt with collar at the start of the 1929 season. This was followed in the 1930’s with sock tops resembling the style of Manchester United but in blue and white, and a blue stripe down the sides of the white shorts which again was a fashion item used by many clubs.

The most significant change came in 1965 when the manager, Tommy Docherty added blue shorts and white socks, believing it made the club's colours more distinctive, since no other major side used that combination.

In the 1970 Wembley Cup Final Leeds United lost the toss for choice of colours and chose to wear red socks instead of white. In the Old Trafford replay it was the turn of Chelsea to change their kit to dark yellow socks and trim as depicted by Ron Harris.

The use of dark yellow was in part due to the newly established change colours of dark yellow and socks, blue shorts with dark yellow stripe. The original change kit had mostly been white shirts and black shorts although Chelsea had played in black and white stripes in 1931 against Birmingham in the FA Cup and in black and blue stripes in the 1967 semi-final.

From 1981 the home kits have changed every two years but the main theme of ‘Chelsea blue’ shirts, shorts and white socks ( albeit with different sponsors’ names and trims ) has remained steadfast for over 40 years. The away kits is a different story with an amazing array of colours and designs used. To see the full range visit www.kitclassics.co.uk

Crest

In 1960 the club crest first appeared as a badge on the shirt. The main element was a standing blue lion looking backwards, taken from the arms of the then President Viscount Chelsea. The lion was holding a staff which is a link to the Abbots of Westminster who were former Lords of the Manor of Chelsea.

In 1986 a new crest was chosen by Ken Bates which using the initials CFC in white and a non-heraldic lion in yellow, although the badge colour of the lion was changed in 1987 to red as that colour was introduced into the trim of the kits before changing to a white lion and yellow lettering in 1995. In 1997 the lion was back to yellow again.

Finally the club reverted to a centenary crest in 2005 based on the older design of the blue heraldic lion holding a staff as the centrepiece of the badge.