Retro Notts County Shirt – Kit of the World's Oldest Club

To understand Notts County is to understand the very origins of organised football. The club emerged from Nottingham's thriving sporting culture in 1862, predating the Football Association itself by just a year. They were one of the first clubs to adopt formal rules, and in 1877 they entered the FA Cup for the first time — more than a decade before many of today's Premier League clubs even existed. When the Football League was founded in 1888, Notts County were among the twelve founding members, sitting alongside Aston Villa, Everton, and Preston North End as the architects of the modern game.

The club's early twentieth century was marked by significant achievement. They won the FA Cup in 1894, defeating Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at Goodison Park — a victory that remains their only major trophy but one that carries enormous historical weight. The team of that era played in front of passionate crowds and represented a genuinely formidable force in English football.

The interwar years brought the legendary Tommy Lawton to Meadow Lane. Signed in 1947 after his stint at Chelsea, Lawton's arrival in the Third Division South caused a national sensation — here was England's greatest centre-forward playing at one of the lower levels, and he helped draw record crowds and restore pride to the club. His 90 goals in 166 appearances remain one of the great chapters in County's story.

The 1970s and early 1980s represented a genuine golden era under the brilliant management of Jimmy Sirrel and then Howard Wilkinson. County rose from the Fourth Division all the way to the First Division, reaching the top flight in 1981 for the first time in decades. This was a club punching well above its weight, featuring passionate football and a remarkable community spirit.

The subsequent decades brought the familiar Notts County narrative of yo-yo football — promotions and relegations cycling through the divisions with almost metronomic regularity. A particularly dark chapter came when the club was relegated from the Football League entirely in 2019 after 131 consecutive seasons in the league — a staggering fall for such a historic institution. Yet the Magpies bounced back, winning promotion from the National League in 2023 and returning to where they belong. Meadow Lane has witnessed every era of English football, and the supporters have carried the black and white flag through every storm.

Notts County's list of significant players reads like a tour through football history. Tommy Lawton is perhaps the most celebrated — an England international and the finest header of a ball his generation had seen, his decision to drop down the divisions to join County in 1947 shocked the football world. He repaid the faith with extraordinary goalscoring and helped make Meadow Lane a destination ground.

Jimmy Sirrel, who managed the club across two spells in the 1970s and 80s, is regarded as one of the most important figures in County's history. His ability to develop players and build a coherent team on a shoestring budget transformed the club's fortunes and brought them to the brink of genuine top-flight respectability.

Don Masson was a supremely gifted Scottish midfielder who captained County and represented Scotland at the 1978 World Cup, bringing genuine international pedigree to Meadow Lane. Les Bradd was a prolific striker and cult hero who scored 125 goals for the club across the 1970s — a total that made him County's record league goalscorer for decades.

In more recent times, Ian Richardson was a reliable defensive stalwart, while Kasper Schmeichel began his professional career at County before following his father Peter into football greatness — a reminder that even in the lower leagues, Notts County has always attracted genuine talent.

The club's history as a founding Football League member meant they were often the launching pad for players who went on to national and international prominence, and that tradition of unearthing and developing talent has never fully disappeared from Meadow Lane.

The Notts County retro shirt is one of the most visually striking garments in English football. The bold black and white vertical stripes have remained remarkably consistent across 160 years, giving collectors a fascinating range of variations on a single, powerful theme. Early kits from the Victorian and Edwardian eras were heavy cotton affairs with lace-up collars — the kind of shirt you can almost imagine Tommy Lawton's predecessors wearing in sepia photographs.

The 1970s and 80s brought synthetic fabrics and slightly different stripe widths, with manufacturers like Admiral and then Umbro putting their distinctive stamp on the classic design. These era kits have become highly collectible — particularly the early 1980s First Division shirts that represent the club's highest point in the modern era. The away kits of this period, often featuring amber or yellow, provide a brilliant contrast for collectors who want something beyond the iconic stripes.

The 1990s saw the arrival of prominent shirt sponsorship and more elaborate collar designs, while the nineties also brought some adventurous away kit choices that are now beloved for their retro charm. A retro Notts County shirt from this decade captures the full flavour of that distinctive football era.

With 37 retro Notts County shirts available in our shop, there is representation across multiple decades, from the classic striped home shirts to the more unusual away designs. Each one connects you directly to the world's oldest professional football club.