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  The 1980s

Clubs began to exploit the potential revenue from selling shirt sponsorship.  The BBC and ITV companies refused to broadcast matches featuring branded shirts, forcing clubs to remove sponsors’ logos when the cameras were present.  In 1983 the TV companies finally gave way and allowed sponsored shirts to be broadcast: immediately the value of a sponsorship deal with a club that would feature regularly on Match of the Day or the equivalent ITV programme went through the roof.  At the time, Football League regulations restricted the size of logos to a maximum of 81square centimetres, but for televised games they had to be half this size.

A third colour was introduced to the strips of most clubs: Liverpool, for example, who had introduced yellow to their kit in 1976, featured pale grey trim in the mid-1980s and later dark green.

In the 1982 FA Cup Final Tottenham Hotspur unveiled the first shadow stripe design and suddenly everyone was sporting shadow stripes, pin stripes or both as technology allowed for ever more intricate designs.

Towards the end of the decade shirts became more generously cut as new lightweight fabrics became available. Improvements in production allowed for intricate designs to be woven or printed into the fabric itself, permitting manufacturers to counteract the burgeoning market in cheap counterfeit kits that began to appear.

click on a kit icon below to go direct to details for that season
80-81 81-82 82-83 83-84 84-85 85-86 86-87 87-88 88-89 89-90
 
1980-81  Third Division Top  Home
Another change of design, and another change of manufacturer - this time to Adidas.  As well as featuring the maker's logo on the shirt, a feature which had now become the norm. The away kit, of all red, had the same pattern of three stripe markings on the sleeves & socks and logo stripe on the shorts, as the home kit.
Match by match view
Home kit 'Away' kit
 
1980-81 Home shirt 'Away' shirt
   
 

1980-81 Squad photo
click to enlarge

Club badge

 

 
1981-82  Third Division Top  Home
This appears to be the first season that Oxford had (for some matches only) a sponsors name or logo appearing on their playing shirt: the "Sunday JOURNAL".  Otherwise the home and 'away' kits were as that of the previous season.
Match by match view
Home kit Home kit Alternative kit Alternative kit 'Away' kit
 
1980-82 Home shirt 'Away' shirt
   

1981-82 Team photos
click to enlarge

 

23 Jan 1982
Keith Cassells, Brighton v OUFC
23 Jan 1982
Fogg, Shotton & Thomas celebrate after
the 3-0 FA Cup win at Brighton
13 Feb 1982
Mark Wright, after defeat at Coventry in the FA Cup
 
1982-83  Third Division Top  Home
A change of manufacturer to Spall Sportswear was undertaken for the strips of the 82-83 season, and they continued to be the company used for the following two seasons.
This strip had yellow shirt, with a blue pinstripe, with plain blue shorts and yellow socks.  The collars of the previous ten seasons also disappeared, with a return to a plain v neck.
Match by match view
Home kit
(BPCC sponsor)
Home kit
(Pergamon sponsor)
Alternative kit
11-09-82 @ Preston N.E. (Lge)
26-02-83 @ Wallsall (Lge)
12-03-83 @ Exeter City (Lge)
'Away' kit
28-08-82 @ Gillingham
12-01-83 @ Torquay U.(FA Cup)
12-02-83 @ Cardiff City (Lge)
 
1982-83 Home shirt 1982-84 'Away' shirt
click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge

1982-83 Team photo
click to enlarge

1982-83 Squad photo
click to enlarge

28 Aug 1982
Gary Barnett, Gillingham v OUFC

 
1983-84   Champions of Third Division. Top  Home
BPCC were a sponsor during this season, although two different versions were used: the first was a stylised logo (as shown in the Gary Barnett picture) and the other was the plain "B P C C" in black lettering.  The sponsor "PERGAMON" was also used on the shirts in some matches.
The text under the ox head logo on the shirt was "O.U.F.C."
A third kit of all white was also used in one match - away v Bradford City on 3 March 1984.   This would have been used due to the home team colours of red & yellow stripes.
Match by match view
Home kit Alternative kit
03-09-83 @ Wigan Ath. (Lge)
Alternative kit
06-03-84 @ Sheffield Utd. (Lge)
'Away' kit
01-11-83 @ Wimbledon (Lge)
Third kit
03-03-84 @ Bradford City
28-04-84 @ Newport Cnty (Lge)
1983-84 Home shirt 1982-84 'Away' shirt
  click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge
 
1983-84 Team with Division 3 trophy
click to enlarge
Shotton receives the Div 3 trophy Parading the trophy at The Manor  
 

 

Steve Biggins

12 May 1984
George Lawrence, OUFC v Rotherham

Oxford United v Manchester United, 30 Nov 1983, League (Milk) Cup.  Video Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
Oxford United v Manchester United, 19 Dec 1983, League (Milk) Cup 2nd Replay.  Video Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
Oxford United v Everton, 18 Jan 1984, League (Milk) Cup.  Video  Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
Wallsall v Oxford United, 7 April 1984, League
 
1984-85   Champions of Second Division. Top  Home
The same yellow design of home shirt was used in 84-85 as the previous season, apart from the addition of "DIVISION III CHAMPIONS 1983-84" around the Ox head logo.  This lettering was also used on the new white 'away' shirt of this season.  The shorts were similar to the previous season, but now also with a pinstripe.
BPCC continued as the sponsor for the first part of the season, and again the plain "B P C C" was used, but this time in blue lettering.  The "Sunday People" took over the shirt sponsorship from 10 October 1984 game against Brighton, h
owever, the rules of wearing sponsored shirts in matches that were televised in those days meant that you were only allowed to wear one sponsor on tv per season, which meant that for the seasons later games shown on tv, (eg. Oldham on Match of the Day in April) the BPCC shirts still had to be used.
Match by match view
Home kit
 
Alternative kit
20-11-84 @ Ipswich Tn(Lge Cup)
09-03-85 @ Sheffield Utd (Lge)
06-04-85 @ Cardiff City (Lge)
Alternative kit
25-09-84 @Blackb'n Rs (Lge Cup)
'Away' kit
10-11-84 @ Shrewsbury Tn(Lge)
05-01-85@Shrewsb'y T.(FA Cup)
13-04-85 @ Wolves (Lge)
'Away' kit
08-09-84 @ Wimbledon (Lge)
1984-85 Home shirt 1984-85 'Away' shirt
click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge
 
 
1984-85 Squad photo
click to enlarge
1 Sep 1984
Hamilton & Aldridge,
OUFC v Portsmouth
13 Apr 1985
Kevin Brock, Wolves v OUFC
4 May 1985
Malcolm Shotton & Trevor Hebberd,
OUFC v Notts County
 
Oxford United v Arsenal, 31 Oct 1984, League (Milk) Cup.  Video  Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
Oxford United v Leeds United, 24 Nov 1984, League.  Video  Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
Blackburn Rovers v Oxford United, 23 Feb 1985, League
 
1985-86   First season in First Division.  League (Milk) Cup winners. Top  Home
For the clubs first season in the top flight there was a return to kit manufacturer Umbro.  The blue in the strip was changed from the royal blue a darker navy blue.
The wording around the ox head was again changed to be "1ST DIVISION 1985/6" only, on both the yellow home shirt and on the centrally placed badge of the new white 'away' top.  
The new design of strip also had a new sponsors logo, "WANG", inside a rectangular shaped box.
Match by match view
Home kit Alternative kit 'Away' kit
26-10-85 @ Watford (Lge)
1985-86 Match worn home shirt 1985-88 'Away' shirt
click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge

1985-86 Squad photos
click to enlarge

In 'away' kit

 
Trevor Hebberd Les Phillips 7 Sep 1985
Malcolm Shotton, Man Utd v OUFC
 
Neil Slatter
 
1986-87  First Division Top  Home
The same kits were used as in the previous season, with the slight change of the sponsors logo to "WANG COMPUTERS".
At one game only in this season (Southampton, 18 Apr 87) a third kit was used! This was a v neck shirt in royal blue and shadow pin stripes, and worn with blue shorts and socks.
Match by match view
Home kit Alternative kit Alternative kit
03-01-87 @ Man City (Lge)
'Away' kit
23-08-86 @ Watford (Lge)
29-11-86 @ Norwich City (Lge)
Third kit
18-04-87 @ Southampton (Lge)
 
1986-87 Home shirt (with 85-86 badge) 1985-88 'Away' shirt (with 85-86 badge) 86-87 'third' shirt
click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge
1986-87 Squad - with Milk Cup
click to enlarge

5 May 1987
Dean Saunders,
Luton Town v OUFC

 
1987-88  Finished 21st in First Division, relegated to Second Division. Top  Home
A new home kit design was produced by Umbro for this and the following season, although the 'away' kit remained unchanged for 87-88.
The wording on the shirt badge was changed to just "OXFORD UNITED" placed between the horns of the ox, with "1962-1987 25th Anniversary" below the ox.   Wang Computers remained as the sponsor - in the same style as on the previous season's shirt
Match by match view
Home kit Alternative kit
28-11-87 @ Everton (Lge)
12-12-87 @ Manchester Utd (Lge)
Alternative kit
26-09-87 @ Derby County (Lge)
'Away' kit
30-01-88 Bradford City (FA Cup)
09-04-88 @ Watford (Lge)
1987-89 Home shirt 1985-88 'Away' shirt (with 85-86 badge)
click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge
 
 
1987-88 Team line-up
click to enlarge
Dave Langan
(with 25th anniversary badge wording)
  Richard Hill            David Bardsley             Gary Shelton
 
1988-89  Second Division Top  Home
The final season for the Umbro kits, and also for the Wang Computers sponsored shirts.  For this, and the following seasons, the wording on the badge was just "OXFORD UNITED" placed between the horns of the ox.
There was also a return to red for the colour of the 'away' strip after four seasons of predominantly white kits, although the previous season's white kit was still used as a third choice.
Match by match view
Home kit Alternative kit 1
08-10-88 @ Portsmouth (Lge)
Alternative kit 2
05-11-88 @ WBA (Lge)
Alternative kit 3
05-10-88 @ Swindon Town (Lge)
04-03-89 @ Birmingham Cty(Lge)
'Away' kit
15-10-88 @ Ipswich Town (Lge)
26-11-88 @ Man.City (Lge)
25-03-89@Brighton & H.Alb(Lge)
01-04-89 @ Leicester City (Lge)
Third kit
10-12-88 @ Watford (Lge)
1987-89 Home shirt 'Away' shirt
click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge
 
   
 
1989-90  Second Division Top  Home
A new design from the new manufacturer, Scoreline, saw a shirt that had all blue arms - this style had not been used on a club shirt since the days of Headington United in the 1950s.   Red continued to be the colour for the 'away' strip.
For 89-90 OUFC did not have a sponsor at all until the Wolves game on 9 December, and then had "PERGAMON" with the company logo below the wording, which was then reversed to have the logo above the wording from the West Bromwich Albion game onwards (10 Feb  1990).
Match by match view
Home kit (pre 9 Dec) Home kit (post 9 Dec) Alternative
27-01-90 @ South'pton (FA Cup)
'Away' kit (pre 9 Dec)
23-08-89 @ Fulham (Lge Cup)
02-09-89 @ Blackburn Rvrs.(Lge)
16-09-89 @ WBA (Lge)
'Away' kit (88-89 top)
04-11-89 @ Port Vale (Lge)
'Away' kit (post 9 Dec)
30-12-89@Brighton & H.Alb(Lge)
13-01-90 @ Watford (Lge)
17-03-90 @ Portsmouth (Lge)
21-04-90 @ Wolves (Lge)
1989-90 Home shirt (pre 9 December) 1989-90 John Durnin 'match worn' home shirt (post 9 Dec)
click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge
 
1989-90 'Away' shirt
click on the shirt for a close-up of the badge
1989-90 Squad photo
click to enlarge
 
 

1893-1918

 

1918-1940

 

1940-1960

  1960s   1970s   1980s   1990s   2000s   All Years   By Match   Shirts/logos    Badges

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The following shirt photographs were donated by Dan Peedell: 82-83 home, 82-84 away, 84-85 home & away, 85-88 away, 85-86 home, 86-87 home, 87-89 home, ,88-89 away, 89-90 away.