[Archived] Rovers Famous Colours And The Spanish Connection

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Interesting info taken from the history of Atletico Madrid that some might not be aware of....

Club Atletico de Madrid

The Club was founded on 9 October 1939. A previous club was originally founded on 26 April 1903 as Athletic Club de Madrid by three Basque people students living in Madrid. The founders saw the new club as a branch of Athletic Bilbao. In 1904 they were joined by dissident members of Real Madrid C.F.. They began playing in blue and white, as did Athletic Bilbao, but by 1911 they were playing in their current colours. The reason Atlético Madrid changed colours is not known for certain. However one theory is that red and white striped tops were the cheapest stripes to make because the same combination was used to make bed mattresses. The left over cloth was easily converted into football shirts. Although both Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid started out with blue and white stripes, the discovery of a cheaper option probably persuaded them to change. The Madrid club did it first and they became known as Los Colchonerosthe mattress makers. Other more plausible account of the reason to change colours is that both Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid used to buy Blackburn Rovers F.C. blue and white kits in England. Once in 1911 Juanito Elorduy, former player and member of the board of Athletico Madrid, went to England to buy kits for both teams. He did not find Blackburn Rovers kits and bought Sunderland A.F.C. red and white ones instead. Athletic Bilbao adopted Sunderland full kit with red and white shirt and black shorts, whereas Atletico Madrid adopted the red and white shirt but kept Blackburn Rovers blue shorts.

Atletico Madrid and Bilbao centenary shirts....

Rovers....copied but never bettered,spreading the famous blue'n' white far and wide!

[Gav]

Good stuff pal

[Hughesy]

The Madrid link was actually mentioned in a champs league game this year...They basically bought the Sunderland kit every season - then one year they had no shorts but liked ours & have used that colour ever since..

Are those shirts this next seasons?!

[Tom]

What team is it that was started by workers fro

Blackburn and took the blue from us?

Sure it was one of the European giants

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Hughsey,both clubs originally played in OUR club kit bought from England before the Sunderland one.

TCO,was it a Russian side?

[Tim Southampton Rover]

I'm pretty sure there is a link with a Russian team from years ago. I've always linked Blackburn with Dinamo Moscow because of the kits and also the Russian team being a club for the police or something. Anyone heard anything similar to this?

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

That sounds familiar Tim,I'm sure too it was a Russian club.I'm thinking it was just the founder who had his roots in Blackburn.

P.S. Found this info....

''Doesn't Dinamo have some kind of link to a much older team formed by a group of Blackburn mill owners, or something like that, hence the blue & white colours favoured by their home town team?''

Actually, this is a myth propagated by some wishful-thinking Dinamo fans.

There was a team in the old Russia, in a small industrial town of Orekhovo-Zuyevo near Moscow, that was created by a pair of Blackburn-born Englishmen, who were supervisors at the Morozov Factories in the 1890s. The club (probably the first organized team in Russia) was originally called Morozovtsy and did wear blue and white in honor of the Rovers.

Over time the Orekhovo-Zuyevo team became very strong, turned semi-professional and moved to Moscow, where it was renamed Sport Club Orekhovo, or SKO. It was one of the best pre-Revolution clubs in the city, but it disbanded in 1922, when the Moscow Football League was shut down.

The Dinamo team, which was created in 1923 has nothing to do with the definct SKO. The club was created by the NKVD (the secret police) and did not have a direct link to any of the old MFL sides.

Dinamo's white and blue color scheme was not officially introduced until 1926. Early on they wore white shirts and black shorts.

[Tom]

Ah for some reason I thought it was inter Milan or similar.

At least we know spurs copied our kit anyway

[bob fleming]

Rovers....copied but never bettered,spreading the famous blue'n' white far and wide!

Amen SG. Good stuff! We are Blackburn Rovers Football Club. WITH HISTORY!

Where are the American owners? They love all that history stuff! (and creating some of the premier league giants massive debt. Such a shame).

"Hey, so this is Nutt All Street! Wow! But it's kinda small..." (apologies US viewers)

Money schmoney. We'll be fine with nowt. Just enough to cover the wages - if we all turn up! There you see, I should be on another thread already. Darn it. Sorry. I'll get me cloak.

Great thread SG.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

History and some Bob!.

We should all be very proud of what we have achieved as a provincial town club...every kid in England should have a history lesson on Rovers at School!!

Just goes to highlight what a huge influence our club had on the game in the early 20th century....probably the most famous club in England at the time with its honours.

(Would be nice to keep this thread going whilst we sign nobody)

[Hughesy]

At least we know spurs copied our kit anyway

Didnt we give them our kit back then & thats what started that one?!

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Spurs copied our kit in honour after seeing us play in the FA CUP I believe.

[Blackburn Ravers]

Spurs copied our kit in honour after seeing us play in the FA CUP I believe.

. In 1884 the club cancelled a fixture to watch the professionals of Blackburn Rovers win the first of three consecutive English Cup finals. So impressed were they that the club adopted Rovers' blue and white halved shirts

http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Tottenham_Hotspur/Tottenham_Hotspur.htm

[Steve Moss]

That sounds familiar Tim,I'm sure too it was a Russian club.I'm thinking it was just the founder who had his roots in Blackburn.

P.S. Found this info....

''Doesn't Dinamo have some kind of link to a much older team formed by a group of Blackburn mill owners, or something like that, hence the blue & white colours favoured by their home town team?''

Actually, this is a myth propagated by some wishful-thinking Dinamo fans.

There was a team in the old Russia, in a small industrial town of Orekhovo-Zuyevo near Moscow, that was created by a pair of Blackburn-born Englishmen, who were supervisors at the Morozov Factories in the 1890s. The club (probably the first organized team in Russia) was originally called Morozovtsy and did wear blue and white in honor of the Rovers.

Harry Charnock of Blackburn, England, was the general manager of Morozov Mill in Russia and did indeed start a club amongst the factory workers in the 1890s who wore blue and white in honor of his home town.

I believe there was a Swiss or Italian team with a similar connection, though the names escape me.

Your neighbors, Burnley, produced Jimmy Hogan who was a giant in Europe as a manager but unrecognized in England. Which was a shame.

[deryck guyler's spoon]

Harry Charnock of Blackburn, England, was the general manager of Morozov Mill in Russia and did indeed start a club amongst the factory workers in the 1890s who wore blue and white in honor of his home town.

I believe there was a Swiss or Italian team with a similar connection, though the names escape me.

Your neighbors, Burnley, produced Jimmy Hogan who was a giant in Europe as a manager but unrecognized in England. Which was a shame.

I'd never heard of him. He's got an interesting wiki page. Good knowledge Smoss!

[wilyrover]

Zurich Grasshoppers still play in Blue and white halves. There is an old Rovers connection somewhere in their foundation.

[Zulu]

I think you'll find that Athletic Bilbao's choice of red and white stripes was influenced by Southampton FC too. Try this.

http://roker-roar.com/pauldays/navbar/bilbao.html

[jodrell]

Slightly of topic but I have been told that Rovers are the only English club that have not changed their basic shirt design. Other than different shades of Blue and swapping the Blue and White round.

[Steve Moss]

I'd never heard of him. He's got an interesting wiki page. Good knowledge Smoss!

Thank Jonathan Wilson's "Inverting the Pyramid: History of Football Tactics". He's preserved all sorts of interesting football information. Highly recommended.

[92er]

Thank Jonathan Wilson's "Inverting the Pyramid: History of Football Tactics". He's preserved all sorts of interesting football information. Highly recommended.

I think he also writes in the FT.

Is he a Sunderland fan who has occassionnally contributed here?

[LeChuck]

He's a knowledgeable man, very objective when talking about tactics. It is his quote I carry in my signature.

[bellamy11]

I think he also writes in the FT.

Is he a Sunderland fan who has occassionnally contributed here?

He is indeed. Flopsy is a Guardian groupie so I think he coerced him from there.

He's on the Guardian Football Weekly podcast every so often - very smart guy. At the moment he's taking quite a lot of stick as part of a running joke because he said "goals are overrated" when he was talking about preferring to watch a 1-1 draw over an 8-0 win.

[blue/white]

He is indeed. Flopsy is a Guardian groupie so I think he coerced him from there.

He's on the Guardian Football Weekly podcast every so often - very smart guy. At the moment he's taking quite a lot of stick as part of a running joke because he said "goals are overrated" when he was talking about preferring to watch a 1-1 draw over an 8-0 win.

Speaking of Flopsy....... I haven't seen him here in ages. All well w/ him?

[broadsword]

Slightly of topic but I have been told that Rovers are the only English club that have not changed their basic shirt design. Other than different shades of Blue and swapping the Blue and White round.

Not strictly true apparently:

http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Blackburn_Rovers/Blackburn_Rovers.htm

[Claytons Left Boot]

Zurich Grasshoppers still play in Blue and white halves. There is an old Rovers connection somewhere in their foundation.

Yes, I´ve tried to find a connection here but can´t. Grasshoppers were formed, I think, just after we won the cup three times on the trot. I think they adopted our colours because of that but can´t find anything to substantiate it. Going over to watch them against Luzern in August. We are blue, we are white, GC dynamite!