Middlesbrough FC v Coventry City

league opposition in Bishop
Stortford at Ayresome Park.
There was a change to the
shirts as McLean’s logo
was deemed to be hard to
decipher for TV cameras. Out
went the key, and in its place
was the sponsors name in
block capitals.
Shown above are examples
of both home and away shirts
along with young starlet
Stephen Bell picking up an
award later in the season.
EXAMPLES STILL SOUGHT!
For collectors a 1982/83
shirt is one of the hardest
to source. In fact, the only
one that has surfaced is
a goalkeeper’s top that is
shown here.
One of the reasons for the
scarcity of examples of that
season’s kit is that replica
kits were not sold – so any
that may remain will be
matchworn ones. Please
write to the usual address
if you have any spare in
the loft...
HATFIELD MAKES CHANGES
The following season’s shirts
are no easier to find, but at
least replicas were on sale in
the club shop, unsponsored
though they were, for the
princely sum of £7.99!
The 1983/84 shirts we
can see (right) are proudly
modelled by Boro players
Heine Otto and Mick Baxter.
The design harked back
to the mid-1960s with a
predominantly red shirt with
white epaulettes. For the
first time the badge, instead
of being on the front, was
emblazoned on the sleeve.
Taking over from Adidas,
legendary local sports
outfitter Jack Hatfield’s took
on the mantle of producing
the shirts.
The away shirt, again in
26 #UTB