The Geordies recently posted this: Interesting info but I was struck by the kits. Some of them bear a resemblance to jockey silks (notably Derby). I know the 'first' Jockanese top was inspired by the racing colours of some Scothlandish 'Aristo' (image from, the once excellent, https://www.toffs.com/shop-by-team/football): Some of our early strips (I have in mind the 'rasta' ones) were pretty far-out - were all these basically the racing colours of some of the clubs' benefactors?
That's interesting. Thanks for posting that. I'm struck by how all the founding members were from the midlands and Lancashire and that several of them still play today in the colours they wore in 1888. Having lived in Birmingham for 30 years I know a bit about Villa. The colours come from the maroon of Hearts and the blue of Rangers. William McGregor, one of their founders, was Scottish. Villa grew out of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel cricket team, who wanted a sport to play in the winter. It was McGregor who wrote to other clubs to suggest forming a league, of which he became its first chairman. https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-kits-claret-strip-14463052
The one that surprises me there is Notts County in a claret and blue strip. The oldest league club whose black and white stripes inspired Juventus to copy them, I assumed they had always played in those.
I didn't know Notts County's stripes had inspired Juventus. You learn something every day. Such as... Athletic Bilbao play in red and white stripes because Sunderland helped set up the Bilbao club.
Apparently it was 'chocolate and blue.' I've done some research on the black and white stripes and the Juventus connection and have found the following: "The first records of the club appearing in their now traditional black and white striped shirts date from 1890 a year before the club made their first FA Cup final appearance. The new colours were inspired by the black and white racing colours of the Duke of Portland and were introduced because of frequent colour clashes." "In 1903, Italian side Juventus decided to replace their pink jerseys and asked John Savage, an Englishman in their side, if he could help. Savage wrote to a friend in Nottingham, who happened to be a County supporter and arranged the delivery of a set of black and white striped shirts." Source: http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Notts_County/Notts_County.htm So, Juve didn't steal the black and white striped kit: they paid for it. And, as @Bwood_Horn suspected, racing colours influenced football kits.
That Blue one is a very similar colour scheme to what are county colours for hockey (note the badge, I'm assuming they're both of similar vintage): I also believe that those colours from around 1908 were also the racing colours of the jockey on the hose that fell, fatally, at the 8th in the 1990 Grand National (the reason I remember is so well that I was the one of our small group of 'puffers' who put the £100 bet for the nag).
