Season 1919/20
original illustrations of the kits worn during the season
Home Kit
Home Kit 2
Home Kit 3
Change Kit
Change Kit 2
Home Kit
Change Kit
The Season in brief
The first team were a mixture of pre war players and new signings. Billy Meredith, who was still owed money from his 1912 benefit, had refused to sign a new contract and wanted to be released on a free. He eventually signed at Christmas.
The first post war 'derby' at Hyde Road in October was a classic, United winning 4-3 after City had come from behind three times. Another highlight was the 5-3 win at Burnden Park in April. United, two down, scored four goals in thirteen minutes either side of the interval. Such high scoring games were the exception however as United relied on a strong defence rather than prolific attack.
The return of League football was greeted with record attendances at almost every League ground. United's average of over 26,000 was more than double that of the 1914/15 campaign, and the club were able to announce record profits of around £12,000 for the season. Despite this, the Board refused benefits for either club captain Arthur Whalley or Wilf Woodcock, and both left the club at the end of the season.
It is likely that the club continued to use pre war kits when League football resumed in autumn 1919. A photograph of United's first team taken in December 1919 shows the team in a rather battered set of jerseys that had been worn first almost a decade earlier!
Photographs taken immediately before and after the War, suggest the club continued to wear blue and white striped shirts as change colours. By 1921/22 United's change kit had broader stripes than their pre War shirts. We have been unable to determine the exact point at which this change occurred.
We have been able to determine that United's goalkeepers wore a heavy woolen green jersey. We believe from later photographic evidence, and given the limited colour options available under League regulations, the goalkeeper change shirt was probably royal blue.