Season 1949/50
original illustrations of the kits worn during the season
Home Kit
Change Kit
Variant
Home Kit
Change Kit
The Season in brief
United returned to Old Trafford, beating Bolton Wanderers 3-0 in the first League game at the ground for a decade. Only Jack Rowley, Johnny Carey and Stan Pearson had played a competitive game at the ground. In December 1949, Busby paid Darlington £5,000 for goalkeeper Ray Wood.
After a solid start to the season, United managed to win one of their last ten games. Their title aspirations were ended after a home defeat by Portsmouth in April, and the finished fourth. United announced profits of over £35,000, which boosted their post war profits to almost £150,000.
Earlier in the season Pompey had drawn 3-3 in an absorbing F.A. Cup fifth round at Old Trafford before losing the replay 3-1. In the quarter finals for a third successive year, United were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in front of over 70,000. United had beaten Weymouth and Watford in the earlier rounds.
The ending of clothes rationing allowed United to renew their playing kits, although the basic designs of home and change kits remained unaltered. United adopted new socks. The plan black socks had a red top with a single white band for the home kit or a blue top with white band for the change kit.
We know that on least one occasion, at Roker Park in February 1950, United wore their black change socks with blue band, last worn during the 1946/47 season.
Heavy woollen green jerseys had been adopted almost universally by League clubs as the standard goalkeeper's kit. The only differences were to the material (coarser or finer, largely depending upon a club's financial state), and the depth of the polo neck. We believe the change shirt, which was seldom used, would have been royal blue although the limitations of black and white photography make it impossible to accurately confirm the shirt's colour.