- Thanks to the estimable Rob Fletcher for his assistance
As with the most recent entry in this series – Blackburn Rovers’ 125th anniversary shirt – today’s is focused on a commemorative offering.
After bidding farewell to Ayresome Park with promotion from Division 1 of the Football League, Middlesbrough christened their new home, the Cellnet Riverside Stadium as it was initially known, with a 2-0 win over Chelsea in August 1995.
That was Boro’s second game of the season, having opened with a 1-1 draw away to Arsenal, and apparently works on getting the new ground ready continued right up until the day beforehand.
It made sense, therefore, that the official opening would take place a little later, with the November international break allowing for a friendly against Sampdoria. To mark the occasion, Boro wore special shirts.
This was their second season with Erreà and the promotion-winning kit had been replaced by a new design – Boro were well ahead of the curve in moving to single-season shirt cycles – but a plainer style was used against Samp.
Using a grandad collar, presumably to hark back to the early 20th century, it was unusual in that the special crest effectively acted as a pennant, with the details of the fixture included. The previous season’s socks were used, with the navy tops jarring slightly with the rest.
Those present for what proved to be a scoreless draw had another chance to see new signing Juninho in action – he had played for Brazil against Argentina just 48 hours earlier – while player-manager Bryan Robson, who only featured twice competitively that season, also lined out.
Unfortunately, the game is also remembered for a bad injury suffered by young Boro player Stephen McGargle just after he came on, contributing to his early retirement from playing professional football.
The actual number 4 shirt, worn by Steve Vickers, can be seen at the Boro Shirt Museum.
