History

1914 - Origin

Leicestershire born Christopher Cook and Harold Hurst began manufacturing hosiery in 1908 under the company name of ‘Cook & Hurst Ltd’ in Wigston. They first created the Admiral trademark in 1914 to brand their ranges of underwear, but it wasn’t until England’s 1966 World Cup success that they began to manufacture sportswear.

1970's - Pioneering

Capitalising on the advent of colour television and the heightened excitement in English football, the then owner of Cook & Hurst, Mr. T. H. Patrick, persuaded football clubs to accept individually personalised kits, which his designers would then produce and register under the Design Copyright and Patents Act.

Mr Patrick then manufactured and marketed football kits, targeting young fans who wished to emulate their football idols. In doing so, Admiral became the original pioneers in the development of the replica kit market, supplying clubs and their fans with individually designed home and away kits, featuring distinctive colours, the Admiral logo and club crests.

In the 1973/74 season, Leeds United became the first English top flight club to wear visibly branded kit - the Admiral logo was positioned proudly on the shirt and shorts. The kit was also made of a new lighter material, rather than cotton, which had been the norm for football clubs for many years. A further feature was that the socks had tags, which identified each player's number.

Fans and in particular, children, loved being able to buy and wear the same style and colour kit as their heroes and the market grew rapidly.

Building on the domestic market success, Admiral agreed a ground-breaking five-year contract with the English FA in 1974, to produce the first commercially available England shirt. The new shirt was first worn in a 3-0 victory over Czechoslovakia on 30th October 1974. The Admiral logo was positioned alongside the Three Lions of England, the first time any manufacture had been given such a prestigious honour.

Further afield, Admiral had also grown to produce kits for many NASL teams in the US during the late 70's and had a replica licensing deal with all clubs, including the New York Cosmos.

1980's & 1990's - Domestic Success

Admiral continued its rapid expansion into the 1980’s, and although the sector became very competitive, the brand continued to be worn by many clubs including; Leicester City, Derby County, Hull City, Crystal Palace and Bradford City.

Admiral entered the 1990’s well placed to build upon its widespread recognition and continued to supply clubs including; Leeds United (who were the First Division Football League Champions in 1991-1992 season), Dynamo Kiev, Southampton, Middlesbrough, Bradford City, Charlton Athletic, Wimbledon, Hearts and Motherwell.

2000's - Ashes Return

In 2000, Admiral became the official kit supplier to the England Cricket Team, who managed one of the biggest sporting conquests in recent times - winning a thrilling ashes series in 2005 after 18 years of hurt. Admiral also produced kits for the South African and West Indies cricket teams.

2011 - Present Day

In 2011 “Admiral Sportswear” was established, putting the brand back in British ownership and with new impetus, plans to reignite the brand are beginning to gain momentum.