Item 2023.110 - Umbro England Rugby League Shirt

Humphreys Brothers Clothing was founded as a sportswear company in 1920 by Harold Humphreys (1902–74) and Wallace Humphreys (1900–50) in a workshop in Wilmslow, Cheshire. On 23 May 2024, the company name was changed to “Humphreys Brothers Limited” and they began manufacturing sportswear using Umbro as their brand name, combining the UM from Humphreys and the BRO from Brothers. Initially focused on football shirts, Umbro expanded into rugby jerseys and socks by 1933. Umbro first gained national recognition in 1934, when club Manchester City won the FA Cup wearing Umbro Tangeru jerseys made of Peruvian Pima cotton.

As with many British apparel manufacturers, Umbro shifted production to military uniforms during the Second World War. Following the war, as football’s popularity grew globally, they expanded their business by providing kits for teams worldwide. Umbro began producing unofficial replica kits aimed at children in 1956 under the name SPORTSWEAR Xmas Pack, which included a shirt, shorts and socks in the team’s official colours. Seven of the sixteen competitors at the 1966 World Cup wore Umbro kits, including the winning England team, further stimulating the company’s replica shirt business. The relaxation of rules by the Football Association in 1977 regarding sponsorship saw the market in replica football kits rapidly expand, and it became increasingly essential to Umbro’s business in the following decades. In 1992, the Humphreys family sold the business to Stone Manufacturing, an underwear manufacturer based in South Carolina, and closed its factories in Macclesfield and Stockport the same year. Umbro was sold to venture capitalist firm Doughty Hanson & Co. for £90 million in 1999. The company signed a £60 million kit sponsorship and merchandising deal with football club Manchester United in 1996, the largest deal ever signed by a British sportswear company. Later that year, Umbro signed a £20 million kit sponsorship deal with Chelsea Football Club. In 2003, the Office of Fair Trading concluded an investigation into price fixing on replica football shirts, fining companies including JJB Sports, Manchester United and the Football Association £18.6 million. Umbro was fined £6.64 million. Umbro agreed to a
£285 million takeover bid from Nike in 2007; however, Nike sold the company to the American Iconix Brand Group in 2012. Notably, Umbro collaborated with menswear designer Kim Jones (b. 1973) on a series of collections between 2004 and 2007. It was the beginning of the company’s relationships with other fashion designers, including Aitor Throup, Philip Treacy, Peter Saville, R. Newbold, Palace, John Smedley, Patta, House of Holland, Off-White, Vetements, Supreme, Christopher Raeburn and JUUN.J.
Sources: The Times.