Playing for the Shirt

Playing for the Shirt A history of the Glentoran shirt from 1882 to the present day.

Happy new year from Playing for the Shirt, wishing you and yours a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2021. COYG
31/12/2020

Happy new year from Playing for the Shirt, wishing you and yours a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2021. COYG

22/11/2020

Ohhhhhhh......all getting very real...designed by the living legend that is Clifford Logan. Back sleeve photography by Stanley Robinson. Front cover Hertha Berlin v Glentoran from Der Rasensport, Germany's biggest football magazine in 1914....one player died in the trenches of the Western Front, one player went on to play for one of the biggest teams in the world...find out which was which in One Saturday before the War.

We made the decision early on to keep the format the same as the Green Sward so that it was recogniseable as a Glentoran book...creating a brand lol...not a bad design concept for two mates that just go to the football together...

1965-1966The first V design on a Glentoan shirt since 1902, this must rank as one of the most bizarre kits Glentoran hav...
22/11/2020

1965-1966
The first V design on a Glentoan shirt since 1902, this must rank as one of the most bizarre kits Glentoran have ever worn. During a period of upheaval at boardroom level, director, the late Paddy Hunt purchased this shirt for the Glens. Its introduction even made the local papers with a picture of Glentoran fan Mrs Connie Duncan gazing admiringly at the new strip. Its lifespan was short but its arrival also brought with it the introduction of numbers on the player's shorts. Glentoran lifted the Irish Cup in April 1966 in the famous Terry Conroy final (not in this kit), along the way though it took two replays against Distillery to dispose of the Whites, played out wearing this memorable shirt. In Europe the Glens were up against Royal Antwerp again in the Fairs Cup. Trevor Thompson was on fire.

1963-1973If shirts could talk, then this one could tell a tale. This simple design first saw the light of day as Glentor...
22/11/2020

1963-1973
If shirts could talk, then this one could tell a tale. This simple design first saw the light of day as Glentoran mounted an assault on the Gibson Cup during the 1963/64 season. This was the shirt worn by the Glens when they went to Windsor in the Irish League on the 4th April 1964. Glentoran hadn't won at Windsor since March 1947. No one could have predicted that not only would Glentoran come away victorious but they would crush the old enemy 8-1 in the process. Ike McDowell steered the C**k 'n' Hens to another 5-1 thumping of the Blues in the semi-final of the County Antrim Shield before retiring from football with the Irish League Championship safely back on Mersey Street. Significantly this design was also worn by Glentoran against Greek Champions Panathanaikos under the newly commissioned Oval floodlights. Radical changes were about to overhaul Glentoran colours however this shirt would remain as an away option right up until 1973 when it was worn in the final of the Blaxnit Cup

1965This shirt came to light recently thanks to Manx Glenman Robert Burns. All that is known about this shirt is that th...
21/11/2020

1965
This shirt came to light recently thanks to Manx Glenman Robert Burns. All that is known about this shirt is that the Glens opened the 1965 season wearing it on at least two occasions against Crusaders in the Ulster Cup losing 4-1 and against Ards in the Irish League which also resulted in a 3-2 defeat for the C**k n Hens. On the subject of cockerels this shirt may well have carried the famous emblem for the very first time Glentoran also posed for a team photograph in this shirt, which Robert who remembers it well and who provided the pictures believes contained a very thin red round neck collar. The shirt was worn with white shorts and green socks with a red trim.

1965Attired in elegantly cut suits made by the club’s tailor J.R. McMahon from Portadown 14 Glentoran players in a party...
21/11/2020

1965
Attired in elegantly cut suits made by the club’s tailor J.R. McMahon from Portadown 14 Glentoran players in a party of 37 flew out of Aldergrove for the Glens Inter Cities Fairs Cup game against Royal Antwerp on the 28th September 1965. The team arrived in Brussels then made the 30 mile trip by coach to the port city. Glentoran stayed in the Nautilus Hotel on the banks of the river Scheldt. Gibby MacKenzie’s side lost the tie 1-0 and it would appear were forced to wear Royal Antwerp’s all white strip for the game, the red, green and black of Glentoran clashing with the Belgians’ red white and black home kit. Again a solitary photograph has been un-earthed showing Glentoran players in all white appealing for an off-side decision against Antwerp’s Marcel Jansens. The return leg in Belfast may have been epic if the large crowd that turned up could have seen it. The Oval was fog bound for duration of the 3-3 draw.

1963-1965This is another extremely rare example. Worn primarily by Glentoran Second XI, it was used by the first team sq...
21/11/2020

1963-1965
This is another extremely rare example. Worn primarily by Glentoran Second XI, it was used by the first team squad to play in against Partick Thistle in the Fairs Cup and also when Glentoran defeated Portadown 4-0 in the Irish League (a game in which Trevor Thompson scored one of his frequent hat-tricks) The Glens introduced outrageously modern white socks with red and green squares around the turnover to compliment this shirt. Glentoran Seconds were still wearing this shirt when winning the Steel and Sons Cup final in 1965.

21/11/2020

Apologies for the lack of updates recently, with my day job and other distractions the PFTS page has been neglected of late.
I am hoping to keep the page updated more regularly in the coming months.

1963-1964The style of shirt had been used several times before. In March 1963 Glentoran would lift the Gold Cup at Winds...
21/06/2020

1963-1964

The style of shirt had been used several times before. In March 1963 Glentoran would lift the Gold Cup at Windsor Park by defeating Derry City 3-1. The design appeared mid season and slowly replaced the version with the black vertical stripes. Trevor Thompson, Matt Doherty, Walter Bruce and a young Billy McCullough were all starting to show promise. The success starved supporters of East Belfast sensed that they were witnessing the first shoots of a very successful new side. The Glens also wore this shirt in an epic friendly against Glasgow Celtic at the Oval on the 28th February 1963 losing to the odd goal in nine against the Scottish side and also during an amazing goal spree in the 1964 City Cup, which Glentoran went on to win under Gibby MacKenzie. This shirt was worn with distinction against the Greek giants Panathanaikos in The Bear Pit Athens on 30th September 1964 with Glentoran scoring two away goals in the 3-2 defeat.

1962-1963With the exception of the Club's brief utilisation of a Crusaders shirt during the war, this was the first top ...
21/06/2020

1962-1963

With the exception of the Club's brief utilisation of a Crusaders shirt during the war, this was the first top to incorporate stripes into the kit design. It was worn with white shorts and green socks. Isaac McDowell had taken over as manager and slowly several new players began to make an impact at the Oval, amongst them, the bespectacled Eric Ross and the young Richie Warburton at outside right. This was to be a really significant shirt as it was the first one to be worn by Glentoran in European competition (the Vienna Cup excluded). In 1962 despite winning nothing the previous season, the Irish League had selected Glentoran to represent Northern Ireland in the rejuvenated Inter City Fairs Cup. The Glens opponents were the illustrious Real Zaragoza from Spain. Despite a defiant display both at home and away, the East Belfast outfit would crash out of the competition 8-2 on aggregate. The Gold Cup was won but not in this shirt and the board announced plans to install floodlights at the stadium.

1960-1963Version 2 of the cotton V neck was also used with a combination of white, green and red shorts. The new image a...
21/06/2020

1960-1963

Version 2 of the cotton V neck was also used with a combination of white, green and red shorts. The new image again though did little to improve the fortunes of the Glens on the field as Linfield amassed a seven trophy haul during the 1961/62 season. Glentoran were a side in transition during the early part of the decade. For example the 1961 campaign had been masterminded by no less than three Glentoran managers. Tommy Briggs started off the season as Oval boss before Len Kane took over the reigns in November. Kane would last only five months before the Glentoran Board moved to appoint ex Belfast Celtic centre-half and former Portadown and Glenavon manager Harry Walker as the man in the hot seat. There were only two Gold Cup final wins to show for three seasons' efforts.

1960-1963The use of red socks and white shorts and green socks with red shorts made this a bizarre combination for a kit...
21/06/2020

1960-1963

The use of red socks and white shorts and green socks with red shorts made this a bizarre combination for a kit. Again it first appeared at the start of the Sixties with two different collar designs. This strip saw Glentoran move away for the first time from white shorts and dark socks. Coventry City had been the first team in the English League to adopt a matching shirt and shorts combination. With more games coming under floodlights, the trend was to make playing strips brighter and with a plainer design for evening games. Both this shirt and it's counterpart with the red collar were used sparingly, but primarily in the 1961/62 season.

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