AFL Carlton Blues Football Jumper

AFL Football Jumpers, Jerseys, Guernseys do change. Whilst the style and colours remain a constant part of the design, team sponsors,  and fabric of manufacture vary.

North Melbourne Kangaroos

AFL Essendon Football Club

AFL North Melbourne Kangaroos

Initially the original  football jumpers, jerseys, guernseys were knitted from wool. The team colours and club insignia was constant. Players wore a long sleeved version of the football jumper, jersey, guernsey with a collar and button up front.  Manufacturing processes changed and the guernsey was still knitted but from acrylic wool. Long sleeves, v necks with collars, favourite players numbers sewn on the back and sewn on AFL logo patches proliferated.

AFL Melbourne Demons Football Guernsey

Fitzroy Football Club were the first football club that began displaying sponsors logos on guernseys for a commercial fee. Ironic that the club was deemed to be economically unviable by the AFL, and ceased to exist . An amalgamation of sorts was attempted with the establishment of a new team the Brisbane Bears in Queensland, who bore the FFC initials on the back of their guernsey . A later incarnation saw the Brisbane Lions adopt the Fitzroy team mascot of a lion on their guernsey.

Today, collectors, football fans, club historians, lovers of AFL, and curators collect the older style vintage, and retro football jumpers, guernseys, and jerseys. Irreplaceable and markers of a pivotal point in an AFL Club’s history they are highly coveted items.

AFL Sydney Swans Football Guernsey

I went and saw the stage show ” Barassi ” at the weekend .Followers of  VFL / AFL football are familiar with this name . What prompted me to go was seeing Ron Barassiwalking along the beach path at Elwood beach with a few of his pals . He had a determined stride and had raised a sweat on the cool autumn morning . The show encompassed his life achievements in football , including playing and coaching Melbourne Football Club , his  secession to Carlton , premiership victory at North Melbourne and trailblazing at the Sydney Swans . Many vintage football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys , were used in the production , well loved relics of a golden past and as tribute to a dead set footy legend .

Dees

Vintage Blues

Elsewhere Barassi ‘s first team the Demons were thrashed by his second the Blues . Perhaps the Dees need some Barass magic at the moment ! Saints run of losses continued , as did the Lions , Suns , Tigers , GWS , Crows and Bulldogs . Bombers and Cats rule on top of ladder with no losses followed by Power , Swans and Hawks with only one loss ,then come  Freo , Magpies and  Blues taking up remaining spots in the eight .

Welcome to Football Jumpers .com

Football jumpers, guernsey, jersey call them what you like, they are popular right now!

Why wear a Football Jumper?

Football Jumpers are topical

Football Jumpers are tribal

Football Jumpers establish friendship

Football Jumpers give identity

Football Jumpers give a sense of belonging and fun

Football Jumpers make you feel good

Football jumpers are affordable, revive memories, are a fashion item and attract and embrace all

OFFICIAL licensed products are NRL, AFL or other code represented and are endorsed .

It is worth buying the genuine article
They look good are the right colours style and fabric and often have sponsors logos
Money from sales goes back to the clubs and promotes sponsors important to passionate supporters a s a way of supporting club.
They look right,right colours, right logos, right team mascots
The size is right and they fit, wear and wash well
Football Jumpers mark the supporter as a passionate club person
Rule out poor imitations
Give funds back to clubs and allow development of league
Amateur teams also have league colours and can have sponsors logos sewn or printed on their Football Jumpers
Licensed Football Jumpers wash easily and retain shape colour and
style
Football Jumpers are part of Australia’s national identity

From the dawn of time Australians have played footy

The laconic cries of football fans young and old raised in unison every Saturday afternoon echo around every part ot the country .

The fans love the larrikin streak of being able to abuse the authorities in this case the much maligned umpires ( ya white maggot in true strine)

Games were once played at smaller inner suburban grounds .

Collingwood , played at Victoria Park , Carlton ,at Princes Park , and  South Melbourne at Lakeside Oval.  North Melbourne played at Arden St , and Fitzroy , at Brunswick St Oval .Windy Hill was home to Essendon and the Punt Rd Oval housed Richmond , with Hawthorn at home in Glenferrie Oval ( the ” sardine can “) .

Fans often walked , rode a bike or caught the tram / train, short distances , to these matches in their football jumpers, jerseys , guernseys.

Big crowds and big money have made these grounds obsolete.

Victoria Park languishes but was recently used as a prop for a TV series .
Princes Park has been redeveloped as a training facility for the Blues and is also home to a merchandise shop and office .

The Fitzroy Oval hosts VAFA local football , with a team that plays in the traditional,Fitzroy strip.Windy Hill is Essendon’s, admin , training and spiritual home , as is the Punt Rd Oval for the Tigers.

Arden St, is the training and admin base for the Kangaroos,  and Lakeside Oval is a reception centre and home to local soccer side . Glenferrie Oval, is open public space .

The AFL”S , 70’s white elephant , Waverley Park , is now home to residential housing , the notorious carpark buried under townhouses.

Big stadiums like Etihad at the Docklands and Melbourne’s iconic MCG are home to weekend AFL Clashes.

Fans go in their thousands wearing their football jumpers, jerseys , guernseys to watch their beloved teams play on the big stage.

Vintage Jumper worn to the " Sardine Can " matches

Football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys are rapidly becoming highly collectable . As fashions and styles change so does the humble footy jumper . Long gone are the woollen , knitted , long sleeve variety with button up front and club names sewn on front and numbers sewn on back . These jumpers branded a club and a team and whilst not high fashion made a club instantly recognisable and bonded the players to each other, their club and their code . Many a mum despaired as when faced with the mammoth task of washing team jumpers they battled the soiling , the wet winter weather , thickness of the wool and the near impossiblity of getting the jumper dry for match day . Today the modern slick polyester version is usually sleeveless has printed on everything ie numbers , logos , sponsors , names etc, is able to be washed and dried overnight and takes plenty of wear and tear . However the older style jumpers are enjoying a renaissance in their twilight years as collectors world wide hanker for the old school team jumper they played in, or their teams old strip . These jumpers often plastered in unfashionable sponsors logos for tobacco companies and breweries are highly prized . The items are much sort after and collectors and fans alike will pay a high price to secure a much coveted item such as an old Fitzroy Lions jumper . Will the new cartoon like logo of the Lions be as popular or collectable as the the Old Lions strip ? Only time will tell but every woolly jumper forever enshrined under glass has a story to tell which can only grow in stature as time goes by . Will they become the true legends of the game and gaze on in horror at the modern incarnations of this famed piece of sporting apparel ?

modern day west coast guernsey

old style footy jumper