Admiral Sportswear

Female workers of the Cook & Hurst factory, photographed c. 1914

"Cook & Hurst Ltd.", a Leicester-based manufacturing company of underwear established by Christopher Cook and Harold Hurst in Wigston in 1908, created the 'Admiral' trademark in 1914 to brand their products. When England won the World Cup in 1966, Bert Patrick, the owner of Cook & Hurst Ltd, commenced manufacturing and marketing football kits.[4] The kits sales were aimed at the juvenile market and through selling connections in the sports retail trade. Bert Patrick believed that the advent of coloured television would enable him to persuade football clubs to accept personalised kits which his designers would produce and then register them under the Design Copyright Act. There was stiff opposition to his ideas from all sections of the public.

Through its connection with Leeds United, Admiral pioneered the introduction and development of the replica kit market in the UK.[5] In the 1973–74 season, Leeds United wore the first visibly branded kit in the English top flight.[6]

Realising the potential of the replica kit market, Admiral brokered a deal with the Football Association in 1974 to produce the first commercially available England shirt that featured a sportswear manufacturers logo. They agreed a five-year contract for a starting payment of £15,000 a year or a 10 per cent royalty.

Admiral signed up other big clubs alongside Leeds United, such as Manchester United,[7] Coventry City, Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, and West Ham. It also developed outside England, signing sides Aberdeen, Dundee and Motherwell in Scotland, Yugoslavian club Red Star Belgrade, Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt, the Italian clubs Bologna and Monza, the Swiss club Servette, Swedish giants Malmö, and the Indian club Kerala Blasters, in addition to the national teams of Belgium, Saudi Arabia and Wales. Admiral also produced kits for many of the NASL teams during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and had a replica licensing deal with some clubs, and for two seasons produced the uniforms for every team in the MISL.

A signed Admiral England jersey exhibited in Spain. This model was worn from 1980 to 1983[8]

Admiral began the decade with the launch of a new England kit in 1980,[8][9] the first new kit in nearly 6 years. This kit was first worn in a 3–1 win over Argentina at Wembley Stadium on 13 May, and lasted until 1983.[10] However, the 1980s marked a period of decline for the Admiral brand, as it began to lose the contracts with the major clubs to domestic rival Umbro and new international entrant Adidas.

Even though Admiral still held the England kit contract, one of the most valuable in the world, the company was declared bankrupt in 1982. The brand reappeared on the market for the 1983–84 season producing the same double pinstripe design for both Leicester City and Notts County. Towards the end of the 1980s Bradford City, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace, Hull City, Swansea City and Wrexham were added to the Admiral roster. It was also the first ever kit maker of Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Admiral entered the 1990s well placed to build upon its widespread recognition and continued to supply clubs including Dynamo Kyiv, Southampton, Middlesbrough, Bradford City, Charlton Athletic, Wimbledon, Hearts, Motherwell, Rangers, Partizan Belgrade and many more. In 1992 after Leeds United had won the last Football League division One title before the advent of the Premier League they negotiated a deal to make their kits for the following season.

After a period of relative inactivity during the mid-1990s, the Admiral trademark was acquired by Hay & Robertson plc in 1997, and ownership was transferred to International Brand Licensing plc in a demerger in 2002.

In 2000, Admiral entered the world of cricket and was the official kit supplier to the England cricket team until 2008 (the sponsorship was then taken over by Adidas). By 2001, it had also become the kit supplier to the West Indies and South Africa cricket teams as well as supplying the Canadian team for the 2003 Cricket World Cup held in South Africa. However, Admiral kept its connection with English football by sponsoring Leeds United until the end of the 2007–08 season.

In the 2010s, Admiral continues to sponsor a number of football teams around the world.[3][11]

In 2011, Admiral Sportswear Limited acquired the rights of the Admiral trademark for most of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, with the intention of revitalizing the heritage sports brand.[1][12][13]

In 2016, Wimbledon won promotion to EFL League One[14] wearing Admiral. This is the highest position the club has held in the football league. In Italy Cisalfa Sport have the exclusive licence to retail Admiral Performance and Essentials.

As part of the regeneration project Admiral started to work and collaborate with different design partners.[15] The first of these was with Represent,[16] shown at the 2019 Milan Fashion Week[17]

In September 2020, the "Admiral Sporting Goods Co." line was launched. The line, that took inspiration from pre-1966 sportswear, was composed of t-shirts, hoodies, and accessories.[18] the projects first collaboration was with Acme Whistles the inventors of the first every pea whistle.

Also that year, the company together with Wellgosh made a special common release.[19][20]

•  Sint Maarten
•  U.S. Virgin Islands

• United States[24]
• Canada

• Satoshi Kodaira
• Nasa Hataoka

• Himari Sato

• Ti-Raleigh
• Splendor (cycling team)

• Canada
• England
• South Africa
• West Indies

• Minardi F1 Team

• US Golf Association[27]

• Tamil Thalaivas