Retro Brighton Shirt – Seagulls by the Sea Since 1901

Brighton & Hove Albion were founded in 1901 and spent their early decades grinding through the lower tiers of English football. They joined the Football League in 1920 as founding members of the Third Division South, and for much of the mid-20th century the club was a solid, if unremarkable, presence in the second and third divisions.

The club's first genuine golden era arrived in the late 1970s and early 1980s under manager Alan Mullery and then Mike Bailey, as Brighton won promotion to the First Division for the first time in their history in 1979. The Goldstone Ground was rocking, and the Seagulls held their own in the top flight for four seasons. The crowning moment came in the 1983 FA Cup, when Brighton reached the final at Wembley against Manchester United. A dramatic 2-2 draw forced a replay, and Gordon Smith's infamous late miss – when he had the chance to win the cup with the last kick of the game – passed into football folklore. United won the replay 4-0, but Brighton had announced themselves to the nation.

Relegation followed, and the 1980s and 1990s were a turbulent period. The club slid down the divisions and came perilously close to extinction in 1997 when the Goldstone Ground was sold from under them by controversial owners. Brighton were forced to play home games at Gillingham's ground – nearly 80 miles away – in one of English football's most bizarre and dispiriting episodes. The supporters organised, protested, and fought back, and after years of groundsharing at Withdean Stadium, the opening of the magnificent Amex Stadium in 2011 marked a new dawn.

Under Tony Bloom's ownership and a string of innovative managers – from Gus Poyet to Oscar Garcia, Chris Hughton, Graham Potter, and the tactically brilliant Roberto De Zerbi – Brighton climbed back to the Premier League in 2017 and have stayed there. Under De Zerbi they played some of the most attractive football in the country and qualified for European competition for the first time ever in 2023, reaching the UEFA Europa League group stage. The rivalry with Crystal Palace – the M23 derby – remains one of the most heated in the south of England.

Brighton's history is populated with players who gave everything for the blue and white stripes. Peter Ward was the fans' hero of the late 1970s, a prolific striker who epitomised the excitement of that promotion-winning era and remains one of the most fondly remembered Seagulls of all time.

Mark Lawrenson was a classy centre-back who came through Brighton before moving to Liverpool and winning everything in sight, while Steve Foster – with his distinctive headband – was a towering defensive presence during the FA Cup years. Michael Robinson led the attack with energy and commitment during the top-flight seasons before building an extraordinary second career as a broadcaster in Spain.

In the modern era, Glenn Murray is a genuine Brighton icon – the striker returned to the club multiple times and scored the goals that helped secure Premier League status. Lewis Dunk has been a rock at the heart of the defence for over a decade and captained the side through their European adventure. Solly March, a one-club man through and through, became a fan favourite for his tireless wing play.

The recruitment genius of the Bloom era brought stars like Alexis Mac Allister, who lifted the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 while a Brighton player, and Moisés Caicedo, who became one of the most coveted midfielders in Europe. Managers have shaped the club too – Chris Hughton steadied the ship for the Premier League return, while De Zerbi turned Brighton into a possession-based, progressive football laboratory that attracted admiration from across Europe.

The Brighton retro shirt collection spans more than a century of blue and white stripes, and each era tells its own story. The classic 1970s and early 1980s kits are among the most sought-after, featuring bold blue and white vertical stripes in the simple, uncluttered style of the era. The 1983 FA Cup final shirt – worn during that never-to-be-forgotten Wembley appearance – is the holy grail for collectors, a clean Admiral-manufactured design that captures the innocent charm of early 1980s English football.

Through the 1990s the kits became more adventurous, with shadow patterns and bolder design choices reflecting the era's aesthetic. The groundsharing period produced some unusual kits as the club fought for survival, making those shirts historically poignant mementos of one of English football's strangest stories.

The 2000s and 2010s saw Brighton return to cleaner, more traditional designs as the club rebuilt. The Amex-era shirts from the mid-2010s onwards carry the American Express sponsorship and increasingly sophisticated design work. The 2017 promotion season shirt is already a collector's piece, marking the moment Brighton returned to the Premier League after a long absence. A retro Brighton shirt from the cup final era or the promotion years is a powerful piece of football history from the south coast.