Three Lions on a Shirt: The Official History of the England Football Jersey

Product Information

Three Lions on a Shirt is a beautiful, high quality coffee table book containing an incredible collection of historic match worn England football shirts. Three Lions”, referring to the England national team’s badge, has helped inspire Harry Kane and his teammates right up until the moment he slammed in the rebound from his saved penalty in extra time to send the fans wild, and ensure his country’s first major final since the 1966 World Cup victory – a 55-year wait. They ended up on England shirts when the Football Association was looking for an emblem for the kit its players would wear at international games in the late 19th century. They settled on the three lions and presumably gained royal permission (as this was 1879, that must mean that Queen Victoria was somewhat amused at the idea). I love that it’s become a song about so many things. I don’t think it was ever just about England: American baseball teams have adopted it; Werder Bremen rewrote the words one year. The lyrics seem to have gone into the vernacular. No one said “years of hurt” before. When we first recorded it, lots of people said to me – even journalists: “What’s the three lions in reference to?” We’d say: “Well, they’re on the shirt.” It’s amazing that when you think of Three Lions, people still think of the song rather than the shirt. ( Ian Broudie was talking to Rich Pelley) David Baddiel, comedian, writer and “singer”

Look closely and you’ll see the lions have company with more royal links. There are also ten Tudor roses on the badge worn proudly by England’s footballers but, for some reason, the floral motif has never been as famous. There can’t be many football kit afficiandos who are not familiar with Vision Sports’ series of match worn shirt books, driven by kit expert Simon ‘Shakey’ Shakeshaft. In each tome Shakey is joined by fellow collectors and between them, using photos of the actual shirts, they tell the story of a club’s kit history. So far Arsenal and Spurs have been featured in the weighty, coffee table editions alongside a companion publication ‘The Rangers Shirt’. Which is why I think that when it caught fire, chiming with other fans’ experience, and people sang it at Wembley, it had this strange, brilliant effect – which is it’s a football song, for a country, that doesn’t feel nationalistic or triumphalist or aggressive. It’s upbeat but it retains throughout something melancholy and vulnerable. The first time I heard it sung by 78,000 people I could hear that too: the pain and the hope, as well as the joy. ( David Baddiel) Testing AI at Chelsea's training ground: How innovative technology is being used to improve pros and scout new stars across the globeThen, in 1152, Henry I’s grandson Henry, Duke of Normandy married Eleanor of Aquitaine – whose family also had a lion on its crest. Young Henry himself became King Henry II of England in 1154 – founding the great Plantagenet dynasty The very first England shirt worn by Arnold Kirke Smith in the game against Scotland in 1872 (Image credit: The National Football Museum ) Fascinating feature articles, covering everything from grass-roots football to the international scene

Euro 2020 begins on 11 June. The Lightning Seeds’ Jollification 25th anniversary tour restarts in September; David Baddiel: Trolls, Not the Dolls tour restarts on 10 September. England played Czechoslovakia in 1975 and seven of the Admiral kits did not have the Three Lions badge on (Image credit: Three Lions on a Shirt Book) After nine years with Admiral, England and Umbro rekindled their relationship in early 1984. This time the manufacturer's double diamond logo appeared on the front of the lightweight polyester shirts. By the time the World Cup in 1990 came around Umbro had gone for a shirt that was complemented by a simple yet striking pattern of zig-zags and diamonds within the fabric and navy collar.Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth