Archive Item of the Month – August 2014
7th August 2014
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| Cheltenham Training College Football Team 1894 (Archive Reference UA36/7/2) |
In a tribute to the start of the football season next weekend our item of the month is a photograph of the Cheltenham Training College football team from 1894.
Taken outside what is now Francis Close Hall campus, the team are wearing dark tops and socks with white shorts along with a rather fetching sports cap (we have some examples of these in the University Archive dating from the late nineteenth century). The College badge is clearly visable on the shirts, along with a distinct lack of corporate sponsorship from well known payday lenders or betting companies!
The Cheltenham Training College team played against other training colleges and association football teams. Eventually the College adopted dark and light blue for blazers and sports kits, a tradition carried on by the University’s sports teams today.