New Soccer Uniforms Pay Tribute to a Long Ago Hero
Billy Meredith, Soccer star and uniforms designer
These days soccer players get paid millions of dollars every season and get some very fancy soccer uniforms to play in. But back in 1909 one of the first real “stars” of English soccer earned just $8 a week and designed his team’s soccer uniforms in his spare time.
Billy Meredith was the original Manchester United idol, as well known for taking to the pitch with a toothpick in his mouth as he was for his speed and skill. In 1909 Manchester United qualified for their first ever FA Cup final, and as Meredith was a partner in a clothing company he was called upon to design new soccer uniforms for the game.
The soccer uniform that the Welshman designed was the inspiration, 100 years later, for Manchester United’s new 2009-10 home soccer uniforms. The same large black V, which some say he designed as a V for victory while others say he was a true fashion designer, creating a soccer jersey that highlighted the athletic male torsos of his colleagues, and the same striking red color. The new soccer uniforms will likely net the club millions, while Meredith got nothing in return for his design.
Meredith was a controversial figure, imagine Ronaldo one hundred years ago and Welsh. He fought tooth and nail with his club to raise player wages and working conditions, forming the first player’s union. He also fought to keep the ladies out of the stands, as he believed women should not watch soccer.
After 10 glorious years at Manchester United, including the 1909 FA Cup win, Meredith went off to fight in the first World War. Despite years as a Manchester United coach he died penniless in 1958 at the age of 83. For decades his body lay in an unmarked grave until the PFA (the modern version if the union he created) and Manchester United paid for a memorial headstone to be erected.
Now his design has been resurrected and the new soccer uniforms are a tribute to Meredith and his teammates who blazed the path for the likes of Rooney and Owens, who when they take to the pitch in their new soccer uniforms, are providing Meredith with an even larger tribute.
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