In the 1920s Harold and Wallace Humphreys were being swept up in the rapidly growing love of national football in the UK. This inspired them to create Umbro, a sportswear brand born with football in mind that has become a prominent name amongst vintage clothing brands, particularly vintage sportswear. They first debuted their kit in the 1934 FA Cup final where they designed and manufactured the kits for both Manchester City and Portsmouth. From here Umbro would go on to supply kits for other notable teams in the 1930s and 1940s such as Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Sheffield United and more.

Umbro soon began expanding into other sports outside of football and was the designer and manufacturer for the British Olympic team for 20 years. It also produced clothing for the tennis market, partnering with Ted Tinling to promote this new line of products. Soon after Umbro also sponsored their first football player in Manchester United’s Denis Law. In 1974, Harold Humphreys passed away and his sons Stuart and John took over. They maintained the companies focus on producing high quality sportswear and would eventually sell the company to Nike in 2007 for £285 million.

If you’re vintage Umbro zippers ever get stuck, you can learn how to fix them in three easy steps using our repair guide here.

Rare 1999 Umbro England Kit Advert

How to tell if Umbro is vintage from the logo

Umbro has acquired the moniker the ‘Dior of football’ for being the apparel providers for some of football’s most iconic moments. They sponsored England in their 1966 World Cup victory and sponsored the 14 of the other 15 teams that competed at that World Cup. 85% of British football teams were wearing Umbro, and Liverpool won four European cups wearing Umbro. All these historical sporting moments have made the Umbro double diamond design known all over the world and gives the brand credibility in the realm of sportswear.

Fortunately for identifying if Umbro is vintage, Umbro has always updated their tags with the new logo and branding, which means you can get an approximate era on when your vintage Umbro piece is from simply from looking at the logo.

1924 to 1930 Umbro logo

• The very first Umbro logo incorporated the diamond shape
• It used a thin line logo with the word Umbro in the middle in quotation marks

1930 to 1974 Umbro logo

• The diamond shape was updated to be filled in with black
• The word Umbro has also been shaped in a diamond

1960 to 1974 Umbro logo

• A slight variation of its predecessor, the word Umbro is made smaller but maintains its diamond shape
• The smaller ‘Umbro’ gives off a perspective of two diamonds

1974 to 1999 Umbro logo

• The now well-known double diamond logo was introduced in 1974
• This has remained an emblem for the brand ever since

1980 to 1992 Umbro logo

• New lettering was added to this logo
• The word Umbro is all in lower case, set below the double diamond

1992 to 1999 Umbro logo

• The word Umbro was updated to all be in upper case
• The font is quite blocky, and this version of the logo is well recognized from Umbro’s sponsorship with Manchester United in the 90s

1999 to 2008 Umbro logo

• Some subtle changes were made to the double diamond emblem at this time
• It was made slightly thinner, and the corners are softer more curved points
• The font was also updated to a slightly thinner and squarer font

2008 to now Umbro logo

• The emblem was widened, having similar proportions to the original double diamond emblem
• However, the softer curved corners remained

2013 to now Umbro logo

• The word Umbro was once again added in 2013
• It is in a new font and all in lower case
• The font is quite like the 1980s logo, however, is much thinner

How to tell if Umbro is vintage from the tags

Umbro is currently focused on creating sportswear and equipment for football and rugby union. Over the years, they have expanded from jerseys and shorts to t-shirts, jackets, and boots, to name a few. Some of their most popular items have included their football boots, which offered an affordable alternative to other brands such as Nike and Adidas. They also had a lot of success with nylon shorts in the USA during the 1980s.

The Umbro tags have always been an indicator of high-quality sportswear that elite athletes regularly use. These tags have been updated with new branding over the years and can give a good indication as to when a piece of vintage Umbro is from. One of the giveaways that a piece of Umbro clothing is modern is if the tags have been printed on.

From the late 1990s onwards, larger shiny polyester wash tags became the norm. These modern wash tags often feature multiple languages and detailed care instructions, a shift from the smaller, single-language wash tags of the 80s and 90s. Additionally, website addresses began appearing on tags from the 2000s onwards, another sign of a more recent piece.

Sizing and fit also provide clues: clothes from the late 80s and throughout the 90s up to the early 00s tended to be slightly larger with a less tailored fit, whereas from the mid-00s onwards, there was a trend towards more tailored, slim-fit clothing.

Another important factor is the country of manufacture. Early Umbro clothing was predominantly made in the UK, reflecting the brand’s origins. However, from the mid-1990s onwards, international production became more common.

Having trouble identifying your vintage labels? Submit them on our vintage tag identification page, and let us handle the vintage labels for you!

1980s vintage Umbro tags

• Not all, but many Umbro products were made in England in the 1980s
• Umbro is in lower case
• The double diamond has sharp pointed corners

1990s vintage Umbro tags

• Information about the location of manufacturing moved off the neck tags and onto the wash tags
• Umbro is in upper case in the new brand font
• The double diamond has slightly thicker lines but is similar shape and proportions otherwise
• Neck tags also started to include sizing information at this time

2000s vintage Umbro tags

• The double diamond is slightly thinner
• The font is also blockier and slightly thinner
• In the late 2000s the corners of the double diamond became softer and more curved

2010s vintage Umbro tags

• The corners of the double diamond are more curved
• The proportions are similar to the original double diamond but with slightly thinner lines