My Admiral Tottenham Collection
When it came to choosing a football team, I didn't have much say in the matter. Both of my parents were born in Tottenham, and I was born at North Middlesex Hospital, just a stone's throw away from the White Hart Lane Stadium. My dad was a regular at Spurs matches throughout the 1970s, and I grew up listening to his tales from the terraces, particularly about Glenn Hoddle and his idol Steve Perryman.
Growing up, our family didn't have much disposable income, so owning the latest Spurs kit was out of the question. My parents were always on the lookout for bargains at local markets, and when I was around five years old, my mum spotted a complete yellow Spurs kit made by Admiral at a car boot sale in Tottenham. The shirt had blue bands extending from the shoulders and the iconic Admiral logos running along the sleeve, a shirt that I now have as a match worn in my collection. This became my very first Spurs kit and likely fuelled my lifelong passion for football kits, especially those from the Admiral era.
Despite not witnessing many trophies in my lifetime, Tottenham have always had cult players, with Paul Gascoigne being one of the most memorable. I had the privilege of watching Gazza grace the Lane during an era when I was fortunate enough to be a youth team player at Spurs. I trained at the ground twice a week and played matches at Mill Hill before eventually moving to Spurs Lodge in Chigwell in the mid-90s. As an added bonus, the club often rewarded my hard work in training with tickets to watch the first team in action on the weekends.
My affiliation with Spurs has only got stronger since my days in the youth team and my love of the kits has grown with it.
The Tottenham Collection
When you first start collecting you don’t imagine building a collection of over 700 shirts, but that’s what’s happened! I first started the collection 11 years ago and the first Admiral shirt I found was a long sleeved home shirt worn by midfielder John Pratt. This was the season Spurs were promoted from the second division, luckily for fans we haven't been relegated since.
Probably my favourite Admiral shirt in the collection is a home kit worn by captain Steve Perryman. I've always wanted to get a shirt from the Spurs legend as he was my Dad's hero in the 1970s.
The Admiral 1977-80 away shirt will always be a special shirt being my very first kit at the age of 5. Over the years I managed to pick up a match version worn by forward Chris Jones in the last game of the promotion season in 1978 vs Southampton, who were also promoted wearing Admiral in that campaign.
During this period, there were several versions of the Admiral kits, and among them, this particular away shirt featuring a yellow embroidered Admiral logo stands out as one of the rarest. Unfortunately, I don't know who the shirt was issued to as squad numbers were not assigned to players in the 1970s. However, I do know that it was produced for the team to wear for a pre or post season friendly during this era.
There aren't many items more iconic than the walkout jacket issued to Spurs staff and players in this Admiral era. The four stripe chevron design really defines this era, but would also look as good if it was worn today.
Myself and my co-authors have just finished and released the 2nd edition of "The Spurs Shirt" which is doing well. I'm now authenticating for Iconic Football Shirts which is a new company dedicated to ensuring shirts are sold but fully authenticated as it can be a minefield for collectors.
On a personal note, I'm always looking to add to the growing collection, so if anyone knows of any please get in touch via email at spursshirts@gmail.com. It’s definitely a long shot but I'm searching for two extremely rare Spurs shirts: an Admiral match worn goalkeeper shirt used for hotter weather between 1977-80 with a unique floppy collar and also a short sleeve match version of the yellow away from 1978-80.
My Admiral Tottenham Collection By Liam Ridley
