Global fashion brand Umbro is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year.

But it is little known that the company, which has produced clothing and footwear for some of the world’s biggest sporting stars, came from humble beginnings – right here in Manchester.

It’s still based here today, with global headquarters on Dale Street in the Northern Quarter. For years, the firm had a base in Wythenshawe.

Here, the Manchester Evening News looks back at 95 years of Umbro and what the future holds for a local brand which has grown into a international icon.

Humble beginnings

Umbro was started by Harold Humphreys who was born in Mobberley, Cheshire, in 1902.

Harold left school aged 13 for his first job at a textile firm in Manchester, where his first task was to dust and polish the bannisters on a staircase seven-stories high; quickly working his way up the ranks to the haberdashery department.

After the depression hit, Harold found himself briefly out of work, before securing a new position as a salesman at Stockport sportswear brand Messrs Bucks – later known as Bukta.

At this point, the country was falling back in love with football, following the end of the Great War.

It 1922, Harold launched his own sportswear retail business, initially trading out of a cupboard in the back room of his parents’ pub, the Bull’s Head Hotel  in Mobberley – which still operates today as a gastro-pub.

With the help of his brother Wallace, Harold formed Humphreys Brothers Ltd in 1924.

The name was abbreviated to Umbro – taking the ‘um’ from Humphreys and the ‘bro’ from brothers.

Growing sales saw the first Umbro factory established in 1930, Umbro Works on Water Lane in Wilmslow, and the firm became the first to offer a 48-hour delivery service.

The Water Lane factory would be the company’s administrative and manufacturing base for the next 80 years.

For years, the firm had a base in Wythenshawe, before moving to nearby Cheadle.

‘The Dior of the football world’

In nearly a century of business, Umbro has provided kits to some of the world’s biggest teams.

Once referred to as the ‘Dior of the football world’, the brand has been associated with some of the most iconic moments in sporting history.

Manchester’s first major football kit was made for Manchester City, who won the FA Cup match in 1934 against Portsmouth – both of the teams were wearing Umbro.

Seventy-seven years later, in 2011, City won the FA Cup again, followed by the league title in 2012; with the team still dressed in Umbro kit.

The England team wore Umbro kits from 1954 to 2012, including the title-winning 1966 World Cup.

Ahead of that year’s competition, Wallace Humphreys visited each of the countries to meet the teams.

Of the 16 teams that competed that year, 15 wore Umbro; due to a last minute decision, the USSR were the only team not wearing the brand.

The growing sports brand began outfitting international teams in 1958 – when Brazil won the World Cup that year, they were kitted out in their clothing.

In 1959, Manchester United manager, Matt Busby collaborated with Umbro to help design a winter sportswear range called ‘Styled by Matt Busby – the choice of champions’.

That same year, Umbro was the first to produce junior kits, so that children could wear the same team strips as their footballing heroes.

And in 1960, Manchester United player Denis Law became the first footballer to be sponsored by the firm, when he signed an exclusive deal with the brand.

Although best known for their football kits, Umbro doesn’t just produce gear for the beautiful game.

During the Second World War, Umbro made uniforms for the Lancaster bombers.

This decision to contribute to the war effort may in fact have saved the company from closure.

The factories would have been at risk of shutting down with no men to work there and the production of sportswear wouldn’t have been deemed necessary for female workers to take over during wartime.

Post-war Umbro continued to produce clothing for a range of sports.

At the Helsinki Summer Olympics in 1952, the British team wore their kits and in 1954, Roger Bannister was the first man to break the four minute mile whilst wearing the clothing.

Ironically they also helped Adidas to get a foothold in the UK market after Harold Humphreys met Adi Dassler in 1959.

At the time, Umbro didn’t manufacture footwear and they became the sole distributors of Adidas shoes in the UK, which were promoted as part of the full sporting outfit.

This partnership lasted for many years until Harold and Adi died, in 1974 and 1978 respectively.

Their sons, who took over the businesses, did not have the same relationship that their fathers did. After they fell out, the partnership ended – Umbro started to make footwear and Adidas started to make clothing.

One of the most well-known shoes created by the brand is the Speciali football boots, worn by Michael Owen when he scored the famous goal for England against Argentina in the 1998, aged just 18.

They were re-released in 2018 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Owen’s career-changing moment.

Another interesting story took place on April 13, 1996 when Sir Alex Ferguson famously made the Manchester United team change their grey kits as he claimed that the players couldn’t see each other.

Down 3-0 to Southampton at half-time, United emerged for the second half in a completely new blue and white striped kit.

They did pull the game back slightly, scoring one goal to make it 3-1 at full time, but not all players were convinced that the kit was to blame.

Lee Sharpe later told The Guardian: “I’m not sure if any of the players mentioned the kit. Personally I felt that we were playing really poorly, and that we couldn’t really blame anything or anyone but ourselves.”

And it’s not only sporting stars. Music legends that have famously worn the double diamond, with Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher wearing the famous Umbro drill top at their Maine Road concert in 1996.

The latest trends

Although production no longer takes place in Manchester, and is produced in various countries through a licensee network, most of the design work for the brand is still done at the Northern Quarter HQ.

Umbro still has a hand in local teams, currently sponsoring the Manchester Fustal League, whose senior team currently sits in sixth place in the FA’s National Super League.

Futsal is a growing sport in the UK – it’s like five-a-side, played indoors but with a smaller ball. Famous players who started their career in Futsal include Lionel Messi, Javier Hernandez and Neymar.

In October 2018, Umbro created the world’s first leather laceless football boot – the Medusa 3 Elite. It is the brand’s lightest ever leather boot, weighing just 170 grams.

Also last year, the company collaborated with British designer Christoper Raeburn to create a Spring/Summer collection inspired by Umbro’s footballing heritage.

The project deconstructs iconic Umbro shirts worn from 1996 to 2010, crafting them into a six-piece range of garments.

Since launching in 1924, the brand Umbro has been a thread running through some of the most memorable moments in recent football and sporting history.

It’s certainly come a long way from a cupboard in a back room of a pub – while retaining its Mancunian roots.

This spring, Umbro will unveil a new 10 foot piece of street art in Manchester and they are asking Mancunians ‘What does football mean to you?’.

The best messages will appear in the mural which will be located on the edge of the Northern Quarter, will be unveiled in April.

To enter, head to Twitter and tweet what football means to you with the hashtag #UmbroManchester or click here .