Oxford United F.C. - Crest and Colours

Crest and Colours

The club crest depicts an ox above a representation of a ford to symbolise the location. It reflects the name and history of the city, as Oxford was originally a market town situated near to a ford on the River Isis, which was used by cattle. In 2008, a bronze statue of an ox was unveiled outside of what would have been the west stand. It was subsequently vandalised in January 2011, being covered in pink paint and the club used the opportunity to raise money for a breast cancer charity. The shape and design of the crest has changed numerous times since it was first produced. When playing as Headington and during the early years of Oxford United, the crest included a full ox crossing the ford, as well as the initials H.U.F.C. (pre-1962) or the name Oxford United (post name-change). Between 1972 and 1980, the crest became circular, showing just the ox's head on a yellow and black background. The words 'Oxford United Football Club' were placed around the ox. For the next 17 years, the crest was simply the ox's head coloured blue, with various combinations of wording surrounding it. For example in the 1987–88 season, the wording 25th Anniversary was placed under the crest. In 1996, the crest had a shield shape and contained the ox's head over the ford, on a yellow background. This version was retained until the move to the Kassam Stadium in 2001, when club steward Rob Alderman designed the current version. It has a similar design to the preceding crest, but the ox and ford are contained in a circle with a yellow background, with the remainder of the crest being coloured blue.

While playing as Headington United, orange and blue striped shirts were worn with navy shorts and socks. The design of the shirt changed regularly, with the stripes being changed every few seasons. After joining the Southern League, the blue stripes were lost for good and a lighter shade of orange was used for the shirt. The yellow kit was first worn during the 1957–58 season, with black shorts and yellow socks. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the black shorts were first replaced with yellow ones, and then with light blue shorts. Since the early 1990s, the strip has been composed of the yellow shirt and navy coloured shorts and socks. A large variety of away kits has been used over the years, ranging from red and black stripes on the shirts, to a fully white kit. The first sponsor to appear on the shirt was Sunday Journal, a local newspaper, in 1982. Between 1983 and 1985, there were three sponsors: BPCC, Pergamon and the Sunday People. Following those were Wang Laboratories (1985 to 1989), Pergamon (1989 to 1991), Unipart (1991 to 2000), Domino (2000 to 2001) and Buildbase (from the move to the Kassam Stadium in 2001 to 2010). Following the return to the Football League, Bridle Insurance were announced as new shirt sponsors.