Warrington Wolves unveil new kits for the 2016 season

WARRINGTON Wolves have unveiled their new kits for the 2016 season.

The home kit honours the traditional primrose and blue while the away kit takes on the original club colours of red and black to celebrate Warrington’s heritage. Both shirts also feature the new logo which captures both the rich history and the future of our club.

2016 marks 140 years of the Warrington club and the collar of the home shirt carries the words ‘140 years’ in recognition of this.

The club was founded in the summer of 1876 by seven young men – the so-called ‘Founding Fathers’ – at a meeting at St Paul’s Church Sunday School on Bewsey Road, Warrington.

St Paul’s was a Church of England church and was built in 1830, closed in 1980 and has since been demolished and replaced by an old people’s home, although the church graveyard still remains. Coincidentally, St Paul’s was just 400 metres away from The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

The seven young men, all aged about 20, were William Henry Wallington, his brother Thomas Wallington, G J Browne, G W Edwards, Earnest Early, Ebenezer England and Thomas Rathbone.

The club these seven young men founded was called Warrington Zingari.  Zingari is the Italian word for gypsies and so a zingari club was a wandering or nomadic team.

The inside collar of each shirt features a banner of seven triangles, symbolising these seven founding fathers.

The collar of the away shirt features the words ‘Warrington Zingari – with the strapline ‘out of the darkness rose the wire’ printed on the inside of the shirt.
The release of the 2016 training range is still to look forward to and this zingari element will feature throughout the away range.

Emirates remain as the 2016 main shirt sponsors with other kit sponsors Matrix Networks, Total Steelwork and Fabrications, University of Chester, Warrington Fabrications and Maxilead Metals.

Ashton Sims, Kevin Penny, James Laithwaite and Jack Hughes all took to the stage at the town’s Christmas Lights Switch On to reveal the kits to the town and the club’s supporters.

Local home-grown talent Penny and Laithwaite are just two players to have risen through the club’s ranks during its history and Hughes is one of the latest new recruits as Warrington continues to attract players from across the game. Sims joins the many players from the southern hemisphere who have donned the Warrington jersey following in the footsteps of club legends, from the first Australian international to be signed Dan Frawley through to Bill Shankland, Brian Bevan, Harry Bath, Bobby Fulton, Les Boyd, Allan Langer and Andrew Johns.

Both kits are available to order online tonight.

These online orders will be available for collection from the new-look official club store from Thursday, December 3.

Roger Draper, Wolves’ chief executive, said: “The wait is finally over. We hope everyone loves our new kits as much as we do. If the positive response to them at the members’ only forum last week was anything to go by then I am sure that they will be a big hit with all fans.

“We are proud of the new designs as they have a modern look and feel to them while also capturing and celebrating the club’s heritage as we mark 140 years in 2016. I can’t wait to get my order in and see the terraces and stands packed with Hardwired supporters wearing their club colours with pride next season.”