Arsenal red kit folklore (1886*)
On this day in 1886* Arsenal’s first match began a red-shirt story linked to Forest.
Arsenal’s first football match began one of the most famous red-shirt stories linked to Nottingham Forest.
On 11 December 1886, Dial Square, the club that later became Arsenal, played their first recorded match and beat Eastern Wanderers 6-0. The match belongs to Arsenal’s own origin story, but it also matters to Forest folklore because of the long-standing claim that Arsenal’s early red shirts were connected to Forest.
The traditional version says former Forest men Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates helped bring red into the new Woolwich club’s identity. Some accounts say Forest donated shirts, while others suggest the pair encouraged the club to adopt Forest-style red and that the shirts were sourced locally. The exact details of the link are debated but what is clear is that Forest’s Garibaldi red identity became part of a wider football colour tradition. Arsenal’s famous red later developed in its own direction, but the story of its early connection to Forest remains one of the club’s most interesting pieces of kit folklore.
* Date note: 11 December 1886 is the accepted date of Arsenal’s first match, not a confirmed date when Forest supplied or inspired their shirts. The Forest link is included as a traditional red-kit story, but the exact version is disputed.
Sources
Arsenal official history; Arsenal kit history; Nottingham Forest official history; football kit-history sources
Forest timeline
Explore more Nottingham Forest history
Browse the timeline to discover more events from this day and beyond:
0–2
3–0
1–1
1–2
4–1
1–0
1–0
2–1
2–0
0–1
0–2
2–2
0–0
1–2
0–1
14:00
16:30
20:00
15:00
17:30
15:00
20:00
20:00
15:00
15:00
15:00
16:30
19:30
15:00
19:30
15:00
15:00
15:00
15:00
20:00
15:00
15:00
20:00
15:00
15:00
15:00
15:00
15:00
15:00
15:00
15:00
15:00
16:00
Arsenal’s first football match began one of the most famous red-shirt stories linked to Nottingham Forest. On 11 December 1886, Dial Square, the club…
Nottingham Forest gave Steve Cooper a memorable return to Swansea by winning 4-1 at the Swansea.com Stadium in the Championship and keeping a strong…
Nottingham Forest claimed a major European away win by beating Utrecht 2-1 in the UEFA Europa League. The night carried extra weight because Forest…