We love football shirts that tell a good story, so when Argentine side Almirante Brown revealed their latest naval themed anniversary kit earlier this month, we had to feature it!
Club Almirante Brown were originally founded in 1912, in an area to the west of Buenos Aires and take their name form a County Mayo man who went on to become one of Argentina’s greatest heroes, considered to be the father of Argentina’s navy.
William Brown (later known as Guillermo) was born in Foxford, County Mayo in June 1777 and emigrated to Philadelphia with his family as a boy, only for ill-fortune and tragedy to strike soon after their arrival.
When the family’s host died of yellow fever and the same fate befell his father soon afterwards; the young man stole away to begin a life on the ocean wave as a cabin boy on an American ship.
Brown’s legendary, swashbuckling adventures saw him press-ganged into service by the Royal Navy where he served in the Napoleonic Wars, before being captured by French naval forces.
After a daring escape (escapes should always be daring), Brown made his way back to London, before setting sail for South America with plans to settle with his new wife, raise a family and enter the world of trade and commerce.
Brown’s life was never meant to be ordinary and after witnessing the events of Argentina’s 1810 revolution and War of Independence from Spanish rule, he was dragged back towards his destiny and legacy as founding father of the Argentine navy.
Today, Admiral Brown is held in the same esteem as national heroes like Diego Maradona, with streets named after him and his image immortalised in statues both in Buenos Aires and back home in Foxford, County Mayo; where locals often welcome veterans and students from the Argentine navy keen to set eyes on the town where he was born.
When Argentine third-tier football club Club Almirante Brown decided to celebrate the 164th anniversary of his death, they produced this rather handsome shirt to toast the great man’s life.
Originally reported to be a goalkeeper top, the design by Argentine brand Retiel is embellished by a whole host of naval paraphernalia and depictions of the man and his frigate.
The shirts made their debut on Monday night as part of the club’s outfield kit to avoid a clash with Club Atlético Mitre who play in the same yellow and black home shirts as Almirante Brown.
Sadly for the boys from Buenos Aires, their trip ended in a 3-2 defeat, however it was great to see these special shirts’ maiden voyage and hey, we’ll take any excuse to feature a tale like this one in our Kit of the Week files!
The shirt is available to buy from Retiel in Argentina here.
All pictures credited to Club Almirante Brown and Retiel.
Sartorial Soccer 