Throughout it’s combined 127-year history – made up from Fitzroy, the Bears and the merged Brisbane Lions – the Club has worn a variety of different home guernsey designs.

While each holds its own special place in the Club’s history, there is no doubting that some have proven more memorable, and successful, than others.

When the Lions announced that they would be wearing a commemorative 3-Peat ‘Hero’ guernsey in two matches in 2013, lions.com.au decided to dust off the archives and take a look back at some of the Club’s different looks over time.

The launch of the 3-Peat ‘Hero’ guernsey was significant as it not only represents the most successful period in Club history, but also the first 13 years of the Club’s existence as a merged entity.

The only other guernsey that you could argue has been engrained with such ‘greatness’ is the one worn by Fitzroy at the beginning of the VFL competition, which was a canvas lace-up style and reaped a total of four premierships (1898, 1899, 1904 and 1905).

It was eventually replaced in 1909 with a woollen jumper that featured the first ever traces of blue.

As Fitzroy’s identity changed from the ‘Maroons’ to the ‘Gorillas’ in the early parts of the 20th Century, so too did the jumper with a blue ‘V’ and blue yoke trialled at different times before settling on the famous ‘FFC’ monogram in 1942.

The iconic maroon guernsey with white ‘FFC’ monogram became synonymous as the one worn by Legend Kevin Murray throughout most of his 333-game career, and has resurfaced on a handful of occasions in the past decade as part of the Lions’ Heritage Round celebrations.

Only last year, the Lions donned a one-off Hall of Fame guernsey which combined elements of Fitzroy’s first ever strip with the popular deep maroon and white scheme seen between the 50s and 70s.

The introduction of colour TV saw Fitzroy’s jumper to change from being predominantly maroon and white, to red and gold. It would go on to become the second longest lasting guernsey in Club history (23 years) and Fitzroy’s last ever before the merge.

The Brisbane Bears, meanwhile, wore two distinct home guernseys throughout their 10-year existence – each for a period of five years.

Both the infamous ‘BB’ triangle guernsey and the gold ‘V’ jumper have also been worn by the modern-day Lions to acknowledge Heritage Round.

Interestingly, all but two of the 11 Club jumper designs have been worn in some form of premiership (including senior, reserves and pre-season).

Please find below a list of the different guernsey designs worn by Fitzroy, the Bears, and the Lions over the past 127 years*.

 

Fitzroy Maroons (1897 – 1908)

Years Worn: 12 
Senior Premierships: 4 (1898, 1899, 1904, 1905)
Reserves Premierships: Nil
Night Premierships: Nil

 

Fitzroy Maroons (1909 – 1911)

Years Worn:
3
Senior Premierships: Nil
Reserves Premierships: Nil
Night Premierships: Nil


 

Fitzroy Maroons (1912 – 1913)

Years Worn:
Senior Premierships: 1 (1913)
Reserves Premierships: Nil
Night Premierships: Nil
 


 

Fitzroy Maroons/Gorillas (1914 – 1941)

Years Worn:
28
Senior Premierships: 2 (1916, 1922)
Reserves Premierships: Nil
Night Premierships: Nil


 

Fitzroy Gorillas (1942 – 1955)

Years Worn:
14
Senior Premierships: 1 (1944)
Reserves Premierships: 1 (1944)
Night Premierships: Nil
 

Fitzroy Lions (1956 – 1973)

Years Worn:
18
Senior Premierships: Nil
Reserves Premierships: Nil
Night Premierships: 1 (1959)

 

Fitzroy Lions (1974 – 1996)

Years Worn: 23 
Senior Premierships: Nil
Reserves Premierships: 2 (1974, 1989)
1 (1978)
Night Premierships: 1 (1978)

 

Brisbane Bears (1987 – 1991)

Years Worn:
Senior Premierships: Nil
Reserves Premierships: 1 (1991)
Night Premierships: Nil


 

Brisbane Bears (1992 – 1996)

Years Worn:
Senior Premierships: Nil
Reserves Premierships: Nil
Night Premierships: Nil


 

Brisbane Lions (1997 – 2009)

Years Worn: 13 
Senior Premierships: 3 (2001, 2002, 2003)
Reserves Premierships: 1 (2001)
Pre-Season Premierships: Nil
 


 

Brisbane Lions (2010 – Today)

Years Worn:
4
Senior Premierships: Nil
Reserves Premierships: 1 (2012)
Pre-Season Premierships: 1 (2013)


 

 
* Images and dates courtesy of http://www.footyjumpers.com