To keep up the tempo of the Subbuteo story I would have liked to move straight on to player types on this page but I think we need a pause for some significant technical points here. It is difficult to look at card and celluloid player types without looking at the problems with the numbering system and it is difficult to talk about types until we all know a type is! I intend to use the following terms throughout the site.

Category - a major element of the game such as pitches, bases or players.
Type - within each category there are likley to be several types, such as the different types of players.
Variety - within a type there may be unstable varieties such as the patterns within a veined gold base.

With this in mind I want to look at four key issues on team colours and references.

1. The use of fakes and mock-ups.
2. Adding letters to the team numbers.
3. Adding a prefix to denote the player type.
4. The number of flat teams issued.

1. Fake

I am using the term fake to apply to anything that is not a genuine issue by the Subbuteo companies. The current accepted reference point for team strips/colours is Peter Upton's site and I am sure all collectors have used it many times. Peter covers the huge spectrum of all subbuteo issues so he only updates his colour project from time to time, and rather than leave gaps he has used mock-ups and items sent in to him to fill the spaces. Personally I take the opposite view, if it is not the genuine article there is no point showing it (apart from in a gallery of fakes or as a warning).



When considering if a player is a fake as a simple rule there are two things to initially look for in the genuine player, three clear white sock bands and wide splayed stripes on shirts. Poorly drawn uneven sock bands indicate a certain fake as do shaky, narrow or too straight stripes. So what do three clear white sock bands look like?



On Later Celluloid type players and all late printings there can be some breaks in the bands and less clear bands but they are very different from the fake below:



Suffice to say that I have never seen a genuine example of a black short version of Bradford Park Avenue or a deep Tangerine Wolves. This being Subbuteo there are of course exceptions to the black socks and three white bands rule, but they are fixed and very limited. Coloured socks are usually a clear indication that someone has added colour to a white strip, with three notable exceptions. The card teams of Barcelona, Brazil and Wolves came with coloured socks. Are these late printings? I simply do not know but they are genuine Subbuteo issues.




2. Adding letters to the team number

Clarity requires that where there is only one team using a number that number stands completely alone, say 17, indicating that there is only one use of the number 17. If the number has been used more than once then ALL teams using that number have a letter added a to c, a indicating the first use, b the second and c the last. So there is no number 19 only 19a to 19c (Yes 19c, see below). This makes it very clear there are other teams using that number.

When it comes to adding letters to the numbers to indicate a different type we have to consider the cases where there are differences between the strip designs of the same team. To my mind if they differ significantly in design or colour there has to be another letter. There is an argument that if the differences are restricted to say the card and celluloid versions being different then there is no need for an extra letter. Personally I think if the differences are significant then another letter is required. So Barcelona requires a 19b and 19c because the socks of the card player are coloured while the celluloid has the normal black socks. The same applies to 55 and also 7 in my opinion as the card shirt is claret whilst the celluloid is red.

The big question is where do we stop. Shirt stripes and collars carry further possible complications. The card and celluloid players have different numbers of stripes on the shirt. There are also some obvious difference in collars at times, some coloured and more rarely white on the same team. At this point in order to avoid unecessary complications I do not plan to allocate further letters in these cases, but we may ultimately find this necessary. It is easier to draw the line on minor variations for example the Motherwell shirt. You see a variety of shapes, sizes and placings of the red band on the yellow shirt but these are a variety, nothing more.

There are some individual team complications that need further consideration. Team 5 was originally issued as black and white stripes and white shorts but we most often see 5 as 5b Manchester City. This is because the original team was withdrawn in 1949, a rather difficult date. The kit as described appears to be the same as 34 Juventus launched in 1958. We might assume that cut-out teams will only be 5a and celluloids probably 34 but we cannot be sure and have no idea which of the two press-out teams might be. Unless someone knows how to tell them apart we have a problem.

If you look at teams 55a and 55b there is some doubt as to whether or not we require two numbers as there is with 49 a to c. This may come down to variations between the designs for different player types - card, Early and Late Celluloid. Number 49a is available as Early Celluloid but the Orange 49c is Late Celluloid. I have only seen 49b on Peter Upton's site and that one is a clear fake.


3. Adding a prefix to denote player type.

Up until now we have also totally disregarded the fact that there are several player types. Again we will look at the details in the player pages but we must add a two letter prefix to indicate player type.

CC Cut-out Card
PC Press-out card
SA Square-shouldered Intermediate Alf Celluloid
EC Early Celluloid
LC Late Celluloid
AM The Alien Monkey variant of Late Celluloid

So, an Early Celluloid team of strip 17 would be EC17.


4. The number of flat teams issued.

It is generally accepted, although less than certain, that card and celluloid teams were issued up to number 55 and that these were available up until the end of flat production. This is slightly confusing and also potentially incorrect. The wording referred to the teams that were in production at the end and did not of course apply to teams that had previously been discontinued. Moreover this widely quoted description is not precisely what the catalogues said. The 1968-69 price list does indeed end at 55. The 1969-70 list ends at number 61, adding that Accessory D (the cardboard teams) are still available without giving a number restriction to 55. Accessory O, the celluloid version, is noted as only available to number 50. The 1970-71 price list extends to team 75 and card teams are available 'only while stocks last'. Accessory O is available only to number 55. This is rather slim evidence to categorically state that all teams only come in numbers 1 to 55. So if you see a team that appears genuine but a later number my advice is take a chance and buy it immediately!






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