A Century of Shirts: Interview with Manchester City Shirt Collector Mark McCarthy

1. How does it feel to have over a hundred years’ worth of Man City shirts in your collection?

It’s fantastic to have such an important collection now, and each shirt tells its own story — all the way back to the earliest one I have, from the 1926 FA Cup final. It’s an achievement I'm very proud of, to go back that far and right up to this season.

There's just so much history: players, stories, games, matches — it's all in there.

2. Can you take us back to the moment when your passion for collecting much more City shirts first began?

I have to go back to 1983 for that!

As a young nine-year-old, I was visiting my grandfather, who lived in Aylesbury. He told me that a cousin of mine, Mick McCarthy — who I'd never heard of — would be signing for Manchester City, who I’d also never heard of.

At the time, everyone at my school supported clubs like Tottenham, Liverpool, Arsenal, or Manchester United, and I always wanted to be part of that. This new family link gave me a reason!

What my grandfather failed to mention was that City weren’t doing that well. They were languishing in the lower regions of the Canon League Division Two!

But from that moment on, once I learned more about my cousin Mick, my obsession with owning a shirt he'd worn for City really started.

3. What was the first match worn one shirt you ever added to your collection and how did you get your hands on it? 

That was actually Mick’s shirt — and at first, it was my only intention to own that one!

I had to track it down from a fellow City fan who was selling his collection of shirts. He knew how much that shirt meant to me, so obviously the price was higher than it should have been, but there was probably no price I wouldn’t have paid.

Once I secured that shirt and it arrived, I found myself looking at it and thinking about the dressing rooms it had been in, the battles it had seen, the changing room floors it had touched — it was special.
And once I got that, I started to track down other shirts.

I put out appeals on social media, traced older players from the seventies and eighties, wrote to the companies they worked at, reached out to family members — really trying to build relationships before asking about the shirts.

4. What's been the most challenging shirt to track down over the years? 

One of the hardest was a shirt worn in 1953 during the floodlit game against Hearts. Only one set was made, and this shirt actually found me — which is always a great feeling as a collector!

It had been lying in the same house in Manchester since 1953. A fellow Blue came to me saying, "We've got this shirt — could you authenticate it, or would you be interested?"
Which, as collectors will tell you, is an excellent thing to hear!

Another tough one was a shirt from the Full Members Cup Final in 1986. Only one set was made for that too. I tracked one down to a chap called Graham Baker, thinking it was the player who had played for City.
Turns out, he lived in Southampton and worked as a driving instructor — and he explained that about a hundred collectors had already contacted him by mistake!

5. Have there been any holy Grail shirts, pursued but never acquired? What's the one that got away?

Yes — there was a maroon shirt worn in the 1989/90 season, brought out to avoid a kit clash against Sheffield Wednesday.

I’ve been close to getting it a few times. One even appeared on eBay and sold for £50 — today, it would probably command £3,000–£4,000.

Another time, I was doing a book tour at a supporters’ club, and a lad showed me the exact maroon shirt. I said I’d have a chat with him after the event, but he was gone by the time it finished, and I had no contact details.

So that one got away!

6. Which shirt in the collection carries the most personal significance for you? 

They all have their significance, and collectors can be quirky at times! But every shirt tells a story.

Paul Walsh’s debut shirt springs to mind — it’s a number 30, which was unusual back then. I was at the match when he wore it.
The squad numbers changed from the 1993/94 season, so to see a high number like that in the early days was special.

7. Is there one that stands out as a fluke, that you've just stumbled across?

Yes! I watched City live for the first time in 1985 at Luton Town and had been trying to trace that shirt for years.

It had been worn for two seasons and was very hard to get. I won a shirt at an auction house and travelled down to collect it — I never liked waiting for them in the post!

As I was leaving, the guy said, "Oh, do you know what this shirt is, Mark?"
He pulled a shirt out of a carrier bag — and there it was: the one I'd been searching for for almost 25 years!
Of all the places I looked, it had just been sitting there in a plastic bag.

8. Being well known in the Man City circles and amongst former players, have any of them have helped you over the years to pick up obscure shirts?

Yes, quite a few players have helped over the years.

Tommy Booth, for example, was attending a supporters' club night and was talking about his testimonial game. One of the City fans mentioned that I was looking for that shirt.

At the next match, Tommy was there — with a shirt in a carrier bag! He just threw it at me and said, "I believe you're looking for that."

9. Many collectors talk about the nostalgia factor. What is it about the match that connects you so deeply?

I think it keeps the kindred spirit alive — and none of us are getting any younger!

You can't get much closer to the players and the era you loved than by owning the shirts they wore.
I never played football professionally, and sadly never will, but owning these shirts feels like the next closest thing to playing for your boyhood heroes.

10. There’s a huge difference between the vintage shirts and the modern ones. What do you think of the evolution of the shirt over the years? 

Well, today’s shirts have the club crest, but they’re more like walking adverts now, aren’t they?

They don't carry the same significance for collectors as the originals. When it comes to modern shirts, I’d usually just want one per season — to tick it off.

But if we’re going back to 1985, 1971, or 1972, I'd happily collect number 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 because each shirt holds rich history and was often shared between players.

If Peter Barnes didn’t wear number 11, Dennis Tueart would have!

The older shirts are full of character and history. The newer ones feel more like uniforms than statements of the club.

11. You obviously love these shirts. What has driven the decision to sell part of the collection? 

There are quite a few reasons, some of them personal.

I’ve had a lot of changes with my business, and following an injury and surgery, I’ve had to rethink my career path.
I’ve decided to narrow the collection down to the shirts that are extra special to me.

As a fan, I think it’s great to give other City fans the opportunity to own what I’ve owned — and for it to mean to them what it has meant to me. 

12. How do you hope the new owner of the collection will preserve and even build upon its legacy? 

It would be fantastic if the club got involved and displayed some of the big shirts, so that fans who can't afford to bid can still see them.

13. What advice do you give a collection starting today? 

I have two pieces of advice:
First — if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Second — always look for shirts in the least expected places. 

With a collection spanning a century - from the 1926 Cup Final shirt to Oscar Bobb’s modern-day kit - Mark McCarthy’s passion for Manchester City history has created something truly unique. 

The auction catalogue is now live, ahead of the 6 May sale, and fans and collectors alike will have the opportunity to own a part of City’s story.

For Mark, this sale marks a new chapter. For others, it could be the beginning of a lifelong obsession.