1983/84
League:
Level
Canon League Division 3
Position:
Champions
FA Cup:
Fifth Round
League Cup:
Fifth Round
Chairman:
Robert Maxwell
Manager:
Jim Smith
Top Scorer:
Steve Biggins (24)
Notable Players:
Steve Biggins, Kevin Brock, Steve Hardwick, Trevor Hebberd, Paul Hinshelwood, Mark Jones, George Lawrence, Malcolm Shotton, Mick Vinter, Neil Whatmore.
This was to prove to be a wonderfully successful campaign for Oxford United. Not only did the U’s secure promotion as Division 3 Champions, but they also enjoyed a giant-killing cup run, including three epic cup ties against Manchester United, culminating in a memorable 2-1 victory.
Kit Manufacturer
Sponsors
Once again, the shirt sponsors varied throughout the season, all were part of chairman Robert Maxwell's empire.
Home Kit
Long
sleeves
At first glance, the kits appeared unchanged from 1982; however, the shirts were manufactured differently.
The 1982 shirts had a flat finish with a pencil-thin pinstripe printed onto the fabric. In contrast, the 1983 shirts were made from shiny polyester, featuring a thicker, paler pinstripe woven into the material.
Additionally, a small Spall motif was now embroidered onto the sleeves.
The Pergamon-sponsored shirts were again used exclusively at the Manor Ground for the majority of the league matches.
Variations
Long
sleeves
Shirts with the stylised BPCC sponsor logo were used during the first half of the season, for away matches plus one home fixture.
Away Kit
Long
sleeves
The all-red change kit remained unchanged from the 1982/83 season, and was worn just once at Wimbledon.
Third Kit
Long
sleeves
With both the yellow and red shirts causing a color clash at Bradford, Hull and Newport, Oxford United introduced an all-white third kit.
This template would later become the away colours for the following season.
These shirts were not printed with a sponsor, however, its highly likely they are the same garments that were worn by the reserves the following season, which had the BPCC logo added.
Goalkeeper Jerseys
TV Shirts
Long
sleeves
The TV companies finally relaxed their ban on football shirt sponsorship, but they insisted that all sponsor logos must be half the 32in2 size allowed by the FA. As a result, shirts featuring a smaller version of the stylised BPCC logo were worn mainly for the televised cup matches.
However, the logo was difficult to read from a distance and was virtually indistinguishable on the low-resolution TV screens of that era.
Regular Shirt
TV shirt
TV Shirts - Version 2
Long
sleeves
The lack of clarity of the smaller BPCC logo did not go unnoticed, especially as the club enjoyed prominent TV coverage during three epic cup ties against Manchester United.
In response, a new set of TV shirts was produced, featuring plain lettering.
The letters were cleverly spaced apart, to allow for a different calculation of the sponsor size. Each letter was no larger than 4in2 to comply with the 16in2 rule.
These shirts made their debut in the second replay against Manchester United and would continue to be used regularly throughout the remainder of this season and the following one.
Match By Match
Lincoln
Home
W 3-0
Bristol City
Home
D 1-1LC1
Wigan
Away
W 0-2
Scunthorpe
Away
D 0-0
Burnley
Home
D 2-2
Bristol City
Away
W 3-1
LC1
Gillingham
Away
W 2-3
Millwall
Home
W 4-2
Walsall
Home
W 6-3
Preston
Away
W 1-2
Newcastle
Away
D 1-1LC2
Brentford
Home
W 2-1
Plymouth
Away
L 2-1
Bradford
Home
W 2-0
Bournemouth
Away
L 2-1
Newcastle
Home
W 2-1LC2R
Hull City
Home
D 1-1
Wimbledon
Away
L 3-1
Sheffield U
Home
D 2-2
Leeds
Away
D 1-1
Port Vale
Away
W 1-3
Peterboro'
Home
W 2-0
FAC1
Leeds
Home
W 4-1
LC3
Newport
Home
W 2-0
Man Utd
Home
D 1-1LC4
Southend
Away
W 0-1
Man Utd
Away
D 1-1LC4R
Reading
Away
D 1-1
FAC2
Reading
Home
W 3-0
FACR
Rotherham
Away
W 1-2
Man Utd
Home
W 2-1
LC4R2
Bristol Rov
Home
W 3-2
Bolton
Away
L 1-0
L Orient
Home
W 5-2
Exeter
Away
L 3-1
Burnley
Away
D 0-0FAC3
Burnley
Home
W 2-1
FAC3R
Lincoln
Away
D 2-2
Everton
Home
D 1-1LC5
Everton
Away
L 4-1
LC5R
Blackpool
Home
W 2-1
FAC4
Preston
Home
W 2-0
Millwall
Away
L 2-1
Wimbledon
Home
W 2-0
Sheffield W
Home
L 0-3
FAC5
Swindon
Home
L 1-3
FLT
Bournemouth
Home
W 3-2
Hull City
Away
W 0-1
Bradford
Away
D 2-2
Sheffield U
Away
W 1-2
Port Vale
Home
W 2-0
Gillingham
Home
L 1-0
Brentford
Away
W 1-2
Plymouth
Home
W 5-0
Burnley
Away
D 1-1
Scunthorpe
Home
W 1-0
Walsall
Away
W 0-1
Southend
Home
W 2-1
Bolton
Home
W 5-0
Bristol Rov
Away
D 1-1
Newport
Away
D 1-1
Wigan
Home
D 0-0
Exeter
Home
D 1-1
L Orient
Away
W 1-2
Rotherham
Home
W 3-2
Pre-season Kits
For three pre-season fixtures, an unsponsored version of the away kit was worn, these differed to the first-team away shirts. The spacing of the pinstripes was far wider, plus they had a slightly thicker collar. Perhaps these had previously been allocated to the reserves?
For the pre-season fixture against Southampton, the players wore unsponsored yellow shirts.