The famous yellow sash first appeared on the front and back of the Tigers’ playing guernsey in the 1914 season. Richmond entered the then VFL competition in 1908, wearing yellow and black stripes. Two years later (1910), the Club adopted a black jumper with a yellow band across the chest.
This remained until 1914, when the sash was introduced.
See every jumper Richmond has ever worn on our Jumper History page.
Initially, the sash ran diagonally, from the right shoulder. In 1919, however, the sash switch took place, with it running from the left shoulder – and remaining that way up to the present day.
As John Green wrote in the ‘Defining Moments’ chapter of the Club’s league football centenary book, “Yellow & Black: 100 Years Of Tiger Treasures”, ‘The sash struck an immediate chord with the barrackers in the outer.
Apart from shades of yellow approaching gold, and varying widths, the design remained essentially unchanged until the sash disappeared from the back of the jumper in 1995. It was restored to almost universal acclaim by fans in 2005.
Why do Richmond supporters love to the sash so much? It is not as if it was an original design: Essendon had worn a red sash on black since 1875. Yet there is something about the broad yellow strip. It is extremely simple, but stands out on the black background.
For generations of devotees, it evokes the powerful qualities of the tiger – pride, boldness, courage and ferocity. Players’ chests look larger and more muscular.
This motif adorns all of the men preserved for posterity in the photographs of Richmond’s premiership sides. For those who love the Tigers, the yellow sash punching out of black is at the very core of their devotion’.
