Sports and Leisure

Sports bags printed with manufacturer's logos, specifically for carrying kit to matches, first became popular in the 1970s. Cheap ones were usually made of bright shiny plastic or PVC and emblazoned with the signatures or images of famous sportsmen or women as endorsements of the product. This large scarlet hold-all for football kit was produced by Unisport and sponsored by Kevin Keegan, one of the most celebrated footballers of the later 1970s and early 1980s, and captain of Liverpool FC. PVC had also been popular for women's handbags since the later 1960s, again in bright primary colours (see below), and often very large.

Since the 1970s, the production of sportsbags, and sports kit, for men and women has become big business, sponsored by all the major sportswear firms and endorsed by many celebrated sports personalities.

Full item descriptions:

"bag" [1983.694], Unisport
"bag & handbag" [1989.74]