True Colours: The Kit Worn During The Baggies' Great Escape
The 2004/05 home kit is fondly remembered amongst the Baggies faithful for producing one of the most extraordinary ends to a top flight campaign, as the West Midlanders went from relegation certainties to final day survivors.
The kit can be seen in the iconic photographs and footage of Kieran Richardson being held aloft on the Hawthorns turf by West Brom supporters, after they had just completed a truly remarkable escape from relegation.
A stylish kit design, manufactured by Diadora for the second season running, it was the first season for West Brom's T-Mobile sponsor, which would remain for a further three years.
The shirt included a modern, rounded collar, with several traditional dark blue and white stripes across the front of the shirt. Complete with white shorts and dark blue socks, it also featured two red stripes on all three garments. On the back, meanwhile, the stripes adorned only the bottom of the shirt, leaving the red name and number to sit on a blank white background.
Rather than for the design, however, it is the memories associated with the end of that 2004/05 campaign that will be forever remembered by Albion fans. Despite sitting bottom of the Premier League table at Christmas, they survived relegation to the Championship and became the first club to achieve such a feat.
While Sunderland and Leicester City have both equalled that record in recent years, neither were still in danger of being relegated on the final day of the season. West Brom were, in fact, still bottom of the league going into the final round of matches, making their escape even more astonishing.
Managed by Gary Megson, the Baggies endured a terrible start to their campaign, winning none of their first seven league games, in what was their second successive season in the top flight. And after being knocked out of the League Cup at the second round stage by Colchester United, things looked bleak for Megson, who was dismissed on 26 October, 2004.
In came ex-England captain and former Albion midfielder Bryan Robson, after Frank Burrows' short caretaker stint, although things did not improve immediately.
Following a long-awaited first Premier League victory at home to Bolton Wanderers in October, they would not pick up three points again until after the New Year, losing five on the bounce before defeating Manchester City 2-0 on 22 January, 2005.
Wins over Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic and Everton, followed by four draws from their last six games ahead of the final day, gave the West Midlanders a glimmer of hope going into that crunch clash. West Brom had to beat Portsmouth at home to stand any chance of staying up and, after a goalless first half at the Hawthorns, it was not looking good for Robson's side.
The introduction of Geoff Horsfield as a second-half substitute changed the game in Albion's favour as he immediately gave the home side the advantage with a sweetly struck volley, sending the majority of the sell-out crowd of over 27,000 delirious.
After scoring his third league goal of the season, Horsfield then turned provider, back-heeling the ball into the path of Manchester United loanee Richardson, who did the rest, this time to more muted celebration as West Brom awaited news of their fate.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace had taken the lead against Charlton, which would have kept the Eagles up and sent West Brom down. An 82nd-minute equaliser from Charlton's Jonathan Fortune, however, turned the results into Albion's favour, and coupled with defeats for Norwich and Southampton, that 2-0 win would keep the Baggies in the top division for another season.
Portable radios could be seen around the Hawthorns as fans frantically checked what had happened in the other games. And as results began to filter through, supporters and players alike were soon aware that survival was confirmed, leading to a mass pitch invasion and huge celebrations.
The only team out of the bottom four to win on what was dubbed 'Survival Sunday', West Brom escaped the drop by a single point and finished on 34 points, having won just six games all season.
The Baggies were then relegated from the Premier League at the end of the following season, but the 2004/05 kit adorned by Albion that season will always be part of one of the great comeback stories.