'Motherlode' of Brighton shirts 'tell club's story'

A bald man wearing a black t-shirt, with tattoos on his arm, holding up a black football shirt in his shop. There is a rail of football shirts to the right, with other football memorabilia in the background — Graeme Stokes recently bought 120 Brighton shirts dating back to the 1990s that he says tell the story of a club that has risen a long way

"I believe a shirt tells a story," says Graeme Stokes, surrounded by thousands of vintage strips and boxes of football memorabilia.

His shop in Brighton has recently bought "the motherlode" of Brighton & Hove Albion shirts, a total of 120 that date back to the early 1990s.

His favourite and the one he believes to be the rarest is dark blue, with the sponsor Palookaville emblazoned across it.

He said: "Fatboy Slim, the DJ, he helped the club out when they were in some financial difficulty by sponsoring the shirts…and Palookaville was an album that he released."

A bald man with a black t-shirt and tattoos on his arm is holding up a black football shirt to the camera. It is 'Palookaville' written on it in white, with a white seagull printed above. To the right of the shirt, are dozens of other football shirts hanging up — One of Graeme Stokes' favourites is a shirt sponsored by Palookaville

"It tells the story of a local person helping them out when they were a lot smaller club than they are today," Stokes added.

Another highlight is a training top with the initials 'GP', believed to have been worn by former manager Gus Poyet.

A man, wearing a black t-shirt, is holding up a blue and white striped football top with SKINT written on it in white. There is a badge with 'errea' written on it in white at the top left, with a red nose printed on the top left. To the right, dozens of football shirts are hanging. — Another highlight is a shirt from 2007 with the Big Red Nose Day embroidered on it

There is also a shirt produced for Red Nose Day in 2007, with the logo embroidered on the top right, which Stokes says is rare.

The plan was for players to wear the shirts one matchday, sign them, then they would be auctioned off for the charity.

But the EFL refused permission for the charity sponsor, so they were never worn and have become collectors' items.

"The good thing about Brighton from a collectors' perspective is that they were a much smaller club back then so there weren't as many of them made," Stokes added.

A former children's mental health nurse, Stokes initially planned to "take some time out" and instead turned his passion into a business.

A bald man wearing a black t-shirt is sitting behind the till in a shop filled with football collectibles including a rail full of blue and white Brighton shirts in the centre, shelves full of programmes and football cards on the left, and more rails full of vintage shirts from other clubs on the right wall — Graeme Stokes initially traded online but says the shop helps him connect with the football community

"I was on the frontline and it was very difficult, enjoyable at times, very rewarding but the stress levels were incredible," he said.

Initially he traded online, but the shop, Global Sports Collectibles, helps him connect with the football community.

He added: "Just last week a lady came in and bought an old Brighton shirt for her grandson, and she got talking and said her husband played for Brighton in the '60s.

"I loved hearing the stories and I gifted her some programmes that her husband Eric Whittington was actually mentioned in."

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