In the late 1970s, sponsorship made its mark in the world of Rugby League, and in 1976 the South Sydney Rabbitohs became the first premiership Club to wear the name of a major sponsor, VIP, on the front of our jersey during a premiership match.
The Club celebrated its 70th birthday in 1978, and under the tutelage of legendary coach Jack Gibson the famous red and green oval logo was born, which is still used today as the official corporate logo of the Club.
One of the biggest changes in the jersey occurred in 1980, with the inclusion of white stripes and a breakaway from the traditional uneven bars pattern. The new-look jersey was nicknamed the ‘Minties’ jersey as it resembled the wrapper of the popular mint-flavoured lolly. This coincided with a change in major sponsor as well, with KLG, 100 Pipers Scotch and Ignis Fridges adorning the front of the jersey, with the design lasting only five years until we returned to the traditional stripes in 1985.
In 1985, the cardinal red V across the chest was back and this time a change took place on the sleeve. A long vertical cardinal red stripe going from the wrist to the neck. Another famous major sponsor, this time Smith’s Crisps, jumped on board in 1986 along with plenty of media attention, lasting until 1991. During 1991 Smith’s Crisps also became our first sleeve sponsor.
In 1992-94 Norwest Airlines was emblazoned on our famous jersey, with Amiga Computers and Canon sponsorship logo on the sleeves. In 1995 Canon was our major sponsor and their logo was displayed on our jersey and sleeves, as well as on our World Sevens jersey.
The jersey would hardly change until 1997, with the Club issuing a brand new 90 seasons logo and a return of the white collar and a return to the horizontal stripes on the sleeves. This season also saw the dramatic improvement in jersey quality and materials as various manufacturers battled to produce the best jersey.
The Club went back to the oval logo in 1998 and later that season included Souths Juniors as their major sponsor. The following season Downtown Duty Free was our major sponsor and RSL.COM was our sleeve sponsor.
In 1999, the NRL approved our new jersey which we were planning to use in 2000 if we survived the criteria, which wasn’t to be. The jersey was all myrtle green with a cardinal red outline of a rabbit, with a black stripe on the sleeves with Rabbitohs written in red. The jersey was nicknamed the ‘Opera House’ jersey because of the shape of ears on the rabbit. This jersey was never released for sale.
