A Brief History of Liverpool FC in 10 Slides

It’s the middle of the week and as other clubs turn their attentions to Champions League qualifying, Liverpool gets to rest up for its weekend encounter with Swansea City. There is no European football this season as the team rebounds from a rough period.

Things haven't always been this way of course, from humble beginnings Liverpool became the most successful English club ever, and one of the most successful clubs in the world.  Let’s take a moment then for a brief retrospective of the club’s 120-year history.

1. Liverpool Football Club Is Formed: June 3rd 1892

On this historic day Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds Ltd was formally recognized by the British Board of Trade.  Four years earlier Everton FC was formed as one of the foundation clubs of the fledgling Football League, and the club played its games on a stretch of green between Anfield Road and Walton Breck Road. 

The ground was owned by John Houlding who was a Tory Member of Parliament, and who would become club President, and future Mayor of Liverpool.  A dispute between Houlding and the rest of the Club executives over the rent to be paid resulted in Everton vacating the grounds. 

Between 1884 and 1889 the rent increased from £100 to £250 per year, yet here was Houlding proposing another rent increase in 1890, plus the bold suggestion that the club should buy Anfield (and an adjacent property from him).  The Board demurred, and the two factions parted ways.

The reality, however, was that Houlding had made an interest-free loan to Everton FC and saw this opportunity as a great way to be rewarded for his initial risk in the club, as well as for the club to own its own grounds, with room for expansion.

Whether he was being visionary or a mercenary depends on whether one’s perspective ran Red or Toffee blue, but no matter, Liverpool FC rose from the ashes of the dispute, and the rest as they say, is history. 

2. Reds Crowned Champions for the First Time: 29th April, 1901

Back row: Ottey, John Glover, Andy McGuigan, Foster, John “Sailor” Hunter, Thomas John Hunter, Raby Howell. 

Middle row: Soulsby, Charlie Wilson, Sam Raybould, Tom Robertson, Bill Perkins, William Goldie, Maurice Parry, J. Chapman (Trainer) 

Front row: John Walker, Richard Morris, Alex Raisbeck, Jack Cox, Billy Dunlop.

First Division

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Liverpool	34	19	7	8	59	35	1.686	45
2	Sunderland	34	15	13	6	57	26	2.192	43
3	Notts County	34	18	4	12	54	46	1.174	40
4	Nottingham Forest	34	16	7	11	53	36	1.472	39
5	Bury	34	16	7	11	53	37	1.432	39
6	Newcastle United	34	14	10	10	42	37	1.135	38
7	Everton	34	16	5	13	55	42	1.310	37
8	The Wednesday	34	13	10	11	52	42	1.238	36
9	Blackburn Rovers	34	12	9	13	39	47	0.830	33
10	Bolton Wanderers	34	13	7	14	39	55	0.709	33
11	Manchester City	34	13	6	15	48	58	0.828	32
12	Derby County	34	12	7	15	55	42	1.310	31
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers	34	9	13	12	39	55	0.709	31
14	Sheffield United	34	12	7	15	35	52	0.673	31
15	Aston Villa	34	10	10	14	45	51	0.882	30
16	Stoke	34	11	5	18	46	57	0.807	27
17	Preston North End	34	9	7	18	49	75	0.653	25
18	West Bromwich Albion	34	7	8	19	35	62	0.565	22

(Table courtesy Wikipedia.org)

3. Bill Shankly Hired as Manager: 1st December, 1959

On this day Liverpool Football Club announced that Huddersfield Town boss Bill Shankly was hired to replace Phil Taylor, and a legendary association was born.

Liverpool had first offered the job to Shankly four years earlier, but he passed on the opportunity since the manager was not given freedom to choose the side at the time.  Nine years later the club would make Shankly the first manager to name his own lineup in hiring him on his own terms.

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“I am very pleased and proud to have been chosen as manager of Liverpool FC, a club of such great potential. This appointment is a challenge to me. It is my opinion that Liverpool have a crowd of followers which rank with the greatest in the game. They deserve success and I hope, in my small way, to be able to do something towards helping them achieve it. When the challenge was made to me I simply could not refuse to accept it.”

- Bill Shankly, 1959 (courtesy liverpoolfc.tv)

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4. Reds Win First FA Cup Title: 1st May, 1965

Third time was the charm for Liverpool, who having lost their previous two FA Cup finals in 1914 and 1950, faced a surging Leeds United at Wembley.  Three seasons before Leeds had narrowly avoided relegation from the Second Division, now they competed for best club in the land.

The scoreless game went into extra time where Liverpool took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Roger Hunt in the 93^rd minute, only to see Billy Bremer equalize for Leeds seven minutes later.  The victory was sealed for Liverpool on a diving header by Ian St. John in the 113^th minute.

5. First UEFA Cup Title: 23rd May, 1973

On this day Liverpool won its first UEFA cup title by defeating Borussia Dortmund 3-2 on aggregate.  Two weeks earlier Liverpool won 3-0 at Anfield, on the strength of a Kevin Keegan brace and a Larry Lloyd 61^st minute strike.

On the return leg the Reds held off a determined Dortmund side, which got a brace of its own from former West German great Jupp Heynckes (one of which was a curling beauty), but Dortmund could not overcome the three-goal deficit to prevent the Reds from winning their first of five UEFA Cups.

6. Kenny Dalglish Arrives at Liverpool: 10th August, 1977

As a teenager, Kenny Dalglish was deemed neither good enough for his boyhood team, Glasgow Rangers, nor for Liverpool itself, where he went on trial.  However, by the fall of 1977 he was a bona fide star, and it cost Liverpool a then record £440,000 fee to pry him off Celtic’s payroll.

Arriving on the heels of the departure of the legendary, Kevin Keegan, Dalglish quickly silenced any doubts in the minds of supporters by scoring early in his debut with the team.  He would go on to set the team single-season scoring mark that year (since topped by Ian Rush), as well as to score the lone goal in the 1978 UEFA Cup Championship (at 4:10 in the video above) against FC Bruges. 

All told he would suit up for Liverpool for 13 seasons, representing the club 515 times and scoring 172 goals in the process. Voted the greatest Red ever, and one of our finest managers, the King has returned to once more lead the club to the promise land.

7. The 1983-1984 Treble Season

Liverpool Football Club enjoyed arguably its greatest period ever during the mid-1980s, culminating with a unique treble of winning the League, League Cup and European Cup titles in the same season.

For many fans this was the last of the golden years, as tragedy soon followed on the heels of spectacular success, and it would be 20 years before Liverpool would again be crowned Champions of Europe.

8. Heysel and Hillsborough: 1985-1989

This period is without doubt for many supporters, the least favorite aspect of our history, but it represents an indelible part of the unique history of LFC, and a testament to the club and to its supporters.

We salute the 39 fans who lost their lives on that May day in 1985 in Heysel, and the 96 who perished at Hillsborough in 1989.  Enough has been written of the tragedies of late, but we can never forget those who lost their lives both in Heysel and at Hillsborough. 

We keep their memories alive so that they may never be forgotten, but also so that history would not be repeated in future.  To this day the clarion call for justice continues, and our voices will be heard until there is justice for those who died.

9. Fifth UEFA Champions League Title vs. AC Milan: 25th May, 2005

Liverpool met AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League Final of 2005, played in Istanbul Turkey.  In what is beyond doubt the greatest game in club history, Liverpool overcame a 3-0 halftime deficit to tie the game and take it into extra time and then penalty kicks where the club prevailed.  Read more...

10. Kenny Dalglish Returns to Liverpool: 8th January, 2010

Kenny Dalglish was named caretaker manager on this day, after Roy Hodgson was relieved of his duties and thanked for his service.  Dalglish had been advising at the club’s Academy, specifically, assisting with the development of the young talent before being named manager.

Liverpool's new owners have handed Dalglish the job permanently, and have spent over £100 million on new players so as to provide him the necessary talent to secure the club's return to its winning ways.  The Anfield renaissance remains very much a work in progress, but spirits are buoyed both in the stands and on the pitch.

With faith and confidence restored, the club hopes to continue to build on the rich foundation established by men such as John Houlding, Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Rafa Benitez and the greatest Red ever, Kenny Dalglish.