Liverpool officially came to life on 3 June 1892, when the British Board of Trade approved the new company. On 3 June 2027 the Reds turn 135. And yet the reddest club in England started out in blue and white.

A ground without a team

In the beginning it was Everton who played at Anfield. Their president, John Houlding, had bought the land in 1885, and his relationship with the committee broke down, partly over the rent.

On 15 March 1892, after a vote that removed him, the split became final and Everton moved to what became Goodison Park. Houlding was left with an empty ground and decided to build his own team.

He wanted to keep the Everton name but was not allowed to, and so Liverpool Football Club was born. The Board of Trade certificate came on 3 June, the day the club celebrates as its birthday.

The team of Macs

The first match was a friendly against Rotherham Town on 1 September 1892, and it ended 7-1. The squad, put together by John McKenna, was full of Scots, which is why they were called the "team of Macs".

The team won the Lancashire League straight away and joined the Football League in 1893. The first English titles came in 1901 and 1906.

After the 1906 title the legendary Spion Kop was built. It took the name of a hill in South Africa where, in 1900, during the Boer War, many soldiers from Liverpool were killed.

From blue to red

The first shirts were blue and white, almost the same as Everton's, who had left them behind at Anfield. A few years later the team switched to red with white shorts, but sources disagree on the year: some say 1894, others 1896.

The all-red kit was the idea of Bill Shankly. Before a European tie against Anderlecht in November 1964, he asked captain Ron Yeats to try red shorts, and he liked how much more imposing he looked.

Red socks followed soon after, and in the all-red kit Liverpool lifted the 1965 FA Cup at Wembley. It has been their first-choice kit ever since.

The Liver bird and the sponsors

On the shirt sits the Liver bird, the bird that symbolises the city. In 1992, for the centenary, the crest gained the Shankly Gates and two flames in memory of the victims of Hillsborough.

Liverpool were also the first Football League club to put a sponsor on their players' shirts, in 1979, with Japan's Hitachi. Crown Paints, Candy, Carlsberg for 18 years and, since 2010, Standard Chartered followed.

Rome, Istanbul and 20 league titles

The first of six European Cups came on 25 May 1977 at the Olimpico in Rome, with a 3-1 win over Mönchengladbach. Then came the years of Bob Paisley, who won three in total.

The most incredible night was on 25 May 2005 in Istanbul. Milan led 3-0 at half-time, but within six minutes Steven Gerrard, Šmicer and Xabi Alonso levelled, and Dudek made the difference in the shoot-out.

In 2025, under Arne Slot, came the 20th league title, equalling the record. Since 2022-23 the shirts have carried the number 97 on the collar, for the 97 supporters who died at Hillsborough.

Celebrate with us

From an empty ground and shirts that looked like the neighbours', Liverpool became one of the best-loved clubs in the world. Happy 135th birthday to the Reds, and as their song goes, You'll Never Walk Alone!

See our Liverpool jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: The Kop at Anfield – Mike Pennington, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.