The story of Liverpool FC in 50 photos

April 25, 2020
Joanna Durkan

This is the story of Liverpool Football in 50 photos for the young fans amongst us.

Liverpool Football Club was formed in 1892

Liverpool Football Club was formed on March 15 1892, over 128 years ago, following a disagreement between Everton FC and its president, John Houlding – who owned Anfield.

The Founder: John Houlding

The founder of Liverpool Football Club was John Houlding. This bronze statue sits outside Anfield.

Liverpool won first league title in 1900/01

The first of 18 league titles came just eight years after the club was first formed!

Jack Balmer: The third and last to score a hat-trick of hat-tricks

Balmer was a striker for the Reds from 1935-1952. And he scored a hat-trick three games in a row in 1946! He was the third and last player to do so in England’s topflight.

Bill Shankly arrives to manage Liverpool in 1959

The legendary Bill Shankly arrived when Liverpool were in the Second Division and went on to transform the club over a period of 15 years, and he too has a statue at Anfield in front of the Kop.

Liverpool return to the First Division in 1962

The Reds spent eight seasons in the Second Division between 1954 and 1962 – but would never return again after being promoted in 1962.

You’ll Never Walk Alone rings around Anfield for the first time

The famous anthem was first sung on the Kop in 1963 and remains close to the hearts of Reds across the world.

Liverpool win their sixth league title in 1964

Just two years after returning to the top-flight, Bill Shankly leads Liverpool to his first and the club’s sixth league title.

Liverpool wear all-red kit for the first time

In 1964, Liverpool would wear an all-red kit for the very first time.

“The players looked like giants. And we played like giants,” was how Shankly viewed the look.

Liverpool win their first of now seven FA Cups in 1965

The prestigious trophy was taken to Anfield for the first time back in 1965 after Liverpool beat Leeds United 2-1 at Wembley.

Liverpool win their first European trophy in 1973

The UEFA Cup, which you may know as the Europa League, was Liverpool’s first-ever trophy in Europe.

They won it by beating Borussia Monchengladbach 3-2 over two legs.

In 1974 a second FA Cup arrives at Anfield

After beating Newcastle 3-0 in 1974, Liverpool won their second FA Cup.

It would also be the last trophy and game with Bill Shankly as manager.

Bob Paisley becomes Liverpool manager

The summer of 1974 saw Bill Shankly depart and Bob Paisley take over.

Paisley had played for the Reds for 15 years and had worked under Shankly before he became Liverpool’s new manager.

St Etienne: One of Anfield’s greatest-ever nights

Anfield was shaken to its core in 1977 as Liverpool came from behind in the tie against France’s St. Etienne in the European Cup quarter-finals, with David Fairclough the hero from the bench.

It was a night similar to what you experienced against Barcelona.

Liverpool win their first European Cup in 1977

Liverpool travelled to Italy to face Germany’s Borussia Monchengladbach and won 3-1 to secure their first European Cup!

Kenny Dalglish signs for Liverpool from Celtic

King Kenny joined the Reds from Celtic in 1977, 33 years ago, and went on to become a living legend!

Liverpool win second European Cup at Wembley, the first English team to defend their title

A second European Cup would arrive just one year after the first with a 1-0 win over Belgium’s FC Brugge and Liverpool became the first English club to win it back-to-back!

In 1981, the third European Cup arrives

The third would then arrive three years later as Liverpool maintained their 100 percent winning streak in finals.

Real Madrid were the opposition in Paris, with the Reds winning 1-0.

Paisley ends time as manager after nine years

After nine years, Paisley called time on his managerial career. He won a total of 20 trophies as manager and remains Liverpool’s most successful boss!

Joe Fagan becomes manager

Another member of the Boot Room steps up as manager. Fagan had been with the club for 25 years when he became the main man in 1983.

In 1984 Liverpool win fourth European Cup with penalty shootout win

It was a dramatic road to picking up our fourth European cup as Liverpool won in a penalty shootout against Roma in Rome – the game is famous for Bruce Grobbelaar’s ‘spaghetti legs’!

SEE MORE: A complete timeline history of Liverpool FC

Liverpool win domestic double under player-manager Dalglish

Just nine years after he joined as Liverpool’s No. 7 and King Kenny added ‘manager’ to his title – meaning he played and managed the club at the same time.

And in his first season in the dual role, the Reds won both the league the FA Cup!

Hillsborough

In 1989, the Hillsborough disaster tragically saw 96 Liverpool supporters killed during an FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground.

Liverpool win FA Cup for the fourth time against Everton

It was an emotional day at Wembley as Liverpool and Everton met in the FA Cup final and it was a game of epic proportions.

The Reds won 3-2 in extra-time, with Ian Rush scoring a late double to sink the Blues!

The 18th league title arrives in 1989/90

This was the sixth league title Liverpool won during the 1990s and it was the 18th overall.

It means anyone aged 30 or under has not seen the club win the league, but Jurgen Klopp‘s Reds have something to say about that!

Kenny leaves Anfield in 1991

After 14 years at Liverpool and 20 honours as a player and manager, King Kenny left Liverpool – but it would not be the last time we saw him!

Ian Rush becomes Liverpool’s all-time goalscorer

The legendary Rush cemented his name into the record books in 1992 when he broke Roger Hunt’s record of 286 goals – but he would end his career with 346 in 660 games. Incredible!

The standing Kop has its last outing

The Kop as you know it now once used to hold up to 30,000 fans who stood, swayed and sung and was first built in 1906.

But in 1994, 88 years after it was put in place the standing Kop was replaced as English stadiums became all-seaters.

The Reds are FA Youth Cup champions

Liverpool won the FA Youth Cup for the first time in 1996 at Anfield. Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen both featured in the triumph.

Carra, Owen and Gerrard all make their debuts within 22 months

Following on from Liverpool’s youth success, Carragher and Owen would make their debut in the 1996/97 season – Owen would score on his debut while Carra found the net in his first start!

Carragher (19-years-old) Owen (17) would soon be followed by Gerrard (18) in 1997/98 – the trio would make a combined 1744 games for Liverpool and added nine trophies to the cabinet.

The 2001 treble

Gerard Houllier was the manager as Liverpool went on to win the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup and they all came in the space of 80 days!

Rafa Benitez arrives as Reds boss

In the summer of 2004, Houllier would bid farewell and a Spanish manager by the name of Rafa Benitez would take over – and he made the best start to life at Anfield.

Gerrard and Olympiakos

It was the final group game of the 2004/05 Champions League and Liverpool needed to win and they needed to do so by two goals if Olympiakos scored.

They did score and by the time there was just 12 minutes left on the clock the Reds needed two goals and Neil Mellor would score before Gerrard unleashed an epic volley – Liverpool had done it!

Then came the ‘ghost goal’

The win over Olympiakos saw Liverpool progress to the knockouts where they would go on to meet Chelsea in the semi-finals.

With a 0-0 at Stamford Bridge, there was everything to play for and Luis Garcia scored early at Anfield with a strike considered as the ‘ghost goal’ as many debated if it ever went over the line!

The Miracle of Istanbul as Liverpool make it five

And those two dramatic moments led to Istanbul where Liverpool met a fierce AC Milan side.

At half-time Liverpool were 3-0 down, only to complete one of the greatest-ever comebacks by scoring three of their own before winning on penalties! The fifth European Cup was ours!

The Gerrard FA Cup final of 2006

As you can tell, Liverpool never does anything the easy way and the 2006 FA Cup final was no different.

With just minutes left in the game, the Reds were 3-2 down against West Ham, only for Gerrard to unleash an incredible goal from 30 yards out and we would go on to win on penalties to pick up our seventh FA Cup.

A rare Champions League final defeat

Just two years after winning in Istanbul, a place in the final came around once more against the same opposition in AC Milan.

It was not to be for Benitez’s side as Milan would exact revenge with a 2-1 win.

Torres arrives for record transfer fee

In 2007, Fernando Torres arrived for £26.5m and would be an instant hit. His partnership with Gerrard was one to behold and he scored 81 goals in 142 games before making a heartbreaking exit to Chelsea in 2011.

Roy Hogdson arrives in 2010

After 350 games in charge, Rafa Benitez would leave and Roy Hodgson would take his place and a disastrous 31 games followed before he too left.

FSG become owners

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) bought the club in 2010, ending a terrible few years which saw Liverpool face a lot of financial problems.

SEE MORE: A complete timeline history of Liverpool FC

Luis Saurez joins Liverpool

It was January 2011 when Suarez arrived. He was truly incredible, scoring 82 goals in 133 games and in 2013/14 he found the net 31 times in the Premier League – before moving to Barcelona.

A six-year wait ends as League Cup is secured

In 2012, King Kenny was back as manager and a League Cup final win over Cardiff on penalties saw a six-year wait for a trophy ended. It was the eighth time Liverpool had won the competition.

Brendan Rodgers is the next in line

Another year and another manager. This time it was Brendan Rodgers in 2012. Three years in charge would return no trophies, but he took us close in 2013/14.

Jurgen Klopp arrives at Liverpool and everything changes

In October 2015, Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers and ensured none of our lives were ever the same as he turned “doubters into believers!”

The new main stand opens at Anfield

Over 8,500 seats were added to Anfield in 2016 with the opening of the new Main Stand. Anfield now holds over 54,000 fans, and more seats are to be added soon!

Liverpool Football Club turned 125 in 2017

Liverpool celebrated 125 years of existence during the 2017/18 season.

Virgil van Dijk arrives at Anfield

After a dramatic transfer saga, Virgil became a Red in January 2018 and Liverpool have not looked back since!

‘He’s our centre-half, he’s our number four’.

A Champions League final defeat in Kyiv

A heartbreaking defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in 2018, but the Reds would strike back…

In Madrid, we won it 6 times

The first trophy in seven years arrived after a 2-0 win over Tottenham and it is where we were all treated to Jordan Henderson‘s shuffle to lift the European Cup for the first time.