History of Liverpool Football Club 1892-2001

Originally, Anfield was the home of Everton Football Club who began playing there in 1884. In
1892 a row over the rent led to the majority of members storming out in protest and moving
across Stanley Park to build Goodison. Those who remained in Anfield decided to set up a club of
their own - and so Liverpool Football Club was born.
On January 24th 1900, there was a battle in the South African township of Natal, which led to
appalling loss of life, especially amongst many Liverpool people. The battle became known as the
battle of the Spion Kop. The battle was one of the many disasters at the Boer War and ironically,
the battle need never have happened.
In 1960, as Liverpool clinched their 2nd league title, Anfield was reconstructed with the Kop
becoming a massive uncovered terraced area holding some 20,000 supporters. The name Spion
Kop was coined by a local reporter and many felt it was a fitting memorial for all those poor
Liverpudlians who fell at the battle of the Spion Kop.
The Kop and Anfield remained largely unchanged and the 1920's and 1930's saw football become
the nation's number one sport. A roof was built on the Kop in 1928 and in the 1930's Anfield was
also used to hold boxing, with at least one World Title bout being staged. Professional Tennis was
also staged as well as various football internationals.
After the Second World War Liverpool won their 5th league title, helped by the likes of Billy
Liddell and a young Bob Paisley. In the season 1953-54 Liverpool Football Club were relegated to
the old division two but the reign of Bill Shankley was not far away.
Anfield in the 1960's was the birth of the Kop Choir and the city's musical success was soon to be
mirrored on the football field. Groups of supporters would meet in local pubs to plan the
Saturday afternoon's entertainment. The Albert, next door to the Kop was and still is, a regular
haunt and rehearsal hall for the Kop Choir.
In the 1970's Liverpool FC's travels in Europe meant that fans were able to travel extensively
and bring back part of the European culture to Anfield. The Kop was awash with foreign scarves,
flags and various souvenirs. The Kop was the first terraced area in England to adopt the
continental approach of using a mish mash of ideas from the likes of Italian, German and other
European supporters.
The 1980's saw Anfield become a victim of it's own success. In 1978-79 only 4 goals were
conceded at Anfield and the Kop had quietened somewhat. Unemployment was rife in Liverpool
which obviously had some effect on the mood the city as a whole. A lot of support began to come
from outside Liverpool, even abroad from Belfast, Dublin, Norway and Denmark in particular.
Then there was Heysel which had a dramatic effect on Liverpool FC. Then there was Hillsborough
and the end of an era soon followed.
The 1990's saw Anfield thriving with estimations of up to two thirds of support coming from
outside Liverpool. The ground is now an all-seater stadium, despite many fans wishing to retain
some terracing on the Kop. There are plans afoot to redevelop or move from Anfield completely,
and we will keep people updated on the this elsewhere on our website.