The Liverpool Shirt - More Than 100 Years Of History

Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the English Premier League. Their home ground is the famous Anfield in Liverpool. They are the most successful club in the history of English football having won eighteen First Division titles, seven FA Cups, five European cups and seven League Cups. Unlike some of the other big clubs in England, Liverpool has played at the same home ground since they were formed in 1892.

Interestingly, it was Liverpool's fierce rivals, Everton, who originally played at Anfield before Liverpool FC was even incorporated. Due to a dispute between Everton management and the Anfield leaseholder, Everton quit Anfield and moved to Goodison Park where they have remained ever since. Everton F.C. And Athletic Grounds was founded by John Houlding the Anfield leaseholder to play at the now vacant stadium but this name was changed to Liverpool FC because the Football Association would not recognise a second team playing under the Everton name. Managers have come and gone over the years but the most notable boss was the legendary Bill Shankly whose statue stands outside Anfield today. Currently managed by Rafael Benitez, and has had some success, winning the European Cup and the FA cup, however the coveted Premiership title still eludes them.

When the team replaced Everton at Anfield, the Liverpool shirt was similar to the Everton strip of the same time. The shirt was blue and white, bisected vertically. The strip was completed with blue shorts and black socks. In 1894 to distinguish themselves from Everton, the Liverpool shirt became all red with white shorts. The socks changed from red to black to white and finally back to red. In the mid 1960s, the now familiar all red strip was adopted for home games.

The Liverpool shirt used for away games are traditionally yellow with yellow shorts or white shirts with black shorts. As with most clubs there has been some deviation from the traditional as new schemes are tried. In 1987 an all grey kits was introduced which was used for four years. The away strip was changed several times in the 1990s. This included colour combinations such as black and grey and navy and gold. In recent times the club has alternated between the yellow and white away shirts with the grey shirt being re-introduced for the 2008-2009 season. A third kit that is mostly used for Champions League away games is a turquoise shirt with black shorts.

The Liverpool F.C. emblem is designed around the Liver Bird of Liverpool. The Liver bird is inside a shield with the Shankly Gates above. The gates bear the club's anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone". The flames flanking the gates are recent additions in memory of those who died in the Hillsborough disaster. They mimic the eternal flame that burns outside Anfield.

The Liverpool shirt was the first to bear the team sponsor's logo when Hitatchi sponsored the team in 1979. Sponsor companies have included Candy, Crown Paints and Carlsberg.

Hopefully this article has provided an interesting insight into the Liverpool shirt and how it has changed over the last 100 years.