The Birth of the Famous Liverpool FC Red Shirt

Liverpool Football Club are famous for their all-red kits - but some fans may not realise the Reds were not originally the Reds.

The Sporting Blog tells the full story!

Liverpool didn’t don red for the first time until 1896 - and the all-red strip didn’t come into existence until February 1965, under legendary manager Bill Shankly.

Liverpool’s first strip was far different from what fans see today on the Anfield pitch. It was a kit inspired by Everton, who played across Stanley Park at Goodison, which is less than a mile away.

The Sporting Blog takes a look at exactly why Liverpool play in red, and not blue anymore!

A Dispute Leads to the World-Famous Club’s Creation

Everton were born in 1878, and they were the first team to play at Anfield.

The Toffees moved to Anfield in 1884, where they played home matches for eight years before a dispute sent them to the other side of Stanley Park.

The ground was owned by local businessman John Houlding. However, Houlding wasn’t just a businessman. He was well-connected around the city and even served as Lord Mayor.

Houlding also owned the Sandon pub, which was located in the Anfield area. This pub had a lot to do with the story of Liverpool FC’s birth, stadium and kits.

It was at the Sandon pub that St Domingo’s FC held team meetings. St Domingo’s would later change their name to Everton Football Club after the district they are located in.

Houlding gradually gained more influence within the football club, and soon, the businessman became its first president. After stepping in as president, Everton moved to Anfield thanks to Houlding’s investment in the new ground.

The only hitch was the rent. Everton paid Houlding £250 a year to rent Anfield. A quick inflation calculation shows just how expensive Everton’s rent at Anfield was in 1884. The amount is equivalent to approximately £25,716.13 in 2024.

In 1891, Everton were charged an additional fee of £120 (approximately £12,621.13) per year.

The new fee was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Everton’s board members had lost confidence in Houlding, and the president was quickly voted out of power.

Everton relocated to land across Stanley Park, where they built Goodison Park. Meanwhile, Houlding had a beautiful football stadium but lacked a team to play in it.

Houlding joined forces with John McKenna and William Barclay, two Everton defectors, to form Liverpool Football Club on June 3, 1892.

Rummaging Through the Kit Room

Now, with a team to play in the state-of-the-art stadium, Houlding needed a kit for the players.

Everton had left some kit and other materials behind when they left Anfield, as the Toffees had previously ditched their blue shirts.

Everton’s board voted for a kit colour change in 1892 and moved from blue to ruby red.

Houlding located the old blue kits in a store room inside the stadium and handed out the strip to players.

Liverpool’s first official home shirt was blue and white. The top resembles Blackburn Rovers’ modern-day shirt with half the top white and half blue.

Liverpool played in blue and white for the next four seasons, while Everton donned red shirts.

Of course, Liverpool weren’t known as the Reds. Journalists and fans referred to the team as the Anfielders, a name that continues to be used today.

The final day of the 1895-96 season saw Liverpool wear blue and white for the final time as the team lost 2-0 to West Brom. The strip was never seen again, with Liverpool changing to red jerseys and white shorts in the off-season.

Houlding immediately bought new shirts for Liverpool, transforming the team’s primary colour to red.

Everton’s change to royal blue led to one of the most iconic kits in football history, although it isn’t their own. The famous strip is worn by Everton’s archrival, Liverpool.

Now known as the Reds, Liverpool lost their first match wearing the new ruby red shirt. The club fell 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers.

The Evolution of the Liverpool Kit

Liverpool are famous for wearing red shirts, shorts and socks. But for nearly 70 years, Liverpool wore red jerseys, white shorts and white socks.

Sometimes the shorts and socks were black, rather than white. The football shirts had little flair, and it wasn’t until 1950 that Liverpool added a badge to the top.

The club added a badge to the shirt for the 1950 FA Cup. The Wembley final ended in a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal as Reginald Lewis scored on either side of halftime.

Liverpool wore white shirts with black shorts, and white and navy-blue striped socks for the match. The original badge looks far different than any modern logo Liverpool use.

The Anfielders continued with red jerseys, white shorts, and socks until February 1965. Shankly always sought an edge over the competition.

He believed an all-red kit gave the team an intimidation factor over opponents. Shankly wanted the kit to strike fear into opponents before a player kicked the ball.

In a later interview, Liverpool legend Ian St John said:

"Shankly thought the colour scheme would carry psychological impact - red for danger, red for power.

He came into the dressing room one day and threw a pair of red shorts to Ronnie Yeats. 'Get into those shorts and let's see how you look,' he said. 'Christ, Ronnie, you look awesome, terrifying. You look 7 feet tall.'"

Shankly remarked on more than one occasion that the players "looked like giants" on the pitch. Liverpool have worn all-red ever since Shankly’s experiment.

The kit is now world-famous, but it could have been very different!

The Reds could have been the Blues had Houlding not decided to change colours in 1896. Liverpool have Everton to thank for the change to red.

The Toffees’ decision to wear royal blue inspired Houlding - and the rest, as they say, is history.