Liverpool History: LFC ditch blue and adopt red shirts

There was a time Liverpool wore blue and Everton donned red

(This article comes from a future book project from writer Drew Farmer. Enjoy!)

“If Everton were playing at the bottom of my garden, I’d shut the curtains.” - Bill Shankly

Liverpool’s red kits are iconic. Is there anything that people around the world associate more with the city, other than The Beatles, than Liverpool’s red shirts, shorts, and socks? Perhaps not. But red wasn’t Liverpool Football Club’s original colour. In fact, red was the colour worn by Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals Everton. 

The two clubs have a long history that is intertwined in more ways than simply sharing a city and playing football matches. Liverpool’s home ground, Anfield, originally belonged to Everton. The Toffees moved into Anfield in 1884 and rented the stadium from John Orrell.

After just a year at Anfield, Orrell wanted to sell the stadium which would have resulted in Everton being homeless. It is believed the club could have gone out of business had Anfield been sold and redeveloped as housing, as planned.

Everton’s board contacted Liverpool businessman John Houlding to discuss the club’s stadium situation. In the end, Houlding, a self-made businessman, paid £6,000 to acquire Anfield. The amount was staggering (Approximately £634,000 in 2023), but it allowed Everton to continue playing at the stadium. 

During Everton’s time at Anfield, the club grew from an amateur team into a fully professional club. Success followed following shortly after being founded, and the team won silverware. Houlding watched Everton’s success with a gleeful eye. He knew money could be made from the club’s success and attempted to obtain more money because of it.