Kop = Hill
Liverpool Football Club's story is among the most impressive club
histories in Britain and Europe. The story of Liverpool's heyday is
a much celebrated one, but the early history of the club, a less
known story perhaps, is amazing in itself and includes some
interesting surprises
.....
A Bright Beginning
John Houlding, born in 1833 in Liverpool. In 1854 he was taken on
by a local brewery as a drayman. Soon his knowledge of maths earned
him head book-keeper. He worked hard, saved hard & soon became
manager. By the end of his twenties he had bought two pubs & a
brewery of his own, & by his mid thirties he was a rich
man.
It was the local team known as Everton that captured Houlding's
footballing attention. Maybe the sizeable following they attracted
or that they mostly won their matches. In 1883, when Everton
Football Club was forced to move from Stanley Park, Houlding
persuaded a cattle-dealer names James Cruitt to rent out a field on
nearby Priory Road for home games. A year later, when Cruitt grew
tired of the "vociferous" fans who spoiled his peace and quiet at
weekends, Houlding looked for a solution closer to home.
Standing virtually opposite his grand red bricked house on Anfield
Road was a patch of land owned by fellow brewers John & James
Orrell. Houlding approached the brothers and asked if they would be
willing to grant a lease to the club, with him acting as its
"representative tenant". The brothers were happy to do a deal. The
grounds were enclosed and, on 27 September 1884, it staged it's
first ever football match - with the homeside beating Earlestown by
five goals to nil.
Providing Everton Football Club with vision, energy and money,
Houlding rose to the position of President. Everton, under
Houlding's leadership, occupied the premier position on Merseyside.
They were the first team in the country to publish a match
programme listing home & visitor players. They also pioneered
the use of goal nets - a welcome development for referees. When
professionalism was introduced in 1885, Everton's players
immediatly went full time.
Three years later the club joined with eleven others from the North
West to found the English Football League.
In 1891 Everton landed their first League Championship. In the same
year, Houlding paid the Orrell Brothers 5,845 Pounds to buy Anfield
outright.
As the new landlord, his new rules included his beer being the only
alcoholic refreshment on the grounds and the rent up from 100 to
250 pounds. Evertons members, led by the strict Methodists, accused
Houlding of using the Football Club to promote his own drinks
business. The members also wanted reduced rent of 180 Pounds.
Houlding relied stating "they should transform the club into a
limited Company and buy it from him". On 12th March 1892, a crisis
meeting was called. By the end of the meeting the vast majority of
Evertons 279 members and all but three of the first team squad
decided to leave for fresh fields and pastures new. Houlding was
left with a ground but no team, but not for long.
Houlding called his supporters to his home to win their backing to
form an entirely new club. He succeeded.
It was Houldings friend William E. Barclay who came up with the
idea of attracting supporters away from Everton Football Clubs new
grounds at Goodison Park. Barclay claimed their new club needed a
name that would inspire loyalty and affection from across the
entire city. Everyone agreed and on the 15th March 1892 Liverpool
Football Club was born!
Houlding was fortunate that talented Irishman John McKenna, a
member of the Everton coaching staff stayed loyal to him. With a
hefty loan of £500, McKenna set about building Liverpool Football
Club. He looked north for talent and assembled a team which became
known as 'the team of all the Macs'. (see photo) The team all
hailed from Scotland with the exception of goalkeeper and
Englishman, Bill McOwen
After their first year McKenna decided it
was time to apply for entrance into the Football League. They won
their first championship in 1900/01, but were again relegated two
years later. After another year in the second division they bounced
back up and immediately won their second championship in 1904/05.
As a reward the directors built the legendary Spion Kop for the
fans. Named after a hill in Natal where a Merseyside regiment
suffered heavy losses in the Boer War. Three hundred died in a vain
attempt to lift the siege of Ladysmith, many of them Liverpool
lads. "Spion Kop" means "vantage point" in Afrikaans. In 1928 the
stand was extended and roofed, providing cover for 30,000
fans.
So, Brother Poolman is actually right.
