FeatureHow LFC's Liver bird emblem originally looked 75 years ago

Encased in a red shield on the team’s white away strip of the time, the crest was commissioned to commemorate the club’s appearance in the 1950 FA Cup final against Arsenal.

In preparation for that historic occasion – the Reds’ inaugural visit to Wembley – the first shirt to be proudly emblazoned with a Liver bird made its debut during a league game away to Portsmouth the previous week.

Unfortunately, it didn’t bring George Kay’s side much luck. A 2-1 defeat at Fratton Park ended their faint title aspirations and, sadly, was the prelude to more disappointment at the national stadium.

In the same kit, complete with the standard black shorts and unusual blue and white hooped socks, Liverpool were then beaten 2-0 by the Gunners.

Despite that, three quarters of a century later, this shirt remains one of the club’s most iconic and thankfully three have been preserved in the LFC museum collection.

Pictured below are those worn on the day by left-back Eddie Spicer (3), outside-left Billy Liddell (11) and centre-forward Albert Stubbins (9), with the latter still slightly blood-stained from the Wembley battle.

Manufactured by Umbro, in conjunction with local sports retailer of the time Jack Sharp, these long-sleeved, heavy-cotton, rugby-style tops are typical of the era.

The club reverted to using their old away shirts in the immediate seasons that followed, but the Liver bird in this guise reappeared on the change strip in 1953-54 and 1954-55.

Interestingly, it’s a crest that never featured on the home kit. When a Liver bird was eventually incorporated onto the red shirt in November 1955, it was part of the redesigned oval-shaped emblem that would later become synonymous with the success in the 1960s.

View the shirt collection up close at the LFC Museum – book your visit and stadium tour here.