Is it an eagle? Is it a cormorant? No, it’s a… liver bird.
The mythical creature is a symbol of the city of Liverpool — the most famous examples are a pair on top of the Liver Building, where Bertie gazes over the city and Bella looks out to sea.
A liver bird also appears on Liverpool FC’s badge and has done since it was formed in 1892.
But what is a liver bird? The research suggests its origins are a bird that appeared on a unique seal used by the city since 1229. Historians have linked that seal back to King John, whose patron saint was St John. An ancient symbol of St John was an eagle.
Versions differ, but it seems that the seal was lost and when a new one was created in the 17th century, the type of bird was uncertain. Documents show that people were referring to it as a cormorant, a common bird on the estuary of the Mersey.
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Later that same century, the bird was referred to in records as a “spoonbill” and a “Leaver”, the latter of which resulted in the bird on the city’s coat of arms becoming known as a liver bird.
Just like many other new clubs, Liverpool FC used the city’s coat of arms as its first crest. It had two liver birds in the centre flanked by the Roman god Neptune and the Greek god Triton, plus the Latin phrase: “God hath granted us this ease”.
The club’s crest was first added to the Liverpool kit in the 1950 FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal. It was a much simpler design. Gone were any gods or Latin. Instead, a liver bird stood front and centre inside a shield.
The shield did not last long though, with a 1955 redesign changing the crest to an oval. The initials “LFC” were added beneath the liver bird and that badge remained until 1968 when the oval was removed, creating a pared-down version of the badge, as seen on Kenny Dalglish below.
The club returned to the shield logo, albeit with a different style, in 1986. It has remained central to the crest ever since. The new crest also featured the words “Liverpool Football Club” for the first time.
To mark the club’s 100-year anniversary, a special crest was commissioned for the 1992-93 season. While the shield model was retained, the design added the Shankly gates to the top. The words “You’ll Never Walk Alone” were also added.
The song, covered by Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1963, was famously sung by Liverpool supporters during the 1960s as it rose to the top of the charts, becoming the club’s anthem.
The gates were “unlocked” by Bill Shankly’s wife at a ceremony in 1982 to celebrate and mark arguably the most important manager in the club’s history, who had passed away nearly a year before. Shankly arrived at Anfield in 1959 with Liverpool in the Second Division and during his 15-year reign, the club won the First Division three times along with two FA Cups and one UEFA Cup.
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The Shankly gates were relocated to the opposite end of the Anfield Road stand following the construction of the new stand in 2016, but had previously been located next to the Hillsborough memorial.
The disaster will forever be a tragic moment in the club’s history. In memory of those who died, the eternal flames were added to the club badge in 1993.
In 1999, the crest became more colourful: various elements were changed from gold to green. The liver bird was also enlarged and freed from the small shield surrounding it.
With the exception of the club’s 125-year anniversary during the 2017-18 season, the badge has remained the same since.
You do not need to be eagle-eyed to notice that despite the badge still being used on all official merchandise and plastered proudly on the main stand, it is no longer used as the crest on the club kit.
That change came in 2012-13, when new kit designers Warrior introduced a simpler design, adapting the 1968-1987 crest of the liver bird above “LFC”.
Despite the club changing kit manufacturers since, the simplified shirt badge has remained and there are no signs it will change soon.
(Top image: designed by Samuel Richardson)
