Anfield Stadium has witnessed some truly special nights over the years. It is almost as if the players ensure that every generation has a big night to talk of, with everyone who was there constantly keen to talk about the win over St Étienne in the European Cup in 1977, for example. The win over Chelsea in the same competition in 2005 was raucous, whilst the 4-0 defeat of Barcelona in the Champions League in 2019 will live long in the memory.
There are doubtless plenty more nights to come, but the one that is the most-attended game remains a relatively innocuous one in comparison to those that will be remembered forever.
61,905 Fans Attended Liverpool v Wolves in 1952
It seems a bit mad to think about it now, considering how many trophies the Reds have won over the years. Yet in 1952 the side had yet to win the FA Cup, making it one of the most sought-after trophies for them at the time. It was Don Welsh in the dugout for the club in the 1951-1952 season, which is one that offered little reason to remember it in terms of how things transpired.
Liverpool lost their opening game of the season at home to Portsmouth, eventually going on to finish 11th in the First Division. The League Cup had yet to be invented, whilst the European Cup was three years away from coming into existence.
1952 Anfield-Match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers. pic.twitter.com/buzd8nGjFI
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All hopes of silverware were therefore pinned on the FA Cup, with Liverpool having won 1-0 against Workington in the third round thanks to a James Payne goal in front of 52,581 at Anfield. That set up a fourth round tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers, with 61,905 cramming into Anfield to watch the game play out. The opening goal was scored after just five minutes when Billy Liddell set up a certain Bob Paisley.
Four minutes later and the lead was doubled when Cyril Done got onto the end of a Jack Balmer assist. A consolation goal from Jimmy Mullen could do little to dampen the fervent record crowd inside Anfield.
Will it Ever be Beaten?
It seems extremely strange nowadays to think of nearly 62,000 people making their way inside Anfield to watch a fourth round FA Cup tie, but that is exactly what happened. What is even odder is the fact that no other match exceeded the attendance in the years that followed.
It came a little under 20 years after the previous record attendance, which had also been an FA Cup game. At least that one had the decency to be against Tranmere Rovers, which was something of a local derby. With no further games besting the 61,905 people that attended the fourth round tie with Wolves, the obvious question is about whether it will ever be beaten.
In the wake of the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989, grounds around the country had to become all-seater affairs. As a result, the Anfield capacity dropped to around 45,000. Obviously that made the likelihood of more than 62,000 people heading in to watch a match all but impossible.
The Wolves game was able to see so many people inside the ground because around 30,000 people were able to stand on the Kop alone. There have been more changes to Anfield since, which have increased the capacity closer to that magic number. The official capacity of the ground in the November of 2024 was 61,276.
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In other words, even if every single seat inside the ground was occupied then Anfield would still be 630 seats away from setting a new record attendance. One way that that might happen in the future is if safe standing is introduced around the ground.
The ‘Yellow Wall’ at the Westfalenstadion, Borussia Dortmund’s home ground, is able to accommodate nearly 25,000 people, making it similar to what the Kop once was. At the moment, the Kop can take 12,850 people as well as 52 disabled supporters, meaning that an additional 13,000 would mean that Anfield could hold nearly 75,000 people. The question is, will that ever happen?
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