“Liverpool Football Club exists to win trophies” is an oft-trotted out line from Bill Shankly. When most people refer to this what they are talking about are the likes of the top-flight title and the European Cup, with honourable mentions for the FA Cup and the League Cup.
They are all trophies that Liverpool have won throughout the club’s long and illustrious history, adding them all to the cabinet in a way that would make other clubs jealous and that has contributed to the Reds being the most successful English club in the sport.
Liverpool are by far the most successful and most iconic club in English football
— Braden 🇳🇱 (@Braden_LFC) February 8, 2025
Of course, not every trophy is a major one. Aside from anything else, some of the biggest trophies like the European Cup didn’t come into being until well after the advent of football. Then there is the fact that many competitions get a rebrand from time to time, which is why the European Cup is now the Champions League and the top-flight turned from the First Division into the Premier League.
Trophies that seemed like they might be important once upon a time fade into the distant memory of football, rarely to be thought of again.
There have been numerous such trophies that Liverpool have won over the years, such that they aren’t really worthy of a mention when you’re looking at the likes of the Champions Wall at Anfield or doing a tour of the Liverpool FC Museum, but that are part of the club’s history nevertheless.
Not everyone will know about them, nor will the Kop sing songs about them when the Reds lineup in a home game and the players want to demonstrate their ability to take the game to the opposition, but they’re no less important.
The Lancashire League
Nowadays, the idea of teams playing other sides from within roughly the same area is something that is limited to lower league clubs. In the past, though, it was a thing that happened on a regular basis, with sides being limited in terms of who they went up against to those playing in a reasonably sized radius. The Lancashire League was created in 1889 and was established thanks to the success of the Football League a year before. One of the driving forces behind it was Bury FC, looking to give themselves a means of making it into the Football League.
@liampullman84 Liverpools trophy case 😍🏴 #liverpool #england #anfield #anfieldstadium #liverpoolfc #lfc #liverpoolfan #lfcfamily #lfcfans #premierleague #trophies #trophy #fyp #fypシ #fypage #foryoupage ♬ original sound – 𝕭𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝕾𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖘
Initially, all of the clubs were based in Lancashire, but in the years that followed clubs from Cheshire also began to be accepted. For a time, sides likes Workington from Cumberland and Yorkshire’s Doncaster Rovers also played in the league. Bury’s hopes proved to be well-founded, with teams such as Blackpool, Southport Central and New Brighton Tower all getting to play in the Football League after starting out in the Lancashire League. Bury themselves also made the jump, having won the Lancashire League twice.
The winner of the inaugural version of the Lancashire League was Higher Walton, ending up successful in the 1889-1890 season. Liverpool, of course, weren’t even a going concern at that point, so weren’t there for Bury’s two successful campaigns. When the Reds did join the Lancashire League in 1892, however, they won it at the first time of asking. The Lancashire League ended in 1903, but another one was formed in 1939 that is still going, mainly populated by the reserve teams of the area’s biggest football clubs.
Sheriff of London Charity Shield
Mention the ‘Charity Shield’ to people of a certain vintage and they will have a good idea what it is that you’re talking about. It was what the Community Shield was known at back before the Football Association was told that they didn’t give enough money from the event to charity and rather than increase their donation they just decided to rename the competition. The Sheriff of London Charity Shield was something of a precursor for that event, having been founded in 1898 when Sir Thomas Dewar put a shield forward to be won.
Check the size of the trophy.
The Sheriff of London Shield was played annually between the best professional team and the best amateur team in England, with the proceeds going to charity.
Queens Park took part in 1899 and shared the shield with Aston Villa after a 0-0 draw. pic.twitter.com/0jObdGqIDE
— CelticEarlyYears (@EarlyCeltic) April 7, 2023
Dewar was the Sheriff of London at the time, hence the reason why the competition became known by that title. The idea was that it would see the best professional team at the time go up against the best amateur team, with any money raised from the match being given to charity. The first incarnation of the competition lasted for nine years, seeing amateur team Corinthians sharing the first title with Sheffield United. They actually won it two years later when the defeated Aston Villa 2-1, then again in 1904 when beating Bury 10-3.
It was Corinthians who Liverpool faced when the two teams met in the competition in 1906, with the Reds playing in it for the first time and being pitted against a side that had played in it eight times before. Prior to kick-off, there was a sense that both teams wanted to win, with Liverpool being keen to continue their run of being the ‘most professional side of the year’. The two teams were full-strength and the Reds proved it, running out as 5-1 winners thanks to a ‘superb’ performance in the second-half that snuffed out any Corinthian hope.
