John Houlding was a self-made businessman in the tail end of the 19th century, owning a brewery that left him in a comfortable financial state for the rest of his life. He was elected to the Liverpool City Council as a Conservative representing the Everton ward, before being appointed Mayor in 1897. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary His major contribution, however, was to found Liverpool F.C. in 1892, although this story starts off with their fierce rivals Everton. Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England. Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. Houlding was also a member of the Orange Order along with several other early Liverpool F.C. directors [1]
In 1882, a ruling forced Everton to play their games at an enclosed ground, having previously played them on the public Stanley Park. The Orange Institution, more commonly known as the Orange Order or the Orange Lodge, is a Protestant fraternal organisation based predominantly Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England. Stanley Park is a 45 Hectare (approximately 11119 acre park in Liverpool, England, designed by Edward Kemp, which was opened on A meeting held in the Sandon Hotel in Everton, owned by Houlding, led to Everton F. C. renting a field off Priory Road. When the owner of this field eventually asked them to leave, Houlding secured a new pitch at Anfield Road, paying a small rent to John Orrell, a fellow brewer. The first football match at Anfield was on September 28th, 1884, when Everton beat Earlstown 5-0. Anfield is an all-seater Association football Stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England
Everton thrived at Anfield; stands were erected, attendance figures reached 8,000 per game, and Everton became a founding member of the Football League in 1888. The Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons is a league competition featuring professional football clubs However, Houlding was beginning to annoy the club; he increased the rate of interest on his loan to the club, and the players were forced to use The Sandon for changing, both before and after games.
In 1891, John Orrell threatened to withdraw the tenancy of Anfield Road. Anfield is an all-seater Association football Stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England Houlding responded by suggesting that he form a limited liability company and purchase the ground. Orrell was willing to sell, but Houlding owned land adjacent to Anfield Road, and expect the new limited liability company to purchase this land as well.
Many of the club's members accused Houlding of trying to make a profit at the club's expense. The club's 279 members met in January 1892 to discuss the matter. Following another meeting on March 15th, 1892, Houlding was outvoted and his opponents decided to leave Anfield and purchase a new ground. They purchased Goodison Park, on the north side of Stanley Park, for £8,000. Goodison Park is the home ground of Everton FC in Liverpool. It was built in 1892 and now has a total capacity of 40157 all-seated Stanley Park is a 45 Hectare (approximately 11119 acre park in Liverpool, England, designed by Edward Kemp, which was opened on
Houlding and Orrell were left with an empty football ground, and Houlding felt that the only proper course of action in that situation would be to found a new football club, which he duly did - Liverpool F.C. would play their first ever game on September 1st, 1892; in a friendly with Rotherham Town, then of the Midland League, Liverpool's "Team of the Macs" (acquired from Scottish League footballers by fellow self-made businessman John McKenna) triumphed 7-1. Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England. John McKenna (January 3 1855 – March 1936 born in County Monaghan, Ireland, was a self-made businessman and former rugby player who was the first manager of In the words of the Liverpool Daily Post, 'Amidst applause Councillor J. The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror on Merseyside in England. Houlding started the ball'. The team that day was Ross, Hannah, McLean, Kelso, McQueen, McBride, Wyllie, Smith, Miller, McVean and Kelvin. Duncan McLean (b 12 September 1869 Dumbarton, Scotland - d ca James McBride (born December 30 1873) was a footballer for Liverpool during the latter half of the 19th century Malcolm McVean (born Jamestown Dunbartonshire, March 7 1871 - died Glasgow, June 6 1907) was a Scottish It was McVean who had the honour of scoring Liverpool's first ever goal.