The history of Liverpool Football Club from 1959 to 1985 covers the period from the appointment of Bill Shankly as manager of the then-Second Division club, to the Heysel Stadium disaster and its aftermath.
Overhauling the team during his first year at Liverpool, Shankly released 24 players and converted a boot storage room into a meeting place where he and his coaches discussed strategy. The club won the Second Division title in 1961–62 and were promoted to the First Division. Two seasons later, Liverpool won their first League championship since 1946–47, thereby qualifying for participation in European competition for the first time. The following season, Liverpool won their first FA Cup. Further League championships followed in 1965–66 and 1972–73. 1973 saw them win their first European trophy—the UEFA Cup. The following season was Shankly's last, in which the club won the FA Cup once more.
Shankly's assistant Bob Paisley took over in 1974; his first season in charge saw Liverpool finish second, before winning the League championship and UEFA Cup the following season. Three European Cups and four League championships followed before Paisley retired at the end of 1982–83, to be replaced by his assistant, Joe Fagan.
Liverpool won a treble of trophies during Fagan's first season as manager, winning the League championship for the third year in succession, the Football League Cup for the fourth year in succession and a fourth European Cup. The following season, the club was involved in one of the worst disasters to occur at a football stadium. Before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final against Juventus, Liverpool fans breached a fence separating the two groups of supporters, and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a retaining wall to collapse, killing 39 fans, mostly Italians. The incident became known as the Heysel Stadium disaster and resulted in the expulsion of English clubs from European competition for five years.
1959–65: rebuilding
Huddersfield Town's Bill Shankly was appointed Liverpool manager midway through the 1959–60 season. He was approached by Liverpool chairman T. V. Williams, who asked Shankly if he would like to manage "the best club in the country", to which he replied, "Why, is Matt Busby packing up?". A perceived lack of ambition at Huddersfield Town and the potential at Liverpool led Shankly to accept the offer. When he arrived, the club was in the Second Division, having played at this level since relegation in 1953–54. During his first season in charge, Shankly gave debuts to two players: Ian Callaghan, who would go on to become the club's record appearance maker, and Roger Hunt, the club's future leading goalscorer in the League.
Despite their introduction, Shankly's impact was not immediate, as the club finished the season in third place, outside the promotion spots. Shankly had been musing on which players to keep and which to move on, and he eventually decided that 24 players should be released; by the end of his first season they had all left the club. Shankly retained the existing backroom staff, and converted a boot storage room into a meeting place where he and his coaches could discuss strategy. The Boot Room, as it came to be known, was to be an integral part of the club's future success. Bob Paisley was clear on the significance of the Boot Room: "You got a more wide-ranging discussion in the Boot Room than the boardroom. What went on was kept within those four walls. There was a certain mystique about the place."
The club again finished third the following season, despite a run of 14 games without defeat; 5 defeats in the opening 11 matches had cost Liverpool the chance of promotion. Shareholder John Moores believed the club needed to spend more money on players to be successful and encouraged chairman T. V. Williams to do so. The following season, Shankly signed Ian St John from Motherwell and Ron Yeats from Dundee United. Shankly was confident his signings would be a success, challenging the board of directors to "sack me if they can't play". St John and Yeats helped the club win promotion to the First Division; they won the Second Division with 62 points, and were unbeaten at their home ground Anfield all season. Liverpool were back in the First Division for the first time in eight years in 1962–63. Despite an uneasy start, they were in fifth place by March 1963, after a 13-match unbeaten run. Liverpool's form suffered following their 1–0 loss to Leicester City in the FA Cup semi-final, and a poor run of results including a 7–2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur saw the club finish the season in eighth place.
The following season, Shankly signed Peter Thompson from Preston North End as he could play wide on the right-hand side of midfield. Liverpool started 1963–64 poorly, garnering only nine points from the first nine games. A 2–1 victory over Everton, their first win over their local rivals since 1950, instigated Liverpool's move up the table. They won 47 points from their next 30 games to secure their sixth League championship. Success led to the average attendance at Anfield increasing to more than 50,000. The fans also became more vocal, and it was around this time that the fans on the Kop adopted You'll Never Walk Alone as their anthem.
Liverpool's League championship qualified them to participate in European competition for the first time, in the 1964–65 European Cup. For their second round tie against Belgian team Anderlecht, Shankly decided to change from red shirts, white shorts and socks to an all-red kit. Shankly felt the players would be more intimidating to the opposition as a result. Liverpool reached the semi-final, but were beaten by Italian club Internazionale. The tie was not without controversy; Shankly felt that the referee showed bias towards Internazionale, as he had allowed questionable goals by the Italians to stand. Liverpool's form in the European Cup carried over into the FA Cup, in which they reached the final against Leeds United. The game was goalless for the first 90 minutes, but Liverpool took the lead in extra time, courtesy of a goal by Hunt. Leeds equalised shortly afterwards, but a St John goal secured a 2–1 victory for Liverpool, and their first FA Cup triumph. Liverpool's form in cup competitions did not translate to their performance in the League, as the defence of their championship ended with the club finishing in seventh place.
1965–70: stability
Victory in the FA Cup meant Liverpool would participate in the European Cup Winners' Cup during 1965–66. They went one stage further than the previous season, as they reached the final, facing German team Borussia Dortmund. The two sides were level at 1–1 at the end of 90 minutes and the match went into extra time. Liverpool were unable to score and conceded a goal to Dortmund, who won the match 2–1. Shankly was unimpressed with his team's performance, stating: "We didn't play well and we gave away two silly goals." Their defence of the FA Cup ended in the third round, after defeat to Chelsea. Their lack of success in cup competitions was offset by regaining the League championship on the last day of April 1966 when they beat Chelsea, courtesy of two goals from Hunt.
The next few seasons were not as successful. A return to the European Cup in 1966–67 saw Liverpool eliminated 7–3 on aggregate by Dutch side Ajax in the second round. The League campaign was equally disappointing, as the team finished the season in fifth place, winning only 2 of their last 11 games. One significant event during the season was the arrival of future captain Emlyn Hughes from Blackpool for a £65,000 fee. The 1967–68 season started well, with Liverpool league leaders through much of September, October and November 1967. An accumulation of matches due to participation in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, FA Cup and Football League Cup impacted negatively on Liverpool's League form. They finished the season in third place behind champions Manchester City. The 59 games Liverpool played during the season did not result in success. The furthest the club progressed in any competition was the quarter-final of the FA Cup.
The following season saw an improvement in League form, but there was no reward. Poor performances in the cup competitions meant Liverpool had less fixture congestion than the previous season, but that did not translate into a League championship as they finished in second place, six points behind Leeds United. Shankly's team was beginning to age, and several players had moved on or retired. Gerry Byrne, who had been the club's left back for 12 seasons, retired after making 333 appearances. Shankly now had the task of replacing the players in his squad. He started the process with the purchase of Hughes and then Ray Clemence the season before, but his signings did not always work out. Tony Hateley joined for a club record fee of £96,000 from Chelsea, but injury and poor form meant he was sold to Coventry City after a year. During the 1968–69 season Shankly signed Alun Evans for £100,000 from Wolverhampton Wanderers, a record fee for a teenager at the time. Despite a good start, Evans suffered a series of injuries that cut his career short.
The 1969–70 season was the beginning of a transitional period for Liverpool, as players such as Hunt, St John and Yeats made their last appearances for the club. A sixth-round loss to Watford in the FA Cup convinced Shankly that some of his older players should be moved on. Liverpool nevertheless started the season well, and were unbeaten in their first ten League matches until a 1–0 defeat to Manchester United. They were unable to maintain their early season form and finished in fifth place. Success in the other cup competitions was not forthcoming, as Liverpool exited in the early rounds of the Football League Cup and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
1970–75: transition Shankly's new squad began to take shape during 1970–71, with many of the young players he had signed playing in the first team. As a result, the average age of the team was 22. Players such as Clemence, Steve Heighway, Alec Lindsay and Larry Lloyd, began to establish themselves in the team. John Toshack was also signed from Cardiff City to replace Hunt. Liverpool were unable to improve upon the previous season's League position, finishing in fifth place, but they had more success in cup competitions. They reached the semi-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, but lost to Leeds United over two-legs. Liverpool progressed to the final of the FA Cup, and played Arsenal. Although Liverpool took the lead in extra time after a goalless 90 minutes, Arsenal won 2–1 to complete a League and cup double.